Pump Room — the famous restautant in Bath
Entrance to the Pump Room, which is immediately adjacent to the Roman Baths and right next to Bath Abbey.
Pump Room is one of the most popular restautants in Bath, British. It is right next door to the Roman Baths and Bath Abbey, above Kings Bath.
1738–Start of the construction of The Royal Mineral Water Hospital reflected a new period of faith in the healing properties of the waters. It is also notable as the only building on which the three men most responsible for the construction of Georgian Bath–John Wood the Elder, Beau Nash and Ralph Allen–collaborated. While the beneficial and healing properties of the water have always been acknowledged, modesty and decency have not always been inherent in Bath’s “spa culture.” John Wood the Elder writes at this time: “The Baths were like so many Bear Gardens, and modesty was entirely shut out of them; people of both sexes bathing by day and night naked.”
1777–Hot Bath rebuilt to the design of John Wood the Younger.
1783-98–Cross Bath rebuilt and then enlarged.
1788–New Private baths (now demolished) built between King’s Bath and Stall Street.
1790s–Great Pump Room built. While excavating the foundations for the new Great Pump Room, many of the first finds relating to the Roman Temple were made.
1798–The publication of “The Comforts of Bath,”a satirical view of life in Bath, reflects the infamous lifestyle of elements of Georgian society. The Pump Rooms and the baths were the center of much revelry throughout this period when Bath became known as the “premier resort of frivolity and Fashion”.
The Grand Pump Room was officially opened by the Duchess of York on December 28, 1795. The elegant hall still looks much the same as when it was first built, aside from the addition of tables and chairs.
The Pump Room, 1798
The Pump Room, Now
The Grand Pump Room was originally left empty of furnishings, leaving visitors to mingle about in spacious elegance. The room was heated by two large fireplaces and musicians entertained guests from the west apse (as they still do). Hot mineral water from the springs was pumped to a fountain where an attendant filled glasses for those who wished to drink it.
“I’m afraid it will be very objectionable,” I overheard a lady saying as she entered the Grand Pump Room, obviously for the first time in her life, intent on drinking some of the water.
“Not at all, madam,” the uniformed attendant reassured her. “It is a little warm and has a slight taste; that is all.”
– H.M. Bateman, Bath, Past and Present, 1939
In Victorian times, it was customary to drink a prescribed number of glasses of the curative mineral waters before breakfast, so the doors opened at 6am in summer and the room was fully packed by 8am. The Grand Pump Room was the place to see and be seen; where Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey ladies “walked together, noticing every new face and almost every new bonnet in the room.”
Tea in the Pump Room doesn’t come cheap (£23 for two), but as a one-time splurge it is really worth it. I highly recommend the Traditional Pump Room Tea pictured at right. The clotted cream is divinely rich (just a step away from butter), the scones are moist and fresh, and the tiny sandwiches are perfection. Then there are the sweets, which are very rich and very good.
And of course, no visit to Bath is complete without a taste of the warm mineral water from the sacred springs (50 pence for a small glass) - the taste is indeed “objectionable” but has long been believed to cure all your ills.
The atmosphere of the Pump Room is elegant and historic without being intimidating (casually-dressed tourists are welcome) and the service is prompt and unobtrusive.
Interesting items of antique furniture line the walls of the room. The clock was given to Bath in 1709 by Thomas Tompion, England’s best known clockmaker.
The Pump Room Trio entertains diners and water-drinkers with classical music Monday to Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons. A solo pianist plays every lunchtime and afternoons in the winter.
Tip: Your indulgence in the Pump Room is probably best left until after your sightseeing, as it is so rich that you may not feel too energetic afterwards (at least we didn’t)!
Tip #2: You don’t have to dine at the Pump Room to try the mineral water.
The "King's Spring" delivers the hot, healing mineral waters for which Bath has long been famous. Try a glass! It's not that bad.
The Tompion Clock, given to Bath in 1709 by Thomas Tompion, England's best known clockmaker.
Afternoon tea at the Pump Room - absolutely divine. This is the Traditional Set Tea for Two
