Designed by the architect John Wood, the Younger, and built between 1767 and 1774, it is among the greatest examples of Georgian architecture to be found in the United Kingdom and is a Grade I listed building.

It was the first crescent of terraced houses to be built and an example of "rus in urbe" (the country in the city) with its views over the parkland opposite.

Many notable people have either lived or stayed in the Royal Crescent since it was built over 240 years ago, and some are commemorated on special plaques attached to the relevant buildings.

It is claimed that the adjective "Royal" was added at the end of the 18th century after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany had stayed there.

[6] The Royal Crescent is close to Victoria Park and linked via Brock Street to The Circus which had been designed by John Wood, the Elder.

[8] Between 1767 and 1775 John Wood designed the great curved facade with Ionic columns on a rusticated ground floor.

[10] It was the first crescent of terraced houses to be built and an example of "rus in urbe" (the country in the city) with its views over the parkland opposite.

[14] In 2003, the archaeological television programme Time Team dug the Royal Crescent in search of a Roman cemetery and the Fosse Way.

The remains of a Roman wall were found behind the crescent and evidence of possible Iron and Bronze Age settlement on the lawn in front.

[2] In 1921, architect Robert Tor Russell used the Crescent as a source of inspiration to design the central business district of Connaught Place, New Delhi, India.

In September 2011 it was expected that London & Regional Properties would purchase the hotel,[24] but negotiations ended in January 2012 without a deal.

[25] On 2 April 2012, investment company the Topland Group announced that it had purchased the Royal Crescent Hotel.

A court case ensued which resulted in the Secretary of State for the Environment declaring that the door could remain yellow.

His eldest daughter Elizabeth Ann Linley, a singer in her own right, eloped with the playwright and poet Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

[32] The centre house of the crescent (#16) was used as a residence and to host blue stocking events by Elizabeth Montagu.

[42] It was purchased in 1967 by Major Bernard Cayzer, a member of the family that made its fortune through the Clan shipping line.

[53] In front of the houses are cast iron railings which are mirrored by those on the opposite side of the road at the top of Victoria Park.

[54] In 2007, a TV edition of Jane Austen's Persuasion included many scenes shot at the Crescent, where the Elliot family was supposedly living while in Bath.

[59] The ITV television series McDonald & Dodds is set in Bath and makes frequent use of the Crescent as interstitial scenery as well as a shooting location.