Feb 16 – Feb 21
Half Term Events 16th – 21st February
Museum of Bath at Work 11.00 a.m. Monday 16th February Free with Museum entry Yarn Bombing! Historic Films on the Textiles Industry All About Witney Blankets (1924 15 minutes) and Textiles in Industry (1920 10 […]
Mar
7
Friends and Trust AGM’s with Talk
Saturday 7th March 2.30pm at the Museum. Refreshments from 2.00pm Followed by a talk at 3.30pm “Brunel’s Box Tunnel” – Claire Dimond-Mills After Friends and Trust short consecutive AGM meetings, both groups will combine for […]
Mar
15
Movie at the Museum: Uncommon Voices
Sunday 15th March 17:30 – 19:35hrs Museum of Bath at Work318-348 Julian Road, Bath, BA1 2RH (map) Your ticket includes exclusive after-hours access to the Museum of Bath at Work, with time to explore the collections […]
May 9 – Nov 29
LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION! : 120 Years of Cinemas and Films in Bath
This year’s special exhibition will open on Saturday 9th May until 29th November and we’ve lined up some great films and talks alongside – though our events might be just a little bit more than […]
A bargain Bagatelle board
Last year we joined Rev. Francis Kilvert on a visit to the Bath Flower Show in 1870, a very hot and tiring day. Kilvert (1840-1879) was born in Hardenhuish, Chippenham; his father was the vicar […]
Apr
11
Patchwork of Bath: A City Reassembled
Help Us Refresh Our Top Floor Displays! We’re redesigning the top floor of the Museum of Bath at Work, and we’d love you to be part of it. We’re making exciting changes to our displays […]
May 2 – Jun 25
Bath and the 1926 General Strike
Did you know that there was a General Strike in 1926? Did it include Bath? What effects did it have on daily life in Bath? The Museum will commemorate the centenary of the 1926 General […]
A Glimpse of Cinema History
We’re enjoying the research process for our forthcoming exhibition – Lights! Camera! Action! 120 years of Cinemas and Films in Bath. Have you ever looked up above The Works store in Westgate Street? On the […]
Major National Award for 2025 Tennis Exhibition
The Museum of Bath at Work has won the annual Sporting Heritage Research Award which was presented at a ceremony at Headingley Stadium, Leeds on the evening of 13 November, organised by Sporting Heritage. The […]
COMING SOON! “Pictures That Talk”
After our successful Tennis exhibition this year, for 2026 we turn to indoor entertainment with our next – Lights! Camera! Action! 120 years of Cinemas and Films in Bath. The smell of popcorn, the comfy […]
Aug 29 – Mar 1
Bath Bottled: A Sparkling History
LATEST: See the exhibition reviewed by Richard Wyatt of Bath Newseum and an interview with Coordinator Ellie Bowes Did you know that Bath has a long history of Fizzy Drinks Manufacture? Discover the fascinating story […]
The Fentiman family – three generations of working women
This portrait of Daisy Fentiman is in the collection of glass plate negatives from the Tom Carlyle Leaman photography studio curated at the Museum. Daisy was born in June 1881, the daughter of Mary Jane […]
Proposed Drawing Workshop-Spring 2026
Bath at Work museum is a treasure house of archaic Victorian machinery, fizzy pop manufacturing and bottling equipment, stone quarrying plant and an array of other relics from Bath’s industrial past. In this workshop you […]
“Now it’s time for Ice Cream!”
That was the intermission announcement at the cinema in the 1960s and 1970s, with a slightly faded picture as I remember it (writes Ann Cullis) followed by orange drink Kia-Ora. For a bit of nostalgia, […]
Anyone for Ice Cream?
Since it is (at the time of writing this piece) the summer holidays, I thought we’d take a look at the delectable subject of ice cream in Bath. The Bath Chronicle reports about ice cream […]
A day out at Bath Flower Show
The journals of Rev. Francis Kilvert (1840-1879), covering 1870-1879, are a delightful record of his daily life during his thirties and also demonstrate his eye for the natural world, with beautiful descriptions of weather and […]
Tennis Exhibition Opening Evening
Our exciting new exhibition, “On Court: Bath and Tennis from Indoor to Outdoor” was officially opened on Thursday 12th June when Louise Price cut the ribbon during an evening launch event. The exhibition will run […]
Jun 12 – Nov 16
On Court: Bath and Tennis from Indoor to Outdoor
Our exciting new exhibition, On Court: Bath and Tennis Indoor to Outdoor, will open at the Museum of Bath at Work on 12 June until 16th November. Through interpretation boards and loan items it reveals […]
David Press – Pastry Cook, Noted Shop for Cakes
“Pastry Cook; Noted Shop for Cakes” is David Press’s regular classified advertisement in the Bath Chronicle for his shop at 28 Broad Street (sometimes Ices are mentioned too). Directly above his advert is always placed […]
What did it cost to play a game of tennis in 1777?
We have wanted to know the answer to this question for ages – and thanks to a new book by local historian Colin Fisher, we now know the answer! The Costs of Pleasure (Hobnob Press […]
A summer of sport?
Opening June 2025, the Museum hosts a fabulous new exhibition about Tennis in Bath. Amongst a wealth of fascinating material, we’ll look at the clothing worn for playing tennis, so this piece gives a little […]
Bessie and Muriel Franklin Spurr
In this article we’re looking at another two of the photographic portraits in the collection of glass plate negatives from Tom Carlyle Leaman’s studio at no.7 The Corridor. Research has led us to find out […]
Dogs – A nasty coincidence
The Museum features the factory and workshops of the successful businessman J.B. Bowler, who made carbonated mineral waters (fizzy pop drinks) and ironmongery items. The building, as we have explored in previous articles, was built […]
The Sare family – furs and beers
This is another of the photographic portraits in the Museum’s collection of glass plate negatives from the studio of Tom Carlyle Leaman, taken in the 1890s and 1900s. We can trace the Sare family and […]
Long Service Award to Euel Lane
Long serving museum supporter, Euel Lane, was presented with a surprise award at the Friends AGM on Saturday 22nd March by Trust chairman Trevor Turpin. Euel has served the Museum in various capacities since joining […]
The Race-Course Feud
In August 1921, the Bath Races meeting up at Lansdown became the site of appalling violence and assaults inflicted by gangs from Birmingham on men from London. This was ‘The Racecourse War’ for the control […]
Museum Making Team Complete
The Museum Making community team is now complete with the addition of two engagement coordinators Helen Daniels is proud to have been part of Bath’s heritage and arts community for over 20 years, having held a […]
Charles Moutrie, General Manager at Bath Race Course
We are sharing some research about working lives in Bath in the 1890s and 1900s, using the portraits in our collection of glass plate negatives from the Bath studio of Tom Carlyle Leaman. Charles Linom […]
Museum Looking for your Help
As part of our “Museum Making” project, we’re expanding our focus to tell the bigger story of Bath—a city full of history, creativity, and innovation. We’re diving into the diverse working lives of Bath’s residents, […]
Louie Stride: Memoirs of a Street Urchin
“I was confronted by my childhood” In its first years in the early 1980s, the Museum was advertising for a volunteer tea lady. Louie, who was in her seventies, responded to the advert; recently widowed, […]
Museum Making Project Coordinator Ellie Bowes joins the team
“Hello Everyone, I’m Ellie Bowes, and I’m thrilled to be stepping into the role of Project Coordinator for the ‘Museum Making’ project at the Museum of Bath at Work! With 12 years of experience in […]
From Sheppey to Bath
‘Report to Paddington Station in the morning’ Admiralty clerks posted to Bath in 1939 as possibility of war increases This was the instruction received by hundreds of Admiralty workers in September 1939. One of these […]