The Forum, Bath

The Forum was built by William Henry Watkins and E Morgan Willmott, assisted by A Stuart Gray,^[1] at the cost of £80,000 (equivalent to £7,173,865 in 2023)^[2] with a steel frame covered by Bath Stone cladding in a combination of art deco and neo-classical style. Inside the walls are brick with concrete floors, with large art deco candelabra lighting. Above the auditorium is a ballroom with a sprung floor and below it on the exterior of the building are shops.^[1] The building was heated by radiators, but also by washed air, a novelty in the 1930s.^[2]

The Forum initially sat 2,000 people and was opened on 19 May 1934 by the Marquis of Bath. It was used as a cinema until 1969, when it became a dancing school and bingo hall. The building is owned by Bath and North East Somerset Council, and from 1988 has been let on a 700-year term lease to Bath Christian Trust as the home of Life Church Bath, formerly known as Bath City Church.^[3][4] It currently has 1600 seats, making it Bath's largest venue for events^[5] and so is also used for concerts, performances and presentations.^[6]

The Forum has undergone a programme of extensive renovations under the supervision of Stubbs Rich Architects.^[3][6] In 2014, the Bath Christian Trust put together plans to convert part of The Forum's ground floor into a café which is now open.^[5]

• The Forum website
• Life Church Bath
• The Forum, Bath in the Theatres Trust database