The 100 ft Ball Room in the Assembly Rooms, Bath, is being
re-decorated during August 2008 by Bath & North East Somerset
Council’s Heritage Services, using a paint that has been matched as
closely as possible to the original colour of the walls.
The paint is called Ballroom Blue and it was first created by
David Mlinaric in the 1970s from an original colour swatch.
“It is a stroke of luck that the colour sample of blue paint is
still attached to the 1770s minute book of the Assembly Rooms
Furnishing Committee.” said Lucy Powell, Assistant Archivist at
Bath Record Office, “The building was bombed in 1942 so traces of
the paint would never have survived otherwise.”
The colour that David Mlinaric created, taking his cue from this
swatch, is included in the Farrow & Ball range of traditional
paints. It was named “Ballroom Blue” after the room.
The Ball Room is the largest of the three principal rooms in the
Assembly Rooms, just over 105 feet long, 42 feet wide and 42 feet
high, that runs the whole length of the north side of the building
and covers two storeys.
It was restored to its original glory in the 1970s by Bath City
Council and the National Trust, who own the building, with the help
of a generous private donation. Unfortunately part of the
ceiling of the Ball Room fell down in 1987 as a result of poor
post-war rebuilding. It was again repainted in 1990 by the
Council, in a fairly similar colour, but not with paint that uses
traditional pigments and natural ingredients.
In a bid to return to a more authentic finish and use more
environmentally friendly paint, Heritage Services has renewed the
partnership with Farrow & Ball. The company has recreated
180 litres of Ballroom Blue from the original specification and
this paint will be used in the redecoration of the Ball Room walls
that is taking place in the second half of August.
Stephen Bird, Head of Heritage Services for Bath & North
East Somerset Council, said “ Our objective is to recreate as
closely as possible the appearance of the original paint scheme in
the Ball Room. It is remarkable to have an original colour
sample from 240 years ago and we are delighted that Farrow &
Ball are able to recreate Ballroom Blue from their colour
archives.“
Visitors will normally be able to stand in one of the doorways
and see the change in progress. The building is open daily,
free of charge, from 11.00am to 5.00pm and the painting is due to
be completed by September.