Small Worlds Exhibition in Bath

At the end of August Laura took a day trip to Bath.  She wanted to see the Small Worlds Exhibition which is currently (until early November 2015) being hosted at No 1 Royal Crescent in Bath.  

The Royal Crescent, Bath. No 1 Royal Crescent is on the right

Laura was interested to see what No 1 was like in 1772.  The dolls house exhibition in 2015 is on display in the top floor of the little annex building on the right

Laura liked the model of No 1 Royal Crescent

No photography was allowed in the Small Worlds dolls house exhibition as Lisa Antrim who had collected all the amazing dolls houses and miniatures did not given permission for the public to take photos, though Laura noticed that another person going around the exhibition was taking photos even though there were no photography signs everywhere.  The houses and miniatures on display were fascinating.

After visiting the dolls house exhibition Laura and her friend did the children's trail around No 1 Royal Crescent to find out what life was like 250 years ago in the very fashionable city of Bath

In the gentleman's room there were lots of interesting scientific objects including a telescope which Laura tried

Laura also discovered the globe in the Gentleman's room

In the dining room of No 1 Royal Crescent was one dollshouse from the Small Worlds exhibition which could be photographed, apparently because it contains no furniture. This was Swallowcliffe c1826-1830

Swallowcliffe, with its doors propped open 

Upstairs in the guest room for a Lady was a marquetry table.  Laura was interested to see the miniature grandfather clock on the table

Apparently the main pastime of Bath society was gambling, people were obsessed with it and even played gambling games in their bedrooms

This sewing table would have been used by the Lady's maid to make alterations or repairs to the Lady's gowns.  There was no wardrobe in the bedroom, all gowns were kept in a room upstairs and brought down for the Lady or Gentleman to choose.

Fine embroidered clothes laid out on the Lady's guest bed

The Lady's guest bed

The Lady's dressing table and wig.  Apparently they also had long sticks to scratch their heads through the wigs.  Why did they need to scratch?  Because everyone was infested with headlice!

It was fashionable to come to Bath and rent a house or rooms for several weeks rather than own a town house and a country house.  No 1 Royal Crescent was one such house so there would have been few personally owned items or family portraits on display.

The house keeper's room - she was the most powerful servant in the house

In 18th century kitchens every able bodied creature was used to provide power, this was a dog driven wheel for turning the roasting spit.

A dog driven wheel for turning the roasting spit

In the Servant's room in the basement is a large (modern) Georgian dollshouse which has been decorated during 2015 in a project with a local primary school and Age Concern, who were taught how to make a variety of miniatures by expert miniaturists.  The project is called Miniature Mania: small worlds, big discoveries.  You can read all about it at https://smallworldsproject.wordpress.com/.  The children and adults were guided to make particular objects for the house (such as paintings, miniature food, doll making, the rocking horse and wallpapering).  Apparently the project continues in the new school year as more children from St Andrew's school are helping to decorate smaller dolls houses together with the group from Age Concern.  I think every school in the country should have a project like this!

The notice explaining about the Small Worlds dollshouse project

Laura was very pleased to see the Small Worlds dollshouse project house, now complete and on display

Laura was good to stand behind the barrier as the notice requested even though she wanted to get much closer to the house to peer inside

A portrait gallery in the house

The nursery

The children's bedroom

The gentleman in his bedroom

The top landing

The Lady in her bedroom

The grand central staircase

The kitchen

Laura was impressed with the size of the house and how much happy teamwork went into decorating it

There were some dollshouses for young children to play with in the Servant's hall

After she visited No 1 Royal Crescent Laura went to see Bath Abbey.  There was a visiting choir rehearsing for Evensong with the organ and Laura enjoyed listening to the music as she explored the Abbey.

Bath Abbey with the visiting choir

Bath Abbey with the visiting choir and the organ

After exploring inside Bath Abbey and buying a badge from the shop Laura stood outside the west end of the Abbey on the busy pavement near the Roman Baths (which she did not visit).

Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths

The Small Worlds exhibition at No 1 Royal Crescent is open until 8 November 2015.  It is well worth visiting.  There are 10 dollshouses from the private collection of Lisa Antrim on display including Fry House and Bellamy House.  In the shop at No 1 Royal Crescent was a wonderful book by Lisa called "Family Dolls' Houses of the 18th and 19th Centuries" however it was too large to carry around all day and Laura's budget didn't stretch to purchasing a signed copy of the wonderful book.  It contains beautiful photos of all the houses in the collection plus a wealth of research and restoration expertise.  Laura bought the set of postcards featuring each house in the exhibition instead.