Museum of Bath at Work
About
Housed in a former Real Tennis court dating from 1777, the Museum of Bath at Work celebrates 2,000 years of Bath's working heritage; from Roman tourism to eighteenth-century building, and from Victorian engineering to modern technology.
The centrepiece of the Museum of Bath at Work, covering an entire floor, is a reconstructed Victorian soft drinks factory, complete with office, workshop and bottling plant. Other exhibits exploring Bath’s industrial and commercial heritage include a reconstructed Bath Stone mine, ironmonger's shop and cabinet maker's workshop.
The museum is also home to a 1914 Horstmann car, a Bath Chair which was displayed at the Crystal Palace exhibition of 1851, a Pitman Shorthand version of The Hound of the Baskervilles and a unique self-winding clock built in the city in 1866.
There is also a large archive of film, photography, artefacts and sound recordings relating to the commercial development of the city. Highlights include 40,000 glass plate negatives from the local engineering firm Stothert & Pitt and over 400 taped interviews with local workers.
The museum has a self-service café, shop, temporary exhibition space and children's play area, and audio guides are available.
TripAdvisor Ranking
#20 of 126 things to do in Bath
Most Recent Traveller Reviews
- 13 Aug 2019: I have been meaning to visit this museum for years and finally made it! It is fascinating and tells of a time when engineering was very hands on and indeed dangerous. The audio guide is good so...
- 10 Aug 2019: If you are interested in history and how things used to be made, this is a great place to visit. Certainly worth spending a rainy afternoon! the volunteers are very knowledgeable and helpful and it...
- 7 Aug 2019: This wasn’t what we were expecting at all, but what an amazing little place! You walk in to what looks like an old shop, with an equally fitting shop keeper. This guy knows his stuff! Really...
