Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) Council is currently spending thousands of pounds each year on maintaining Number 4 The Circus, an impressive Georgian townhouse in Bath’s historic Circus, despite the property sitting empty for years.
Owned by a largely inactive charity, the multi-million-pound mansion stands unused, yet the council, responsible for the charity’s administration, must cover maintenance costs. Last year alone, upkeep of the property cost the council £18,600, with a further £6,500 expected this year. Additionally, the council owes the charity an undetermined sum for dilapidations suffered during its lease of the building from 1973 to 2019. A 2017 survey estimated these damages at £291,430, though a new assessment is required to update this figure.
The council is now working to reinstate the charity’s governance to manage this financial liability, aiming to both settle the debt and cease ongoing maintenance expenses by eventually dissolving the charity.
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Number 4 The Circus, completed in 1768 by architect John Wood the Younger, has a notable history. It features in the BBC series Empire with David Olusoga, highlighting how Bath’s wealth was linked to British Empire fortunes. The original owner, James Plunkett, profited from plantations and enslaved people in Jamaica.
In the 1960s, Charles and Frances Cooke of Bath bequeathed the house to be preserved as a Georgian museum open to the public. Upon Mrs Cooke’s passing in 1970, a charity was established to maintain the property, with Bath City Council assigned trustee and administrative responsibilities. Today, the charity owns only the house and currently lacks trustees.
A B&NES committee unanimously voted to appoint four new trustees with the intention of supporting the charity’s eventual dissolution. While trustees are likely to be council members, non-councillors could face personal liabilities. The council’s monitoring officer noted that the trustees are free to decide the charity’s future.
Public interest remains strong in preserving the adjacent Georgian garden, discovered and restored in the 1980s. The garden remains accessible to visitors via Gravel Walk.
Though originally intended to be a public museum showcasing Georgian life, Number 4 The Circus has only been open once yearly during local heritage events. From 1973, it was leased to serve as a “museum of costume” and functioned as overflow space for the Museum of Costume (later Bath Fashion Museum). It was also sublet to Bath Spa University for fashion research. However, with the fashion museum’s collection currently stored offsite and no plans to reopen the mansion for this purpose, the building remains unused.
Paul Roper, B&NES Cabinet Member for Economic and Cultural Sustainable Development, explained that Number 4 The Circus is unsuitable for the council’s current cultural ambitions. He emphasized the high costs and limited scope of the historic property as exhibition space, especially compared to the upcoming Bath Fashion Museum.
The council plans to open a new Bath Fashion Museum in 2030 at the Old Post Office on New Bond Street, a purpose-built venue designed to showcase the collection with improved accessibility and public realm enhancements. Mr. Roper described it as an “internationally significant” cultural attraction designed to secure Bath’s status on the world museum stage.