Heritage experts are raising international concerns about the worsening condition of a historic building in the heart of Bath. The Bath Preservation Society has formally petitioned the World Monuments Fund to add the old King Edward’s School building on Broad Street to its prestigious watch list. Empty since 1990, the derelict building is frequently marked by signs criticizing its owner for leaving it unused and unprotected.
The Bath-based charity, which manages renowned sites such as No. 1 Royal Crescent and the Herschel Museum, highlights that despite minor repairs, the Grade II* listed building continues to visibly deteriorate. Remaining on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register, this decline is a troubling indictment of the double-UNESCO World Heritage Site known worldwide for its exceptional Georgian architecture and urban design.
The World Monuments Fund—dedicated to protecting invaluable cultural heritage in 112 countries—accepts nominations every two years for sites requiring urgent conservation. The next round of watch list announcements will be made in 2027.
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Constructed in 1752 by Bath architect Thomas Jelly, the King Edward’s School building was originally a vibrant center of education. After the school relocated to new premises in Bathwick in 1990, the property was acquired by Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery with plans to convert it into a pub. Yet more than three decades later, the building remains empty and increasingly dilapidated.
Bath Preservation Trust warns that King Edward’s School is a symbol of a widespread global issue—historic buildings abandoned and left to decay. The building has the potential to illustrate successful community engagement and restoration, generating broad local and national support.
The trust has reached out repeatedly to the current owners, Samuel Smith’s Brewery, urging them to honor the building’s heritage with proper care, but has received no response.
Since 2024, Scott Harrison, a Bath-based circus performer known as Stanley Sprocket and an alumnus of the school from the 1970s, has taken it upon himself to draw attention to the neglect. He has placed several signs on the façade, the latest directly naming brewery owner Humphrey Smith with a blunt message: “Shame on you.”
Mr. Harrison has even offered to buy the building to transform it into a circus school, emphasizing his connection as a former student: “If you’re not going to do anything with it, can you just give me the key?”
Meanwhile, Bath and North East Somerset Council has stepped in, attempting to compel the brewery to address the building’s ongoing deterioration, underscoring the urgency of preserving this treasured heritage asset.