Bath Fashion Museum moves to temporary new home in Wiltshire

Bath's Fashion Museum has moved to a temporary home in Wiltshire, while it waits to relocate to the Old Post Office on New Bond Street.

The world-class collection is being looked after by luxury glovemaker Dents at its headquarters in Warminster after closing its doors at the Bath Assembly Rooms in October last year. Since then, staff have been packing up its 100,000 items for relocation to Dents' storage facility.

In a press release, BANES Council said the building would provide the Fashion Museum with a storage area that meets the environmental and security standards required for the preservation of the collection, as well as space for the curatorial team to work.

The Fashion Museum will open at its new home in the Old Post Office in four to five years’ time. Before then, the building will be used for short-term lets like art exhibitions and pop-up sales to raise money for the museum.

At a recent cabinet meeting, councillor Richard Samuel, the cabinet member for resources, said: "It was always intended that the Old Post Office would not sit there empty waiting for the fashion museum, it would be used."

Deborah Moore, CEO of Dents, said: “Dents is delighted to welcome the Fashion Museum to Warminster. The move of the collection and the curatorial team into our headquarters has felt seamless, and it’s wonderful to build on our long-standing relationship with this world-class collection as it works towards the creation of a brand-new museum in the centre of Bath.”

Kevin Guy, Leader of Bath & North East Somerset Council, said: “We’re pleased to be working with Dents to safely house the Fashion Museum’s collection of more than 100,000 objects, which range from gloves from the time of Shakespeare to fashions by today’s leading designers. When the Fashion Museum reopens in the Old Post Office, it will be more accessible, engage with a wider range of people, and tell a greater range of stories than ever before.”