The Pump Room June 2006
 The Roman Baths is the most popular heritage attraction in the South West and is among the UK’s major heritage sites and, together with the Pump Room receives more than one million visitors a year.
The Pump Room overlooking the King’s Spring, has been the social heart of Bath since 1795. Its elegant Georgian interior is something every visitor to Bath can see free of charge, throughout the year.
The first Pump Room was built in the style of an orangery and opened to the public in 1706. It provided a place to drink the curative waters, to view the bathers in the King’s Bath and gain access to it. The Pump Room became a popular place to meet in the mornings and was extended in the 1750s.
As yet more visitors came to Bath the Pump Room was completely rebuilt and in 1795 it was opened in its present form by the then Duchess of York. Following the discovery of the Roman Baths in 1878/80 the Concert Room extension was opened in 1897.
Today visitors can enjoy a glass of spa water drawn from the fountain, perhaps as an appetiser to a traditional Pump Room tea, morning coffee or lunch.
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