No.1 Royal Crescent

No. 1 Royal Crescent is the first building at the eastern end of the Royal Crescent in Bath, Somerset, and is of national architectural and historic importance. It was built to the designs of John Wood the Younger in 1767 – 1774 and remains the epitome of Palladian architecture in Bath. Notable residents of No.1 Royal Crescent include Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany in 1776 (and forever immortalised in the rhyme The Grand Old Duke of York) and Henry Sandford, a retired Irish Member of Parliament, who became the first permanent resident, living at the house with his family from 1777 until his death in 1796.

Today, No. 1 Royal Crescent is a historic house museum, with the rooms furnished with historic furniture, pictures and objects that reveal what life was like for Bath’s fashionable residents – both upstairs and downstairs in one of the great houses of 18th century Bath. It is owned and maintained by Bath Preservation Trust. In 2021 No.1 launched an innovative, immersive experience that is designed to bring the house to life through a series of film and sound installations that give visitors a very real sense of what it would have been like to live in this very grand townhouse. There are regular changing exhibitions in the Gallery.