The Assembly Rooms here are the second set built in Bath, the first having been completed in the early 18th century. The first rooms were located in the Lower Town not far from the Pump Room and the King's and Queen's Baths.

By the latter part of the 18th century, the Lower Rooms seemed small and stodgy and the Upper Assembly Rooms were comissioned of John Wood the Younger. They were completed in 1771.

The building is composed of four main rooms--the Octagon, the Card Room, the Ballroom, and the Tea Room. This was a revolutionary plan--to have rooms dedicated to each of the amusements common at an assembly, so that the card players would not be incommoded by those who wished to eat supper, and the dancers could dance on without impediment.

The Ballroom is gigantic--the largest 18th-century room in Bath. It is two stories high, painted sea green with graceful white plasterwork adorning the ceilings and trim, and lit with a row of six glittering chandeliers. To fill it with dancing ladies and gentlemen, musicians, and watchful duennas, however, requires imagination (and perhaps the help of select passages from Jane Austen, thoughtfully provided on your acoustiguide)--the Ballroom, like the other rooms in the building, is empty except for some chairs to sit in.

At the upper end of the Ballroom is the door to the Octagon and the Card Room. The Octagon links all the rooms together. It was originally intended as a card room, though cards proved so popular that a card room was built, leaving the Octagon as a room for conversation and music.

The final major room in the building is one of the most arresting--the Tea Room, where, as the name indicates, refresments were served. The Tea Room also served as a concert venue. You can see it used as such in the movie version of Persuasion.

The rear of the Tea Room is dominated by stunning columns. The stonework here is faintly pink--the result of a fire when the Assembly Rooms suffered a direct hit in a bombing raid at the end of World War II.

In the basement of the Assembly Rooms is the Museum of Costume, which traces fashion from Elizabethan times to the present.

If you had problems visualizing the Georgian and Regency revelers, a visit here may help--you can see and hear about 18th century and Regency dress, as well as 17th century court dress and Victorian fashion.

Perhaps the most interesting (and frightening) exhibit is the "Dress of the Year", where every year since 1963, a dress has been selected as representitive of the time. (1966 is particularly groovy and 2000 is your chance to see the infamous "J-Lo Oscar dress" up close.)

Admission costs £11 for adults as a combo ticket with the Roman Baths museum, £5.50 for admission to the Assembly Rooms and Museum of Costume alone.