If you enjoy Jane Austen novels, you definitely need to visit Bath. And if you visit Bath, you’ll also want to drop by No. 1 Royal Crescent for a deep dive into Regency era life.
Of course, we can’t all visit Bath just because we want to, so I write these posts to share my memories. I love revisiting through my memories as I write! Hopefully I’ll make it back there, someday.
You’ll may also want to check out my Jane Austen walking tour in Bath, and we do recommend a visit to the Jane Austen Centre as well.
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2025 marks the 150-year anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth! My fifteen-year-old and I are reading all of this author’s novels together to celebrate. We finished the little-known Lady Susan, and now we’re reading Sense and Sensibility. We plan to watch the movie and the series afterwards. Which one do you think we should watch first – the movie or the series?
We visited Bath in 2022, and would love to return. We will wait for a less-special year so we don’t have to deal with all of the crowds. Visiting the Royal Crescent neighborhood really brought the parties in Austen’s novels to life. It’s easy to imagine coaches full of families pulling up to these pristine Georgian homes, many of which remain privately owned.
Stepping Back in Time at No. 1 Royal Crescent
What You'll Find on This Page
The 30 terraced houses of the Royal Crescent were built between 1767 and 1774, with the project completing just one year before Austen’s birth on December 16, 1775. This makes the site an ideal example of the popular Georgian architecture of the time. Jane Austen likely visited at least one of these homes during the years she spent living in Bath, and she certainly would have walked through the park. The Royal Crescent promenade was one of the places people went to be seen during Austen’s years.
No. 1 Royal Crescent was the first house in this crescent shaped set of townhomes to be completed. Now owned by the Bath Preservation Trust, the decorations and furnishings are meticulously curated to represent life in Bath between 1776 and 1796.
Certain Fridays at No.1 Royal Crescent are dedicated Jane Austen days.
Finding No. 1 Royal Crescent
We took the train into Bath, and the Royal Crescent was on the far end of our walk around town, but still definitely walkable.
No.1 Royal Crescent is on the end that is closest to the main part of the city. You’ll also recognize it because they usually have this replica of a Georgian era sedan chair out front:
What Is This Austen-Era House Like?
Somewhat surprisingly, the house was practically empty when I visited. This meant that I was able to take a lot of photos and videos without disturbing other visitors!
You can walk through most of the house, which is pretty amazing! Monitors spread throughout the rooms in picture frames bring a bit of added insight, with live actors playing the role of people who might have lived there in the past. You can hear them talking in snippets of this video I took.
Notice the difference in the video between the main house stairs and the servant stairs!
The Dining Room
When I was visiting, the picture frame people in the dining room were discussing the American colonies. This entertained me as an American!
Here’s a close-up of the Georgian era sideboard.
Drawing Room
Drawing rooms were popular places to receive guests at the time, and it was fun to see one all set up!
I don’t remember which room this writing desk was in, but it is beautiful.
Bedrooms
I enjoyed seeing an example of a gentleman’s room:
And a lady’s room:
Kitchens
The kitchens were very large an extensive, which makes sense when you consider how many parties these large houses hosted, not to mention how many courses even ordinary dinners would have had.
I think this room would have been the housekeeper or steward’s room. It isn’t as fancy as the family’s quarters, but still pretty nice.
My absolute favorite part of Royal Crescent is this park. Isn’t it stunning? No wonder this was a “see and be seen” space for Jane Austen’s time.
Would you live here? I would!
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MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
It looks like such a fun place to visit. I would love to go there sometime.
And to answer your question, I enjoy both the movie and the series, so it will depend on your mood.
That’s good to hear that you enjoy both!
I think you would adore the entire city of Bath.