A £7.2m grant from the National Lottery will help bring an iconic tourist attraction back to Bath. Bath Fashion Museum was forced to close in 2023 when the National Trust took back its former home at the Assembly Rooms. For the last three years its world-famous collection, which spans four centuries of fashion history, has been stored in a glove factory in Wiltshire.
But now lottery funding will help to bring it back to a modern home right in the heart of the city. Bath and North East Somerset Council is planning to convert the historic ‘old post office’ on New Bond Street into a new home for the museum, expected to attract a quarter of a million visitors per year once open.
Stuart McLeod of the National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “This is a once-in-a-generation project that will transform the grade II listed old post office, ensuring its heritage is conserved and reimagined for future generations. Thanks to National Lottery players, this investment will not only restore an historic building in the heart of Bath but create a world-class home for one of the most significant fashion collections in the UK.”
Council leader Kevin Guy said: “At a time when many places are scaling back ambition, Bath is investing in its future — combining heritage, culture, economic growth and public realm improvements to create a more vibrant, inclusive and prosperous city.”
He said: “This grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund marks a transformational moment for Bath and comes hot on the heels of the recently secured planning permission for the new museum.”
The plans for the conversion — which will see purpose-built galleries for the collection created upstairs and a foyer with cage and shop downstairs — were approved by the council’s planning committee in May. The project is linked to plans to create a new public square at the bottom of Broad Street.
Work is set to begin in late 2027 and the museum aims to reopen in 2030. Once open the museum is expected to generate £100m a year in benefits to the area through increased spending, employment, and health and wellbeing. Like the Roman Baths, which is also owned and run by the council, it will be free for Bath and North East Somerset residents with a discovery card.
The collection ranges from historic treasures like the silver tissue dress, a rare example of a matching bodice and skirt from the 1660s, to works by designers like Alexander McQueen.
The lottery funding means that three quarters of the £39.5m cost of the refurbishment of the old post office into the new museum has currently been secured, with other contributions coming from the council itself and the West of England Combined Authority. The council has said previously that it would fund £20m of the project through borrowing but that the profits of the museum, once open, are expected to cover the cost of £17m of that borrowing.
By John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter