Here the lower servants gathered to eat together. Georgian servants toiled hard and rarely had a life of their own outside their place of employment.

The Servants’ Hall would have had a ready supply of ale or beer for staff. Brewing was an essential household activity because beer was the main drink at a time when water was untreated. No. 1 Royal Crescent originally had its own domestic brew house.

This room was originally split into two, possibly three, spaces. There would not have been a kitchen range here originally. This room has been created as a learning space for schools and our long term aim, now the gallery is available for learning, is to restore these rooms to their original layout.

You can see on the wall, an example of some rules that would have been set for the servants and the fines they would be charged for breaking them. It was the role of the Butler and Housekeeper to oversee the other servants and ensure they behaved as expected. The painted mottos were also used to praise the value of honest labour at a time when everyone had to know their place.

The large wheel on display is not original to the room but demonstrates a curious and cruel method of turning a roasting spit. It would contain a dog and hot coals would be placed in the wheel to make the dog run, therefore turning the wheel. This was especially popular in Bath and the West Country and used a small short-bodied breed known as a Turnspit Dog, which is now extinct.

Dog wheel not original to the house.

The large dresser is typical of those found in the basements of many Bath houses and is, indeed, popularly known as a “Bath dresser” with its curved corners. This particular example has been much restored.

The centre arch on the north wall contains an example of a bar grate, which is considered to have been widely used for heating in Bath houses of this period.

The clock on the wall, made by Thomas Field of Bath, is an Act of Parliament or Tavern clock. The name arose from the popular belief that such clocks were acquired by innkeepers after parliament imposed a tax on clocks and watches in 1797; they were however around before this time. Inside the clock case are listed the names and dates of all those who have cleaned and repaired the clock since it was made.