The Roman Baths is proud to announce that it is now a Museum of Sanctuary. This award, credited by City of Sanctuary UK, makes the Roman Baths the first cultural space of sanctuary in Bath. This award celebrates our commitment to being a space of welcome and inclusion for people seeking refuge and asylum.
The Roman Baths itself is a site symbolising nearly 2000 years of movement to Bath. Whether it is the altar of Peregrinus from Trier, modern Germany, or DNA analysis revealing links to North Africa and the Middle East, we know Aquae Sulis was a far-reaching town. This legacy is something that we aim to champion and uphold, by welcoming people from all over the world, from travellers exploring the site or new residents of the local area, the Roman Baths is here to be enjoyed by all. Becoming a Museum of Sanctuary is one way of celebrating thousands of years of global reach.
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| A social evening where participants brought food from their culture to share with one another. |
What is the Sanctuary Programme at The Roman
Baths?
The Sanctuary Programme at the Roman Baths is a diverse programme of activity. We started by running consultations with people with lived experience of being a refugee to explore what the community actually wanted and felt they needed. We then worked to see how we could accommodate this. This resulted in various social activities such as adult-only evenings with meal sharing, watercolours and dance or family activities during school holidays and weekends.
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| Our October 2025 private evening for refugees and people seeking refuge. |
The Sanctuary Programme depends on maintaining and building
good relationships, whether it is the B&NES Council Resettlement Team, Bath
Welcomes Refugees or the participants themselves. Engagement with cultural
spaces and creative activities is proven to boost overall wellbeing and this
has been a positive outcome of the programme, alongside community building and
cultural sharing.
We aim to support the genuine needs expressed by the community such as skills and employment support which is why we introduced a work placement programme in 2025 and will make this an annual commitment. We continue to explore new ways we can support these practical, tangible skills and reach the needs of the community in a meaningful way.
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The official Refugee Week UK illustration for the 2026 theme
‘Courage’. |
What did The Roman Baths do during Refugee Week 2026
The Roman Baths took part in Refugee Week 2026 through a
temporary trail in the museum celebrating the Simple Acts Campaign. We also
worked alongside local refugees, Bath Welcomes Refugees and the B&NES
Council Resettlement Team to produce a textile piece that was displayed in the
Victoria Art Gallery. We hosted our second private evening for refugees at the
Roman Baths, inviting people from Bath and beyond to experience our site after
hours.
What’s next for The Sanctuary Programme at the Roman Baths?
The Sanctuary Programme at the Roman Baths was shortlisted
at the Museum and Heritage Awards earlier this year for ‘Community Engagement
Programme of the Year’. This recognition encourages us to continue this work
and keep collaborating with the refugee community and our partners. A new
endeavour will be more activities available for parents and children to
collaborate with each other. The overarching aim will remain as seeking to
support the needs and wants of the community across the Sanctuary Programme.
Meliha
Community Engagement Manager
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