Museum of Bath at Work
 | |
  Location within Somerset and the United Kingdom | |
| Established | 1978 |
|---|---|
| Location | Bath, Somerset |
| Coordinates | 51°23′20″N 2°21′46″W / 51.3889°N 2.3629°W |
| Director | Stuart Burroughs |
| Website | Museum web site |
The Museum of Bath at Work is at Camden Works, Julian Road, in Bath, Somerset, England.
This museum was established in 1978 to present the commercial development of Bath over the last 2000 years and includes displays on four floors. The main exhibit is the reconstruction of an engineering and mineral water making business set up by Victorian entrepreneur Jonathan Bowler in 1864. When the firm closed in 1969 the original premises of the firm were cleared of all the movable objects - almost one million of them - and the interiors of this firm reconstructed in the museum. One thousand photographs taken of the original business were used in the reconstruction of shop, workshops, offices, bottling plant, etc. Over 10,000 bottles were saved and a collection of half a million documents were also saved.[1]
Other reconstructions at the museum include a cabinet maker's workshop and a Bath Stone quarry face complete with crane, tools, etc. In 1999 a rare Horstmann car, built in 1914 was acquired,[2] and, in 2003, a comprehensive exhibition on Bath's development, 'Bath at Work : 2000 Years of Earning a Living' opened. A local history display in the Hudson Gallery opened in 2007 and features an ever changing display of photographs. In 2008 the only known example of a horizontal Griffin cycle gas engine was acquired.
Audio guides are available and interactive exhibits allow access to the exhibitions.
References
- ^ "Museum of Bath at Work". 24-hour museum. Retrieved 28 October 2007.
- ^ "Horstman History". Horstmann Company. Retrieved 28 October 2007.