No, Bath Assembly Rooms is not currently open to visitors. The National Trust closed the building in March 2025 to carry out a £20 million restoration and build a new Georgian visitor experience, and it's due to reopen in 2027. There's no public access to the interior in the meantime.
If Bath Assembly Rooms was on your list, here's what happened, what's going on behind the hoardings, and what to see instead while you wait.
Why it's closed
Bath Assembly Rooms returned to full National Trust management in March 2023, after decades of being let out and run by other operators, including a long stint hosting the Fashion Museum in its basement. Once the Trust took over day-to-day running, it set out plans for a significant restoration, and the building closed to the public in March 2025 so conservation and construction work could begin.
The scale of the work is real rather than cosmetic, and the National Trust puts the cost at £20 million. The Trust is replacing the floors in the Tea Room and Ball Room with new oak boards to match the originals, upgrading the windows with triple glazing while restoring the traditional Georgian look of the exterior bars, replacing the 1960s staircase with a new Georgian-inspired one, fitting new front doors in keeping with the original eighteenth-century portico, and conserving the ten original Georgian chandeliers off-site before they're rehung. Much of this is needed because the Upper Rooms lost original fabric to bomb damage during the Second World War and were patched up with less sympathetic repairs at the time.
A bit of history
John Wood the Younger designed the Assembly Rooms, and they opened in 1771 as a set of public rooms for dancing, cards and music, purpose-built for the social whirl of Georgian Bath. They were unusual for the period in being open to a broad cross-section of society rather than just the elite. The National Trust has owned the building since 1931, though it spent long periods let out to the council and other operators, most notably as the home of the Fashion Museum from the early 1960s until 2022.
A Roman surprise beneath the Georgian floors
While digging beneath the building for the restoration, archaeologists uncovered a network of Roman ditches along with pottery, coins, glassware and a fragment of a military helmet, the National Trust announced in September 2026. The finds suggest Roman activity extended further west than previously recorded, into ground that's been inaccessible to archaeologists for centuries because of the Georgian building sitting on top of it. It's a reminder that Bath's Roman history, usually associated with the Roman Baths themselves, runs well beyond that one site.
When will it reopen
The National Trust is targeting 2027 for reopening, with a new Georgian visitor experience built around the restored Ball Room, Tea Room and Great Octagon. As of mid-2026, the Trust's own project page still points to 2027 rather than the late-2026 date it had floated earlier, so treat 2027 as the current best estimate and expect it could shift again as the restoration and the archaeological work both continue.
In April 2026 the Trust also got planning permission to redevelop the outside spaces around the building into landscaped areas, part of the same wider project, which suggests the full reopening package extends beyond just the interior rooms.
What's happening while it's closed
The Assembly Rooms isn't sitting empty. The National Trust is running a project called Reconnecting the Rooms, using National Lottery Heritage Fund support to research and share stories about the people who visited, worked in and built the Assembly Rooms, with associated events and exhibitions held at other venues around the city while the building itself is off-limits. Check the National Trust's Bath Assembly Rooms project page if you want to catch one of these while you're in the city.
What to see instead
There's plenty of Georgian Bath still open while you wait. For a look at how Bath's Georgian residents actually lived, No.1 Royal Crescent is the closest substitute for a grand Georgian interior. To understand the architecture and design thinking behind the city's best-known Georgian set pieces, our guide to the Circus and Royal Crescent covers John Wood the Elder and Younger's work in detail. And if you want art rather than architecture, the Holburne Museum at the other end of town is open as usual.
If you're specifically chasing the Fashion Museum, which used to share this building, it's a separate story: our guide to what happened to the Fashion Museum covers its own move and 2030 reopening target in the Old Post Office.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bath Assembly Rooms open in 2026?
No. It's been closed to visitors since March 2025 for a major restoration, and there's no public access to the interior until the project finishes.
Why is Bath Assembly Rooms closed?
The National Trust is carrying out a £20 million restoration, replacing floors, windows, the staircase and front doors, and conserving the original Georgian chandeliers, to build a new Georgian visitor experience inside the historic building.
When will Bath Assembly Rooms reopen?
The National Trust is currently targeting 2027. That date has already moved once, from an earlier late-2026 target, so treat it as the best current estimate rather than a fixed date.
Were Roman remains really found under Bath Assembly Rooms?
Yes. In September 2026 the National Trust announced that excavations during the restoration uncovered Roman ditches, pottery, coins, glassware and part of a military helmet, extending the known area of Roman activity in the city further west than previously recorded.
Can I visit the Fashion Museum while Bath Assembly Rooms is closed?
Not in this building. The Fashion Museum moved out in 2022 and is working towards reopening in the Old Post Office by 2030; see our guide to what happened to the Fashion Museum for the full story.
What's the closest alternative to Bath Assembly Rooms while it's closed?
No.1 Royal Crescent gives you the closest equivalent grand Georgian interior currently open to visitors, and the Holburne Museum covers the art side if that's more your interest.