Archway Project FAQs

1 / What is the Archway Project? / The Archway Project will achieve two objectives.
  1. It will provide a World Heritage Centre for Bath.
  2. It will radically improve learning and community engagement at the Roman Baths where a new Learning Centre will provide special activities for schools and our local communities.

2 / Where will it be? / The new facilities will be provided in a group of currently dilapidated former industrial buildings in Swallow Street and York Street and in the undercroftbeneath York Street.
3 / How much will it cost? / £5 million.
4 / Who is paying for it? / The Heritage Lottery Fund is the biggest contributor with £3.376 million.
Bath & North East Somerset Councilis borrowing £1 million of capital funds.
The Roman Baths Foundation is applying to grant-giving bodies and has received gifts from private donors. Public donations at the Roman Baths go to the Foundation and will be applied to the project.
5 / What is the Roman Baths Foundation? / The Foundation is an independent charitable company whose long-term objects are to support learning and conservation at the Roman Baths.
6 / Do you need to raise any more money? / Yes, at this point in time (March 2017) we are close to our target but still need to raise some more.
7 / Who owns it? / Bath & North East Somerset Council already owns the buildings and also owns and operates the Roman Baths to which the Archway buildings are connected.
8 / Who will run it? / The Council, through its Heritage Services team. Learning programmes will be delivered by professionally qualified staff. The World Heritage Centre will have a dedicated Visitor Services team who will be assisted by volunteers from the Mayor’s Honorary Guides.
9 / What will be in the World Heritage Centre? / Lots of information and interactive displays to tell visitors and local residents why Bath is a World Heritage Site. A large ‘destination map’ will help people explore Bath for themselves and formal guided tours will go to key parts of the Site.
10 / What will be in the Learning Centre? / There will be two fully accessible learning spaces, a lunch room, and cloakroomand toilet facilities. It will also contain, in the undercroft beneath York Street, a pioneering new learning space amidst real in-situ Roman remains where school children and community groups will take part in archaeological learning activities.
11 / Who will use the Learning Centre? / Mainly schools visiting the Roman Baths but in the evenings and at weekends it will be used by local community groups for a range of activities and also for day-schools and evening classes.
12 / Why do you need a Learning Centre? / The existing education room at the Roman Baths is over-subscribed, too small and not up to the standards schools now expect at a major historic site. We have to overflow into unsuitable historic meeting rooms and there is no on-site provision for school children to eat lunch, no proper cloakrooms and no dedicated toilets.
The new Centre will be a base for improved learning work with existing and new audiences and also for a new programme of community engagement work intended to extend the appeal of the Roman Baths to an even wider audience than now.
13 / Will anything change for visitors to the Roman Baths? / The experience of our 1 million plus visitors per year will be significantly extended by opening up previously hidden and exciting in situ Roman remains – sights that have never beforebeen seen by the public.
14 / What happens next? / This is a complex project involving many specialist suppliers and contractors and careful pre-planning is essential before work begins on site. There is also some detailed design work still to do. We have to prepare tenders and appoint contractors and whoever is successful will then need to plan their own timetables and schedule their staff and supplies.
15 / When will work start? / Some preliminary works and investigations have already taken place but the main contractors will start work in early 2018.
16 / When will it open? / Early 2019
17 / Will the project be affected by anything else going on in central Bath? / Every year a range of events takes place which restrict access for vehicles and on-site working, including the Christmas Market, cycle races, half marathons etc. There may also be road works. We will have to work around all of these events and that is an important aspect of project planning.
The Abbey Footprint Project will be taking place at the same time and close co-ordination is taking place to avoid losing time or running up extra costs.
18 / How will I know what is happening? / You can sign up to our regular e-newsletter updates and there will be up-to-date information on the Roman Baths website ( There will also be signs at the location once work begins on site. We will issue press releases and information on social media.

March 2017

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