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Home , Dress of the Year, Hinton Charterhouse, Roman Baths (Bath)

Heritage Services Annual Review 2016/17

For learning, inspiration and enjoyment 2016 /17 at a glance Introduction

2016/17 was another exceptionally busy Numbers year for Heritage Services. The marketing strategy in the five-year business plan to Income (turnover) promote the shoulder months has £18,279,000 resulted in record off-season attendances at the Roman Baths and, as a result, all-time high annual visitor Surplus before internal overheads £6,584,000 numbers. 11% of these were Mandarin speakers, a result of sustained marketing to China in partnership with Visit Britain. Net profit per Heritage staff member £45,000 At the Fashion Museum, the exquisite exhibition A History of Fashion in 100 Net profit per B&NES resident £36 Objects showcasing stunning items from the museum collection has proved popular, leading to a rise in visitor Net profit per B&NES Council Tax payer numbers on the previous year. This effect £83 was further enhanced with the opening • 1,123,633 Roman Baths visitors (a record) of Lace in Fashion in February 2017, while • 153,593 Victoria Art Gallery visitors another top quality exhibition programme • 93,619 Fashion Museum visitors at the Victoria Art Gallery has kept visitor • 34,362 people attended learning sessions and community events numbers above the 150,000 mark. • 50,003 guests at civic and private functions Loans from the Victoria Art Gallery and • 623,892 shop items sold (up 44,663 on 2015/16) the Fashion Museum to major exhibitions elsewhere attest the importance of the collections we hold in trust for the public and promote our museums to national Awards and international audiences. The Roman Baths: The award of £3.375 million by the Visit Tourism Excellence Awards Heritage Lottery Fund was a major step Large Visitor Attraction of the Year – Runner up towards realising the Archway Project, of South West Tourism Excellence Awards which more can be found on p.15 below. • Large Visitor Attraction of the Year – Gold Community engagement across the • Best International Visitor Experience – Silver Service has been as strong as ever with inspiring public activities organised for Bristol Bath & Tourism Excellence Awards World Heritage Day, Museums at Night, • Best International Visitor Experience – Gold Festival of Archaeology, British Science • Large Visitor Attraction of the Year – Gold Week, national Heritage Open Days and UK Wedding Awards 2017: our own Museums Week.

• Best Historic Venue – GOLD for the Roman Baths The Roman Baths’ visitor experience has • Best City Venue – GOLD for the Assembly Rooms been further enhanced with improved lighting and new interpretation in the East Baths. Other significant projects Grants completed during the year included Bath Record Office’s HLF-funded community Archway Project: outreach work with the Riverside Youth • £3,375,800 awarded for 2017-19 – Heritage Lottery Fund; Hub and the Black Families Educational • £75,000 to the Roman Baths Foundation – Garfield Weston Foundation; Support Group, and the submission to • £250,000 awarded to the Roman Baths Foundation – Clore Duffield Foundation. Government of the World Heritage Site Fashion Museum: Management Plan 2016-2022. These • £2,000 from South West Museum Development for storage improvements; two projects, along with many others, • £5,000 from The Costume Society for conservation work. have typified the local-to-global span of work undertaken through our services Victoria Art Gallery: during the year. • £2,394 from the Gallery Friends for curatorial research; • £2,923 from the Gallery Friends for new acquisitions. Bath Record Office: • £33,137 from The National Cataloguing Grants Scheme for Archives; • £5,000 from The Medlock Charitable Trust for roadshow displays, community Stephen Bird, Head of Heritage Services activities and family history courses; • £2,935 from The Wellcome Trust for a conservation needs survey.

2 Foreword by Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones, Cabinet Member for Economic Development

21st century Bath will draw on its past to intellectual pursuits to entertain and define its future and it could not do advance the enlightenment of English better. Economies drive and shape society. Protected and curated by society and over time they bequeath Heritage Services, here is the evidence distinctive legacies. Bath has inherited that throws light onto the coming era of extraordinary riches from the economic economic expansion. activity of our forebears, giving the city a unique and unrivalled identity. This new growth will be built around people and knowledge. Previously, Today, cities face rapid change driven by economic activity developed on or near new technology. The way we use time, the location of a material resource but purchase goods and generally order our modern society is mobile and so is its lives is evolving in parallel with knowledge. Future business will grow in technological advances and, through places where people perform best and these changes, we have the opportunity quality of life is a determinant of to reassess the relationship between economic choice. Bath’s long history people and their cities. demonstrates repeatedly that it was built – and rebuilt – to elevate the The heritage of Bath tells us that cities experience of living. The appeal of that Heritage Services remind us that we can be very successful and work best idea is still relevant and will influence our live in one of the most civilised when they are understood and well modern economy. environments in the world. From this we managed. As an arena for social activity, reap rich rewards that we must never in Aquae the Romans placed huge Heritage Services’ staff, through their take for granted. emphasis on wellbeing, socialising, good vision and dedication, are the keepers order and lawfulness. Georgians of Bath’s interpretation. It is not simply understood the value of a place that about entertainment and tourism. By could bring together social, physical and investing, presenting and educating,

CEO of the National Autistic Society Mark Lever, portfolio holder Cllr Anketell-Jones, Visitor Services Manager Katie Smith and Chair of Council Cllr Alan Hale at the launch of the Society’s new Autism Friendly Awards at the Roman Baths.

3 Fashion Museum

Exhibitions: On-line: Lace in Fashion opened in February The Museum continues to connect with 2017, with more than 50 beautiful a world-wide audience by sharing dresses from the Museum collection and images and information about objects in private lenders showing how lace has the collection through on-line media, been used in fashion, from a trimming on including Twitter and Facebook and, for a 1500s smock to today’s glamorous red the first time this year, Pinterest. carpet dresses made entirely from lace. This is the first in a new series of thematic On-tour: exhibitions to complement the This year the Museum loaned items to chronological view of fashion offered in major exhibitions in the UK and overseas. the headline exhibition A History of These included a jacquard-woven denim Fashion in 100 Objects. suit by Jean-Paul Gaultier to Winchester Discovery Centre, two grand 18th Events: century court mantuas to an exhibition at The year’s programme offered practical the Barbican Art Gallery, London, which workshops and ‘backstage tours’ in the then transferred to the Winterpalais, summer months and ‘twilight talks’ Vienna; and a Christian New Look across the autumn/winter. Highlights of suit to Chatsworth in Derbyshire. the year included talks from Professor Carol Tulloch for Black History Month in Dress of the Year 2016 is a pair of outfits Top left: Lace in Fashion exhibition curator October 2016 and from Soïzic Pfaff, by leading British designer J W Elly Summers with fashion designer Jacques Chief Archivist at Dior, for the 70th Anderson, selected for the Museum by Azagury who opened the exhibition. anniversary of the New Look in February Kate Phelan of . Top right: Man’s purple hopsack jacket, 2017, as well as a class in partnership Mr Fish, 1968, in A History of Fashion in with the Royal School of Needlework Rosemary Harden, 100 Objects exhibition. based on the earliest embroidered man’s Fashion Museum Manager Above: Bath Knitting & Crochet Guild activity shirt in the Museum, dating from at World-Wide Knit in Public Day 2016 ca.1600. organised by the Fashion Museum.

4 Above left: Dr Philip Bendall launches the Bath Burial Index which he created for the Record Office website. Left: Black Families Educational Support Group student researching the history of black people in Bath. Above: Archivists Lucy Powell and Colin Johnston at the Record Office roadshow at South Stoke village fête, July 2016. Bath Record Office

In 2016 we successfully concluded our Hinton Charterhouse and Weston, with For the first time many of our historic 15-month HLF-funded cataloguing and locally-themed displays and children’s maps became available on-line in the outreach project Our Heritage, Your activities. In February 2017 we culmination of an HLF-funded web- Story: explore the past with Bath Record participated in a World War I based mapping project Know Your Place Office. Major cataloguing work was commemorative event in Queen Square in which we collaborated with completed on Bath’s vast collection of with a display of related images from our neighbouring Councils in Bristol, South Council records dating from 1189 to the archive collections. The archivist gave Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire, North present day, with the aid of over 25 nine lectures to local community groups Somerset, Somerset, and Wiltshire. specially recruited and trained volunteers on a range of aspects of Bath’s history who undertook sorting, listing and data and was interviewed on BBC Radio We loaned seven architectural drawings entry, also re-packaging and cleaning of Bristol to publicize events for the Record to the Museum of Bath Architecture for archive documents. Office 50th anniversary year in 2017. its exhibition Planning for Peace: Re-designing Bath during the First World HLF funding also enabled us to engage Family History day-courses at Beginners’ War including a proposed scheme of in outreach activities with local and Advanced levels were offered on 1916 which was never adopted. An art community groups. The Bath Ethnic twelve days in Keynsham and Bath with exhibition organised by Bath Fringe Minorities Senior Citizens Association all being fully booked. We also ran Festival featured mixed-media works by produced a scrapbook of their fully-booked “behind-the-scenes” tours nine artists inspired by Georgian archive reminiscences of life in 1950s Bath. The of our Guildhall archive stores on twelve documents selected from our collections. Black Families Educational Support occasions during the year. Group created a film of their research Significant new accessions included into the history of black people in Bath Our online resources for researchers archive documents and research notes which was then given a free public were greatly enhance by the addition to from the Keynsham & Saltford Local showing as part of national Archives our website of the Bath Burial Index, a History Society, and original artwork and Awareness Week. database of over 240,000 names personal papers of Clifford Ellis, former compiled by local volunteer Dr Philip Principal of Bath Academy of Art. We took a roadshow to community Bendall, whom we thanked at a events at Peasedown St John, reception to launch the new resource. Colin Johnston, Principal Archivist Radstock, South Stoke, Swainswick,

5 Above: Detail of VE Day Queen Square 1945 from the recently-acquired Ellis Family Archive, which will feature in a forthcoming exhibition. Right: Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (1719-1772) Princess of Wales by Jeremiah Davison being removed from display in the Guildhall Banqueting Room for loan to an exhibition at the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Victoria Art Gallery

The Gallery recorded its second busiest Another generous gift was the large year ever with admission figures of hand-painted print When Only the Best 153,593, boosted by top-performing Will Do from its maker, Sir Howard exhibitions including A Room of Their Hodgkin. The Gallery’s Friends gave Own: lost Bloomsbury Interiors 1914-30 grants of £923 towards the purchase of and Peter Brown: A Bath Painter’s Thomas Malton’s View of , Travels. Thought-provoking images of Somerset, from the South East (another world events, from the Russian hybrid work, part-print and part-painted), Revolution to the battle for Aleppo were and £2,000 towards the purchase of a profiled in History through a Lens: Iconic Clifford and Rosemary Ellis lithographic Photographs from the Incite Project. poster, Wood (Woodpecker), 1932.

In the first floor gallery extra space was Such additions to the collection deliver created by removing the old staff desk, greater variety and quality for our visitors, and two new mobile screens were whilst enhancing the Gallery’s reputation installed to allow changing displays of beyond the city. One sign of this has watercolours and prints from the been the increasing number of loans to collection. Meanwhile holdings of such prestigious exhibitions across the world, work were greatly enhanced with the gift including over the last year to galleries of the Ellis Family Archive by the in Chichester, Leeds, Cardiff, Yale executors of the estate of Penelope Ellis. and Dublin. Daughter of Clifford and Rosemary Ellis, Peter ‘Pete the Street’ Brown at the preview founders of Bath Academy of Art, Jon Benington, of his exhibition A Bath Painter’s Travels, Penelope ensured that artworks and Victoria Art Gallery Manager December 2016. documents from this remarkable institution are preserved for posterity in the public domain. The collection is shared with Bath Record Office.

6 Heritage Services Financial and business review 2016/17

Key facts: • £18 million income (turnover) • Net profit per B&NES resident: £36 • Net profit per B&NES Council Taxpayer: £83 • Net profit per Heritage Services staff member: £45,000 • Net profit as a percentage of turnover: 35%

Financial performance 2016/17 +/- 2015/16 £000 % £000 Annual Income Admissions 13,776 +15% 11,976 Retail and other sales 2,326 +9% 2,128 Room hire 570 +8% 527 Catering 777 +4% 746 Other income 830 +40% 591 Total 18,279 +14% 15,968

Annual Expenditure Staff costs 4,276 3,797 Premises and transport 1,209 1,327 Merchandise for resale 1,047 965 Supplies and services 1,482 1334 Revenue re-investment 524 492 Building maintenance 945 763 Agency and contracted services 731 553 Voluntary sector support 9 10 Finance and debt charges 561 546 Insurance 249 243 Total 11,213 +12% 10,030

Overheads Internal overheads (expenditure) -3,493 -2,918 Internal income (recharges) 3,011 2,496

Net internal overheads -482 +14% -422

Net surplus 6,584 +19% 5,516 % return on turnover (income) 36% 35% Net surplus before internal overheads 7,066 +19% 5,938

Capital expenditure £000 £000 Roman Baths Development / East Baths 691 98 Roman Baths Development / Temple Precinct 16 -16 Infrastructure/conservation / dilapidations 1 6 Roman Baths Development / Great Bath 39 – Pump Room electrical distribution 60 – Victoria Art Gallery air conditioning 9 – Archway Project 47 – Beau St Roman coin hoard 0 11 Total 863 99

7 Summary Heritage Services operates as a business As a result the Council has been able to Nevertheless in 2016/17 Roman Baths’ unit within the Council and prepares its improve the Roman Baths visitor offer visitor numbers reached their highest accounts on a full absorption basis, and provide a quality of experience level ever for the fourth year in including a full allocation of overhead consistent with income expectations that succession, exceeding by 7% the record and debt finance costs. is amongst the highest in the country. set in 2015/16. As a result, the profit generated in the financial year was also The Service’s integrated five-year rolling Roman Baths’ visitor numbers were at a record high of £6.6 million. This has business plan has enabled the Council to expected to drop slightly in 2016/17 more than doubled since Council formed successfully grow both income and profit from the record level experienced in the Service as a business unit. Turnover whilst also financing the significant 2015/16. The year’s budget was increased by 14% on the previous year, increases in staffing costs, debt charges therefore set at a level in line with the and the key measure of profitability – and the repair, renewal and maintenance five-year trend and at the upper end of net profit as a percentage of turnover costs that result from a substantially the range consistent with providing a – was sustained at the historically high increased level of activity and investment. high quality visitor experience. level of 35%.

Visitor Numbers and Admission Income 2016/17 +/- % 2015/16 Roman Baths 1,123,633 +7% 1,046,416 Fashion Museum 93,619 +4% 90,147 Victoria Art Gallery 153,593 -3% 157,851

Over 70% of the income generated by In 2016/17 Roman Baths admission Visits to the Fashion Museum in 2016/17 Heritage Services comes from Roman income totalled £13.10 million, £1.2 were up 4% on 2015/16. Visits to the Baths’ visitor admission charges. million (+10%) above target for the year. Victoria Art Gallery in 2016/17 fell by 3%, Variations in its visitor numbers and in the Income grew by £1.74 million (+15%) on reflecting the bumper figures attracted to average spend by each visitor are the 2015/16 and visitor volumes grew by the Grayson Perry and Jane Austen’s key indicators of financial performance over 7%. Bath exhibitions the previous year. for the Service.

Performance Measurement: profitability Heritage Services measures its business In 2016/17 profitability continued to be • Labour costs as a percentage of performance nationally through financial high, with the Roman Baths remaining turnover; benchmarking organised by the significantly more profitable than most • Admission income per paying visit Association of Leading Visitor Attractions other top quartile attractions. The (average ticket price); (ALVA). The Roman Baths has average admission price is well above • Total attendance; consistently performed in the top 25% of top 25% score and retail sales per • Income per employee; all ALVA attractions for profitability over square metre are amongst the highest in • Net contribution per visit (up by 3% the last 17 years, when it has sustained a the UK. Labour costs are still amongst year-on-year). consistently higher profit per visitor and the lowest nationally. The Roman Baths profitability ratio than other leading ALVA was in the top quartile for: attractions.

Performance Measurement: Enjoyment Value-for-Money Net promoter score quality of visitor experience (mean out of 10) (mean out of 10) (likelihood to recommend) The visitors’ perception of the experience offered is crucial to sustaining excellent All Attractions 8.7 8.3 + 60 performance, as it can determine the Museums & Galleries 8.7 8.7 + 60 future popularity of the attractions. The table (right) summarises the ‘quality of Heritage attractions 8.7 8.2 + 61 visit’ benchmarking undertaken in Autumn 2015, Spring 2016 and Summer *Roman Baths 8.6 7.9 + 62 2016. The results show that the Enjoyment and Value-for-Money ratings Leisure attractions 8.6 8.0 + 57 for the Roman Baths are slightly below Highest score 9.5 9.4 + 87 the mean scores for All Attractions and the Heritage group, although the Lowest score 8.2 7.7 + 32 likelihood to recommend (net promoter score) is marginally higher. [*The Roman Baths is one of the ‘Heritage attractions’ group.]

8 Above: Marketing decal for the Lace in Fashion exhibition in the window of Jolly’s department store, Milsom Street, Bath. Above right: Roman Baths late evening opening advertisement on the London Underground, summer 2016. Marketing

The Marketing team undertook three This year Heritage Open Week was The Service’s share of the Groups substantial marketing campaigns during rebranded Museums Week. A new Market was supported by the Group 2015/16. The Summer Evening identity and website were created for the sales team’s attendance at World Travel Campaign for the Roman Baths included programme and the team undertook Market, the UK’s largest tourism and media in the London Underground, and dedicated marketing. All participating travel show, and Explore GB. The the team worked with social media museums reported that they were busier Roman Baths also hosted 40 different influencers and a dedicated PR firm – all than last year and would take part again trade familiarisation visits from all over firsts for Heritage Services. The results in 2017. the world. were impressive: 40,000 people visited the site after 5.00pm, a record for Rebecca Clay attended the Destination Patricia Dunlop, Commercial Manager; evening visitors. Press coverage had an Britain China and South Korea events Rebecca Clay, Marketing Manager advertising equivalent value of more than hosted by Visit Britain in Shanghai and £750,000 and there were nearly 53,000 Seoul, where she met more than 120 hits on the website. travel organisations, including some of China’s biggest travel operators. The team coordinated a campaign to Marketing to China was an important promote the Fashion Museum’s Lace in part of the Roman Baths strategy and Fashion exhibition which included the team worked with Nee Hao Online, podcast advertising targeting Here in UK and Red Scarf to engage fashionistas. A preview event for Chinese people in Britain through digital bloggers generated more than 100,000 marketing. Mandarin-speaking visitors to hashtag impressions with a reach of the Roman Baths increased by more nearly 65,000. Lace in Fashion also than 10,000 over the previous year’s enjoyed exceptional PR coverage, numbers. including The Today Programme on Radio 4 and articles in and . Pat Dunlop with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby on an informal visit to the Roman Baths, autumn 2016.

9 Museums Shops

Retail Sales in 2016/17 ended the year Roman Baths’ shops: sales exceeded Victoria Art Gallery: sales at the Gallery 9% up on target at £2,254,978, an target by £151,306 (+8%) and by 10% shop exceed target by 57% with interior increase of 9% on 2015/16. compared to 2015/16 (which was a design gifts relating to the Bloomsbury record year for retail sales). The number exhibition and books relating to the Peter Fashion Museum Shop: strong sales of customers served exceeded target by Brown exhibition in particular contributing were achieved in 2016/17, exceeding 4% at 244,625 and achieved an increase to shop sales. We were delighted to target by £13,109 (+9%) and sales of 6% on 2015/16. The average spend work with Bloomsbury artist Cressida achieved last year by £23,236 (+21%). per customer served of £8.33 was up Bell; her eye-catching hand-painted The number of customers served fell 4% (£0.33p) against both target and cushions and lamps proved a hit with below target at -3% but still saw an 2015/16, but the average spend per Gallery customers. A special centenary increase of 13% on 2015/16, driven by Roman Baths visitor of £1.81 was publication of a book of works by an increase in the conversion rate of -0.54% below target. Sales per square sculptor Kenneth Armitage was popular visitors to customers of 1.3%. The foot in the main shop were £1,446, 8 % with visitors, while sales of Peter Brown’s average spend per customer exceeded above target. exhibition book A Painter’s Travels sold target by 13% at £11.09 and was up 7% over 600 copies. New shop display on 2015/16. A new jewellery display cabinet was tables were built to aid the presentation commissioned to house our ever popular of merchandise. New ranges of accessories to appeal to Roman-inspired contemporary jewellery men were introduced. Stunning lace ranges. Eye-catching window displays Judith Zedner, design jewellery was sourced from a were produced for the Christmas season Retail Services Manager Nottingham lace maker to support the attracting many local customers, with Lace in Fashion exhibition, along with a sales exceeding the previous year. range of books and gift items. Bath’s Historic Venues

2016/17 was buoyant for events, Continued focused improvements to the The year ended with the winning of two generating record income. The Assembly bathvenues.co.uk website have had awards in the national Hitched UK Rooms was the star performer, positive effects. Unique visitors, sessions, Wedding Awards. The Assembly Rooms exceeding budget for the year by 7% bounce rates, engagement and referrals won Best City Wedding Venue and the (£21k), largely due to a significant all show improvements year on year. Roman Baths won Best Historic increase in income from conference Detailed web analytics have better Wedding Venue. business. Although considerably lower in informed marketing decisions as well as value, income from private hires at the identifying areas with potential for Tom Deller, Victoria Art Gallery exceeded budget by growth. Following a strategic marketing Corporate Hospitality Manager 21%. Wedding business remained review, several new campaigns were healthy at all venues with sunset identified. One of these, ‘Inspire your weddings at the Roman Baths popular Team where Dickens inspired a crowd’, throughout the year. also included extensive publicity at railway stations – a first for Bath’s The last few years have been typified by Historic Venues. lower numbers attending events but this trend may now be reversing. In 2016/17 Significant events during the year total attendees were back up to 50,000 included a sell-out public lecture by and there were more corporate events Grayson Perry, conferences for lasting two days or more. Furthermore, International Narcotics Research, The clients have been a little less budget- Society for Rheumatology, REGEN SW, driven and a little more willing to increase and parties for Danone, Future and The Regen South West conference spend-per-head. Bath Life Awards. at the Assembly Rooms.

The team continues to produce quality print as well as putting significant resource in to implementing an extensive digital marketing strategy. The Events brochure was updated and refreshed following a similar exercise with the Weddings brochure in March 2016.

10 THE CITY OF

WORLD HERITAGE SITE Management Plan 2016-2022

NIO MU Supported by O N IM D R T IA

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W

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H O E M R I E T IN AG O E • PATRIM

Above: Georgian dancing at World Heritage Day 2016 at the Assembly Rooms. Top right: Retiring World Heritage Steering Group Chair at the World Heritage Symbol in Stall Street, Bath. Bottom right: World Heritage Management Plan 2016-2022. World Heritage

World Heritage Management is period, with more to come as projects submission date (to UNESCO) ahead of underpinned by a 6-year Management progress. All of these projects reference us now, with a possibility of submission Plan, produced in consultation with a the World Heritage Site in their bids and in late 2017 but more likely 2018. wide variety of interested parties. In we work to ensure co-ordination. Of 2016/17 we reached the end of one plan greatest satisfaction to Heritage The balance between being a living city and launched another. This is no small Services is of the course the significant and a globally important heritage centre undertaking. As well as necessary step forward that Lottery backing brings will seldom find perfect equilibrium, and widespread consultation, this Plan must in realising a World Heritage each new major development can raise satisfy a wide range of audiences from Interpretation Centre. questions over its impact on the World the international (UNESCO and advisory Heritage Site. The local planning system bodies), national (the UK Government) The production and implementation of is developed to address these issues, through to the local (residents the Management Plan is overseen by a drawing upon policy documents such as associations and other groups). The Steering Group, with an independent the WH Management Plan. There will successful submission in January 2017 Chair. In another transition, Peter always be a role for education and of what is our third management plan Metcalfe has completed his term of office training as part of this and one which we was therefore a major milestone. As we and recruitment for a replacement Chair are well practised at providing. entered our 30th year since inscription in is underway. 2017, there are few other sites worldwide Tony Crouch, that can match Bath’s experience in Other milestones in the year have World Heritage Manager urban heritage management. included the launch of a new web-site and social media feeds. Our Twitter The Plan is a delivery tool, not an end in account was launched in May 2016 and itself, and the transition provides an quickly reached 100+ followers, greatly opportunity for review. Performance enhancing our ability to spread news of under the previous plan period has events such as World Heritage Day. resulted in a very good state of conservation. To pick just one success Our Great of Europe bid continues indicator, various Bath projects have to advance, with Bath remaining firmly successfully secured at least £17.3m of established within a smaller project Heritage Lottery Funding over the plan group. We can see a potential

11 Top left: New tickets produced by the new visitor management system. Above: VSA Michael Claydon conducting a guided tour of the Roman Baths. Above right: Stephen Clews, Katie Smith and Rebecca Clay with the two trophies won at the South West Tourism Awards 2017. Visitor Services

Awards Work experience placements Improvements in visitor management, The Roman Baths and Pump Room won There have been 42 week-long school sales in the shops and interaction with Gold in the Large Attraction of the Year and college work experience placements visitors throughout the sites have led to a Category and Gold in the International helping front-of-house staff look after our continued increase in positive visitor Visitor Experience category at the Bristol, visitors. In addition we offered three feedback; we have more than 14,000 Bath & Somerset Tourism Awards. It then international placements to two French reviews on Trip Advisor scoring Excellent went on to win Gold in the South West students for a month, and one American or Very Good at the Roman Baths and Tourism Excellence Awards for Large student from Advanced Studies England over 1,000 at the Fashion Museum. Visitor Attraction of the Year and Silver spent a semester with the Visitor for International Visitor Experience. Services team. Five students with Ticketing learning disabilities from local specialist Websales have now been launched for The Roman Baths won one of the new schools also experienced the world of the Roman Baths, Fashion Museum and Gold Awards for the Visit England Visitor work for one day a week for a term at the Victoria Art Gallery. Visitors can now Attractions Quality Scheme (VAQS) and Roman Baths. pre-purchase a ticket for a specific time the Fashion Museum and Victoria Art slot any time up to an hour before they Gallery were also successful in achieving Front-of-House Staff Development arrive. This will help to spread the the VAQS standard. Autism Awareness training has been number of visitors across the day, rolled out to all front of house teams. We improving queuing times and helping The Roman Baths was presented with continue to work with Visit England with visitor management of the site. one of the first Autism Friendly Awards offering their training courses to visitor- 2016 at a special launch of the awards facing staff, including Welcome to Katie Smith, by the National Autistic Society held at Excellence, Welcome International, Visitor Services Manager the Roman Baths. The Baths and the Welcome Host Gold (Exceeding Visitor Fashion Museum both achieved the Trip Expectations) and Successful Selling. Advisor 2016 Certificate of Excellence The Heritage Services mid-week training and the Roman Baths has been voted programme continues to expand to help the Travellers’ Choice no 6 in the Top 10 staff develop the skills and confidence Landmarks in the UK. needed to offer the high level of service we expect with ever-growing numbers of visitors.

12 Top left: Heritage Open Days visitor at the archaeology store near Keynsham in September 2016. Above: Widcombe School year 3 class visiting the Victoria Art Gallery to find out about how we run an art gallery and put on exhibitions. Above right: Bath Brownies taking part in a sleepover for Museums at Night October 2016. Learning & Participation

This year schools enjoyed working in the produced a short stop-go animation We had great fun at the Fashion Museum History of Fashion in 100 Objects (think Wallace and Gromit) of activity creating leggings to celebrate one of the exhibition at the Fashion Museum, at the Roman Baths. most recent items in the Fashion exploring fashion through the ages. We Museum History of Fashion displays. had some very creative children at the On World Heritage Day 2016 at the Victoria Art Gallery and worked with Assembly Rooms, about 1,000 visitors In March the Roman Baths took part in some new nursery groups from the local explored local projects, learned to dance British Science Week. Collection area, looking at identity and the natural and experienced a duel. Museums at volunteers gave up their time, placement world through our art collections and Night featured the Bath Band at students co-ordinated the activity and special exhibitions. the Roman Baths and the ever-popular Bath Royal Literary and Scientific James Lambeth Trio at the Victoria Institution Science Cadets created Work has continued on developing ideas Art Gallery. activities. for the Archway Project and the Roman Baths Learning Centre. As part of our In June 2016 workshop leaders led art Lindsey Braidley, pilot work the Learning & Participation activities at the Midsomer Norton Arts Learning & Participation Manager Manager has attended two Classics and Festival. The Roman Baths went out and Latin teacher groups. Our popular new about with roadshows and festivals of Adult Latin classes continued through archaeology at Peasedown St John and 2016/17, leading to a follow-on course Timsbury to highlight the archaeology of to our Beginner’s Latin and further plans the local areas. for the autumn as participants continue with this fascinating subject. Heritage Open Days 2016 included Bath Record Office for the first time and a This year our local community special exhibition on Foxhill WWII programme with local organisations heritage. involved working closely with adult carers and young carers at Bath Carers’ Centre. Heritage Open Week became Museums In September and October young carers Week in 2016 and all of our local explored the Roman Baths and then museums and heritage sites took part.

13 Left: Studio filming for the new cgi interpretation of the East Baths tepidarium Below left: The film in place as a ‘Pepper’s Ghost’ projected onto a screen in the tepidarium. Below: ‘Science busking’ at the Baths during British Science Week.

Roman Baths

The main development in 2016/17 was Costumed interpretation has been that can be seen locally. This follows the in the East Baths where interpretation developed further with the introduction of addition of a similar showcase into the has been improved, with new films, new characters rooted in the evidence of library in Keynsham where local material computer-generated images (cgi) and people known to have been present in is now displayed. projections installed, coupled with Bath in Roman times. They include additional conservation work and Candidina, a sightless person hoping Many thanks to our fantastic volunteer measures to control water penetration. the Goddess and the hot waters will teams in Bath and in Keynsham, where The displays look great and have been improve her eyesight, which allows us we also have collections in store. Around much admired by more visitors as new to explore the theme of disability in the forty volunteers and twenty-nine students lighting has improved visitor footfall. Roman world. on placement have helped with recording and managing the collections behind the The Roman Baths has teamed up with scenes. They are grouped into project Radstock Museum to provide a high teams led by curatorial staff and have specification museum showcase where worked on collections from local objects in the Roman Baths collection archaeological excavations throughout that come from the southern part of the the district for which the Roman Baths is Bath & North East Somerset area can be the approved repository, as well as helping displayed. The first object to go on show at public open days and events. Social was a small hoard of medieval silver history collections stored at the former St coins from Wellow parish. Radstock John’s School in Locksbrook Road have Museum will now be able to use the also been prepared for transfer to a showcase to display objects loaned in refurbished building on Lansdown. from other museums, which have sometimes been reluctant to lend, thus Stephen Clews, extending the range of interesting objects Roman Baths & Pump Room Manager Hands-on activity at the Evening Explorers event for visitors with autism.

14 Left: Artist’s cross-section through the buildings. Below left: Dame Vivien Duffield in the Investigation Zone with Project Manager Jenna Spellane and Stephen Clews. Below: Archaeological work in progress in the Access Zone.

Focus on The Archway Project

In 2016/17 great progress was made been set up to enable members of the Roman bath! Plans for the layout and towards this £5 million project to create a public to personally fund the conservation content of the World Heritage Centre World Heritage Centre for Bath in York and display of individual objects. have also progressed with the exhibition Street and a new learning centre for the designer. Roman Baths in Swallow Street. Several In-Touch stakeholder and fundraising evenings were held through Archaeological investigation took place In September 2016 the Heritage Lottery the year, culminating in an event in March on site during the year to clarify certain Fund (HLF) awarded the project a Round 2017 solely for donors to thank them for issues and inform the design process. 2 grant of £3.375 million to add to the £1 their support, with a lecture on The With the funding in place and ‘permission million capital funding the Council had Power of Place delivered by special to start’ received from HLF, detailed already committed to the project. guest speaker Sir Neil Cossons OBE. design work on the conversion and Fundraising through the Roman Baths repair of the buildings and subterranean Foundation has secured grants of Work has continued on developing ideas spaces began in early 2017. £250,000 from the Clore Duffield for new learning modules and activities in Foundation and £75,000 from the the Roman Baths Learning Centre with Garfield Weston Foundation, as well as several local school and community numerous generous donations from organisations consulted about this. It has public and private donors and visitors to included planning a range of hands-on the Roman Baths.Generous pledges of activities set amongst in-situ Roman goods and services in kind have also remains and Roman architectural been received from Wessex Water and fragments in the Investigation Zone and the Bath Stone Company, and Adopt-a- will involve a test pit where learning Stone and Adopt-a-Tile schemes have groups will be able to re-excavate a real

THE ROMAN BATHS FOUNDATION

15 How to contact us with enquiries 1 2 3 4 about this Annual Review 2016/17 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 Head of Heritage Services Pump Room, Stall Street, Bath BA1 1LZ 13 14 15 16 01225 477760 Front cover photographs: Roman Baths 01225 477773 [email protected] 1. Artist Grayson Perry during his public lecture at the Assembly Rooms, April 2016 Fashion Museum 2. Chair of Council Cllr Alan Hale welcoming a 01225 477754 [email protected] Chinese travel trade delegate over a glass of spa water in the Pump Room Victoria Art Gallery 3. Award-winning lace fashions by Bath Spa 01225 477232 [email protected] University alumna Grace Deller, headlining the Lace in Fashion exhibition at the Fashion Museum Bath Record Office, Guildhall 4. Heritage Open Days at the Central United 01225 477421 [email protected] Reformed Church, Argyle Street, Bath 5. Hands-on activities at the Roman Baths, February Learning & Participation 2017 half-term 01225 477757 [email protected] 6. Painted ceramic fan in the Lost Bloomsbury Interiors exhibition at the Victoria Art Gallery World Heritage Management 7. Rosemary Boyns of Bath Record Office with BBC 01225 477584 [email protected] West presenter Alex Lovell at the Heritage Roadshow, Weston, Bath in April 2016 Museum Shops 8. Christmas display in the Roman Baths Shop, 01225 477796/95 [email protected] December 2016 9. Artist-in-residence Harriet Bouchard during her Bath’s Historic Venues portrait drawing residency at the Victoria Art 01225 477786/82 [email protected] Gallery 10. Bath Spa University School of Art and Design Pump Room Restaurant fashion students’ catwalk show at the Assembly 01225 444477 [email protected] Rooms

Roman Baths Kitchen Café 11. 1920s embroidered silk satin beach pyjamas, on display in A History of Fashion in 100 Objects 01225 477877 [email protected] at the Fashion Museum 12. Photo shoot in the Roman Baths for the Chinese Nee Hao lifestyle magazine romanbaths.co.uk @RomanBathsBath 13. Visitors admiring the Assembly Rooms chandeliers fashionmuseum.co.uk @Fashion_Museum during one of the new ‘balcony tours’ victoriagal.org.uk @VictoriaArtBath bathvenues.co.uk @BathVenues 14. Mayor’s Honorary Guide Paul Hopkins leading a walking tour during World Heritage Day 2016 batharchives.co.uk bathworldheritage.org.uk 15. Wedding ceremony in the Roman Baths, December 2016 16. A study in concentration during a visit by Widcombe Junior School to the Victoria Art Gallery

This Annual Review can be made available in a range Published by Bath and North East Somerset Council Heritage Services of community languages, large print, Braille, on tape, Print procured by the Council’s electronic and accessible formats. Print Services, May 2017