 During the Georgian era Bath became fashionable . The architects John Wood , the Elder and his son John Wood , the Younger laid out new areas of housing for residents and visitors . Assembly rooms had been built early in the 18th century , but a new venue for balls , concerts and gambling was envisaged in the area between Queen Square , The Circus and the Royal Crescent . Robert Adam submitted a proposal that was rejected as too expensive . John Wood , the Younger raised funding through a <unk> and construction started in 1769 . The New or Upper Assembly Rooms opened with a grand ball in 1771 and became the hub of fashionable society , being frequented by Jane Austen and Charles Dickens , along with the nobility of the time . 
