Joana Starnes

Bath is one of the places closest to my heart, one I could revisit over and over, not only because it’s exquisite in itself and has a very strong connection to Jane Austen, but because this is how I imagine Regency London might have looked like, were it not for 200 years of inevitable changes.

Today I had the great joy of visiting it again. I wish I could have stayed all day, but this time I couldn’t stretch it too far beyond the end of school hours. Still, the few hours I could spend there could not have been better. Bath greeted its visitors with brilliant sunshine that made the beautiful buildings glow. I walked up the usual route, past the famous bow window in Milsom Street, up the hill towards the Assembly Rooms, paused to admire the Circus, then headed straight to No. 1 Royal Crescent.

What an amazing place! You can absorb Georgian lifestyle in every room, but the dining room is out of this world – literally. To say that it’s exquisite is simply not enough. I love it! And even more so because every detail of the beautifully ornate table and sideboard brings to mind an elegant, yet quite intimate dinner that our dear Mr and Mrs Darcy might have hosted. You can almost see them sitting to partake of the confectionery that can’t fail to please the eye (the palate – not so much; the display is made of silicone and other materials. There are fascinating details in the house about the project undertaken several years ago, when real moulds from the kitchen were used to make working moulds, and the latter used to create the beautifully intricate confectionery).

Across the entrance hall there is the morning parlour, with the table set up for an even more intimate breakfast, and beyond it there is a room where Mr Bennet might have sat to read the paper in peace and quiet whenever he came to visit his favourite daughter – usually unannounced 🙂 . And alongside there is a writing desk that Mr Darcy might have vacated, for Mr Bennet to write home. Not that Mr Bennet would trouble himself to do so. But he must have used it, because this is where he left his spectacles.

If you climb the very elegant staircase, you’ll discover the drawing room, , and you might be treated to some musical entertainment:

The tour then takes you down a far less glamourous staircase towards the kitchen and the servants’ quarters. The kitchen is a delight, full of all manner of implements, from moulds to sugar clippers, coffee roaster and spinach mashers. And nearby is the housekeeper’s parlour, where we can picture Mrs Reynolds sitting to do the household accounts or have a well-deserved rest and a cup of tea when the day’s work is done.

No. 1 Royal Crescent is such a gem! I think I barely managed to explore half the treasures it holds. Something tells me I’ll be back before too long.