Host your business event at the Roman Baths & Pump Room

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Introducing the Roman Baths & Pump Room

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Virtual Tour

Planning & catering

Why choose Bath

Venue history

Introducing the Roman Baths & Pump Room

The Roman Baths & Pump Room have always been at the social heart of the city and continue to be one of the most popular venues in the region.

If you are looking to wow your guests and offer them an unforgettable experience, the history, atmosphere and great service at the Roman Baths & Pump Room will tick all the boxes. There are different areas within the building that can be used independently or the whole complex can be hired exclusively for larger events.

The venue is the perfect accompaniment to the Guildhall which is a versatile conference venue only two minutes walk away.

drinks

Drinks reception

320

drinks

Dinner/dinner with dancing

200/160

drinks

Party

320

meetings

Meeting

40

conferences

Presentation

300

KEY FEATURES

capacity

Drinks receptions for up to 300 guests

capacity

Dinners from 20 to 180 guests

capacity

Combine rooms to accommodate 300 guests for dinner

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Ideal for incentive events

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Add on guided tours

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Music and dancing until 1am

Speeches beside the Great Bath, Soul Media

The Pump Room, Andy Fletcher

Terrace dinner, Lee Niel

Drinks reception beside the Great Bath, Kat Forsyth

Dinner in the Pump Room, Lee Niel

Stall Street Entrance, Guy Traynor

Silent Disco in the Reception Hall, Guy Traynor

Drinks reception at the Roman Baths, Guy Traynor

View out of the Panorama Room over the Great Bath, L Marshall

Room information & pricing

Roman Baths

From £3,000 inc. VAT

After the visitor attraction closes; the Roman Baths become a tranquil and otherworldly location for drinks and canapés. Your guests can socialise and relax beside the Great Bath, standing on the ancient paving and absorbing the history of this vast ruin. Although outdoors, the venue is sheltered from the elements, and in winter the steam from the thermal waters is at its most spectacular. The Roman Baths may be hired for stand-alone drinks receptions, or prior to a dinner or party in the Pump Room, Terrace or Reception Hall.

capacity

Up to 300 guests for a drinks reception

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Available from 7pm, from September to June

Pump Room

From £2,800 inc. VAT

The elegant Pump Room has been a centre for socialising since Georgian times and continues to attract a variety of events including dinners and parties. With its glittering chandelier, spa water fountain and lofty ceilings, it remains one of the most impressive rooms in the city. A stage and discreet PA system are perfect for speeches and the dimmable lighting creates a relaxed atmosphere.

capacity

Up to 200 for dinner, 300 people for drinks reception

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Available from 6pm or 8pm (depending on time of year)

Terrace & Reception Hall

From £2,540 inc. VAT

With its spectacular view over the Great Bath, the enclosed Terrace is a more intimate alternative to the Pump Room with an incredible atmosphere. While the space can accommodate up to 80 guests, it is most frequently used for smaller gatherings. The large Reception Hall adjoins the Terrace and the two spaces can be linked for larger groups if a dance floor and bar are needed for the evening.

capacity

Up to 80 guests for dinner on the Terrace

capacity

Dinners using both Terrace & Reception Hall, 160 guests

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Available from 7pm (September to mid-June)

Panorama Room

From £520 inc. VAT

Enjoy a room with a view! This inspiring space within the museum features a large picture window overlooking the iconic steaming Great Bath. Perfect for meetings and small drinks events, this captivating backdrop will leave a lasting impression on your guests.

The Panorama Room is equipped with air conditioning and is available throughout the day, even when the museum is open to the public.

capacity

Capacity for up to 25 people standing or 20 people seated

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Available all day

Meetings

Three inspiring meeting rooms are available at the Roman Baths & Pump Room in the centre of Bath.

For a truly exceptional meeting venue, choose the Panorama Room within the Roman Baths Museum. With a stunning view over the steaming Great Bath, this has to be one of the most inspiring meeting spaces within the city.

Elegant yet intimate with a picturesque outlook over to Bath Abbey, the Kingston Room and Drawing Room are lovely spaces perfect for meetings. Whilst they are typically used together, with a small meeting in one and refreshments in the other, they can be hired independently.

KEY FEATURES

capacity

Meetings for up to 40 delegates

capacity

Boardroom meeting room suitable for 25 delegates

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Natural daylight, full blackout, Wi-Fi, projector and screen

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Central location, 5 minutes walk to train station

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Reduced rail fares to Bath

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Full day or part day hire sessions

Board room style meeting, the Kingston Room

Panorama Room

The Drawing Room

Meeting in the Kingston Room

Room information & pricing

Drawing Room

From £520 inc. vat

Next door to the Kingston Room, the Drawing Room is a lovely choice for refreshments.

capacity

Theatre: up to 40

capacity

Boardroom: up to 25

Kingston Room

From £520 inc. vat

This elegant room overlooks Bath Abbey.

Refreshments and lunches may be served in either room, or smaller groups may prefer to dine in the Pump Room restaurant following a meeting.

If your delegates would like to visit the museum, we can offer preferential ticket rates for those attending an event in these rooms. Please contact us for more information.

capacity

Theatre: up to 40

capacity

Boardroom: up to 25

Panorama Room

From £520 inc. VAT

Enjoy a room with a view! This inspiring space within the museum features a large picture window overlooking the iconic steaming Great Bath. Perfect for meetings and small drinks events, this captivating backdrop will leave a lasting impression on your guests.

The Panorama Room is equipped with air conditioning and is available throughout the day, even when the museum is open to the public.

capacity

Theatre: up to 20

capacity

Boardroom: up to 15

Venue information

Whilst you concentrate on creating your perfect dinner guestlist, we will:

Help you design a bespoke event tailored to your individual needs, or those of your client, by creating unique room layouts in CAD, including furniture & AV requirements
Advise on timings to guarantee your event flows naturally and guests have a great time
Suggest additional services and suppliers from photographers to entertainers

Equipment included in venue hire
Included as part of your venue hire fee is comprehensive AV, staging, easels, lecterns and all furniture. Contact us for more details.

Last Minute Events
We often have late availability and are experienced at managing bookings with short lead times. Don’t hesitate to contact us with your requirements and we will do our best to help. A short lead time will not compromise the quality of your event in one of our venues.

Location
Our city centre location means we are easily accessible via public transport (both train and bus station) and within a short walking distance of various long and short stay car parks. Bath boasts an enviable selection of hotels, B&Bs and self-catering accommodation, suited to a variety of tastes and budgets, all just a stones thrown away.

Catering information

Searcys: brilliant experiences and wonderful events

Searcys are the official caterer for the Roman Baths & Pump Room. Founded in 1847 by John Searcys, 175 years’ worth of experience sits behind Searcys, making it one of the oldest and best-loved hospitality companies in the country. Searcys have seen Britain through Coronations, the roaring 20s, World Wars, and more than one pandemic, and this long legacy means they know a thing or two about bringing joy to everyday moments. A focus on continuous quality is what keeps people coming back, and Searcys’ experienced team knows the expertise, meticulous planning and flawless execution that’s required to deliver quality experiences time and time again.

Dinners, receptions & parties

The Pump Room is a prime location to host a lavish dinner for colleagues and delegates, impress new clients or reward your team with a stunning award ceremony. Treat your guests to a truly unforgettable experience, with a glass of something sparkling around the incredible Roman Baths, before leading them upstairs to enjoy delicious menus and entertainment in our larger dining spaces.

Searcys can cater for all manner of dinners and award ceremonies, with everything from sit-down banquets to elegant finger food available. Tailor your menus to meet the exact needs of your guests and event, with our dedicated team on hand to ensure your evening runs exactly as planned, leaving you free to focus on celebrating!

Meetings

Searcys seasonal day delegate menus, for meetings and events, are bursting with fresh produce to energise and satisfy hungry appetites and minds throughout the day. From sandwich lunches to hot fork buffets, summer salads and light bites, you'll be spoilt for choice.

Bowl food at the Pump Room

Searcys Champagne

Why choose Bath

Bath is a stunning city and a fantastic destination for a variety of business events, where delegates and guests can enjoy the rich mix of culture, history and leisure facilities.

Luxuriate in the natural hot springs at Thermae Bath Spa, indulge in boutique shopping, sports events or discover quirky bars and restaurants on Bath's cobbled streets. All of this, only 80 minutes from London and 65 minutes from Cardiff.

Venue history

Discover the rich history of the Roman Baths where the continuous gush of hot mineral water, bursting from the ground, has always been a subject of wonder.

Or find out more about the Pump Room, Bath's most iconic 18th century building.

Roman Baths history

The water we see in the Baths today fell as rain on the Mendip Hills many hundreds or even thousands of years ago. It percolates deep down through limestone aquifers, heated by the earth's core and raising the temperature to between 64 -96 degrees. Under pressure the heated water rises to the surface at 46 degrees along fissures and faults through the limestone beneath Bath.

By the first century AD this part of Britain was occupied by an Iron Age tribe called the Dobunni. They believed that the hot spring was sacred to the Goddess Sulis who was thought to possess curative powers. In AD43 the Roman armies invaded Britain and by AD75 they had built a new religious spa complex around the thermal spring and the settlement then grew as a centre for health and pilgrimage. It was named Aquae Sulis meaning ‘the waters of Sulis’. To keep good relations with local people the Romans were sensitive to their gods and goddesses and the goddess worshipped at the temple here was known as Sulis Minerva combining Celtic and Roman elements.

The Romans built the baths using the 1.3 million litres of naturally-heated water that rose to the surface naturally each day. The baths combined healing with leisure and water was channelled through the baths using lead pipes and lead lined channels. Even the baths were lined with lead. People came from far and wide to bathe in the waters and worship at the temple.

In the fourth century, barbarian raids from Northern Europe and Ireland and political instability in the Roman Empire made trade and travel increasingly difficult. The number of visitors to Aquae Sulis declined, and at the same time flooding from the River Avon resulting from poor maintenance meant black mud began to cover everything. The Temple buildings collapsed and the roofs of the baths eventually crashed into the growing swamp.

By the twelfth century the King’s Bath, formed within the shell of the Roman reservoir chamber, was enclosed within the precincts of the post- Roman monastery. Medical practice promoted bathing in the thermal waters to cure ailments as belief in its power re-emerged in the legend of the prehistoric Prince Bladud: in the ninth century BC, it was said Bladud contracted leprosy but was cured by the thermal waters of Bath.

In the late seventeenth century doctors began recommending drinking the water as a remedy for internal conditions and the first Pump Room, opened in 1706, placed drinking prescribed quantities of the water at the heart of the emerging spa culture.

In 1878, the city surveyor architect Major Charles Davis, worried by a leak from the King's Bath spring, decided to explore the ground around it. In doing so he found Roman remains and by 1880 had uncovered large parts of the Great Bath. The site was opened to visitors in 1897 and throughout the 20th century was progressively extended, notably with the east baths in the 1920s and later when the Temple Precinct was excavated beneath the Pump Room in 1981-83. A new learning centre will be opened up for the public in an area of Roman remains to the south of the site, where several underground vaults and tunnels lead into some currently inaccessible remains from the Roman bath house and town.

Pump Room history

The practice of drinking the thermal waters of Bath only began in earnest in the later seventeenth century. It became necessary to install a pump to allow patients to have access to the water directly from the spring and in the first years of the eighteenth century a doctor, William Oliver, persuaded the Bath Corporation to erect a building where the drinkers could be sheltered. This is the origin of the first Pump Room completed in 1706. As the popularity of the spa grew in the 18th century the Pump Room could no longer accommodate the fashionable crowds and invalids so extensions and improvements were made to the building.

In the later eighteenth century, as more and more families came to Bath to take the waters, the Pump Room needed further work. In 1784 a lavatory was installed but then An Act of Parliament was obtained establishing Improvement Commissioners to improve the city centre and the architect, Thomas Baldwin, was appointed by them. Baldwin built New Private Baths adjacent to the Pump Room and in 1790 began work to build an entirely new one. Despite delays arising from Baldwin’s personal bankruptcy and dismissal, the project was completed by a new architect, John Palmer, in 1795 when it was opened by the Duchess of York. The wider scheme re-ordered the local streets, sweeping away medieval alleys and before his dismissal Baldwin completed Bath Street connecting the Pump Room to the two smaller springs known as the Hot Bath and the Cross Bath.

The Pump Room continued as a fashionable meeting place to promenade and take the waters. Jane Austen observed people and fashions from within the Pump Room, which features in her two novels ‘Northanger Abbey’ and ‘Persuasion’.

In 1897 John Brydon built another extension to the Pump Room which housed a Concert Hall, the present day Roman Baths Reception Hall, undoubtedly the finest Victorian interior in Bath. Mary Shelley stayed at 5 Abbey Church Yard which was demolished to make room for the Reception Hall and it is thought that this is where her novel Frankenstein was written.

During the Victorian and Edwardian periods, the Pump Room was heavily furnished and during World War II it became a restaurant and fortunately escaped damage in the Baedeker air raids on Bath in 1942. Many interesting historical figures have visited the Pump Room and taken the waters including Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Buffalo Bill and Haile Selassie, not to mention present day royalty and celebrities.

Today, the Pump Room is a very popular venue for day time refreshments, and is also used for special occasions, corporate hospitality, concerts, weddings and as a favourite rendezvous for both local people and visitors to the city.

Explore Bath's world heritage

Other things to do in Bath

Host your business event at the Roman Baths & Pump Room

The Roman Baths & Pump Room have always been at the social heart of the city and continue to be one of the most popular venues in the region.

This iconic venue is the perfect choice for a memorable business event and can be exclusively yours.

With a rich history dating back 2000 years, the atmospheric and award-winning Roman Baths & Pump Room provides an enchanting backdrop for a diverse range of business events.

Roman Baths

Pump Room

Terrace & Reception Hall

Panorama Room

Three inspiring meeting rooms are available at the Roman Baths & Pump Room in the centre of Bath.

Drawing Room

Kingston Room

Panorama Room

Take a walk through the magical Roman Baths & Pump Room using the virtual tour below.

With our help your event can be both enjoyable and hugely rewarding.

Contact our planning team to discuss your event

Searcys: brilliant experiences and wonderful events

Dinners, receptions & parties

Meetings

Bath is a stunning city and a fantastic destination for a variety of business events, where delegates and guests can enjoy the rich mix of culture, history and leisure facilities.

Discounted train fares

Venue history

Discover the rich history of the Roman Baths where the continuous gush of hot mineral water, bursting from the ground, has always been a subject of wonder.

Explore Bath's world heritage

Explore Bath's world heritage

Other things to do in Bath

Host your business event at the Roman Baths & Pump Room

Roman Baths

Pump Room

Terrace & Reception Hall

Panorama Room

Drawing Room

Kingston Room

Panorama Room

Venue history

Discover the rich history of the Roman Baths where the continuous gush of hot mineral water, bursting from the ground, has always been a subject of wonder.

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