1 Royal Crescent and
Bath Assembly Rooms, Bath
I have no pictures of it, unfortunately, and it isn't a country house,
but the museum house at 1 Royal Crescent in Bath deserves a mention anyway.
Not only is it architecturally interesting, but for me it helps to build
a complete picture of what life was like for Regency-era families that
went to Bath to enjoy the recreational and social opportunities the city
offered. An adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion depicts
the Elliott family, when they are not out on the town, just... sitting...
all together in a very elegant drawing room. The Royal Crescent house
reveals that there were few other options inside one of these residences:
although the rooms are grandly proportioned and designed to impress, the
number of rooms is small.
Fortunately,
the city offered diversions, such as concerts, card-playing, and other
entertainments at the Assembly Rooms. We visited the what used to
be known as the Upper Assembly Rooms (another such place, the Lower Rooms,
no longer exists). There are several spacious areas devoted to various
diversions. They are still used for social gatherings and other events.
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