No.1 Royal Crescent launches new accessible tour for visitors

Bath’s leading historic house museum, No.1 Royal Crescent, can now be enjoyed by everyone, as it launches a new accessible tour this month. 

No.1, which is owned and maintained by Bath Preservation Trust, was built in 1767-1774 and is of national architectural and historic importance. Its rooms are 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 the 18th century.

In June 2021, the museum launched a new immersive experience, using an exciting and innovative mix of digital projections and soundscapes, which allows visitors to see life as it was lived in Georgian Bath. This tour is compatible with hearing loops and subtitled, and a large print copy of the script is available for those who wish to use this.

Now, a new accessible tour re-creates the rooms and the immersive film and soundscapes within them, meaning that those visitors who cannot access the entire building will be able to explore the whole house and follow the immersive stories. 

Visitors can download the accessible tour straight onto their own device (the museum has free Wi-Fi), or, for those without a smartphone, it is also available on a Museum tablet that can be borrowed for the visit, free of charge. From the screen visitors can select a room in the house, explore the interiors with a 360-degree view and play the immersive experience to watch and listen to the story unfold.

In addition, resources are now provided for visitors with additional needs. Sensory bags are available, as well as a social story and sensory map available on the No.1 Royal Crescent website, and at the venue. The museum also takes bookings for quiet visits, when all sound and film is turned off and visitors can enjoy exclusive access without having to follow a set route.

Claire Dixon, Director of Museums for Bath Preservation Trust, says “We are excited that visitors who cannot access the whole building or face other barriers to visiting the house in full, will now be able to use the accessible tour to enjoy the immersive experiences as part of their visit. Previously they could only engage with the beginning and the end, and whilst we still encourage visitors to enjoy these parts of the story in the actual rooms, it is fantastic to be able to provide access to the rest of the house, in a slightly different way.”

She added: “The transformation of No. 1 Royal Crescent began in 2021, and it has always been our intention to ensure access is possible for everyone. With a small team and limited resources, we’ve had to take a phased approach, which began with embedding hearing loop compatibility, subtitles and accessible resources. Receiving further Cultural Recovery funding has enabled us to deliver this next phase – it has taken some time, due to the technical work needed to transfer our immersive experience onto mobile technology, but we are thrilled to finally be ready to reveal it to our visitors and look forward to receiving their feedback.”