Bath is one of the world's great cities and its listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site confirms that its architectural beauty is amongst the very best. 

The Royal Crescent was built between 1767 and 1775 to the design of John Wood the Younger, and forms a semi-ellipse of thirty Grade I listed houses arranged around a great Lawn. The famous travel writer Jan Morris once wrote about it, "It lies there in a shallow arc, its wide Lawns running away beyond the Ha-ha down the hill below, and all is suddenly space, and green, and leisure. The Crescent is architecture on a truly palatial scale and reminds many people of Versailles". (Introduction to Bath: An Architectural Guide, by Charles Robertson, 1975). Well-known architectural writer Nikolaus Pevsner wrote, “the conception of an open composition was something new in town-planning, and something very English, although the idea came perhaps from Prior Park, that is the villas of Palladio. It was here applied for the first time to a terrace of houses, and moreover the shape of the Crescent was here employed for the first time.” North Somerset and Bristol, Buildings of England series, 1958).

In 1973 the residents of the Crescent founded The Royal Crescent Society as an "unincorporated association" to "preserve and enhance the amenities of the Royal Crescent and promote the interests of its Members". It has done so ever since and the vast majority of residents are Members. You can read about the Society by clicking on the links on the left.

The Society has now generated this website for its Members and for visitors. This site is the Members’ Newsletter, plus a record of the Society’s structure, achievements & current projects. For everyone the site provides the History and guides for the Crescent & the City of Bath. It is also a record of the Crescent Lawn Company Ltd which was set up to hold title to the Lawn in front of the Crescent and manage its maintenance and its use.

The Society and the Crescent Lawn Company are committed to the preservation and restoration of this historic site. We hope that you too will join us in this and, in doing so, help to ensure that this truly historic site is enjoyed by many, for many years to come. Membership as a resident, or friend is inexpensive and all funds are used solely in pursuit of the Society's aims.

On behalf of The Royal Crescent Society, I would like to welcome you to our website and hope that you will enjoy the wealth of information, pictures and links we have provided.

Stephen Little 

(Chairman, The Royal Crescent Society & Crescent Lawn Company Ltd)