Bathwick Hill, Bath
Encyclopedia
Bathwick Hill in Bath, Somerset
, England is a street lined with historic houses, many of which are designated as listed buildings. It climbs south east from the A36
towards the University of Bath
on Claverton Down
, providing views over the city.
To the north is Sham Castle
, a folly
built in 1762 by Richard James, master mason for Ralph Allen
, "to improve the prospect" from Allen's town house in Bath
. It is a screen wall with a central pointed arch flanked by two 3-storey circular turrets, which extend sideways to a 2-storey square tower at each end of the wall. It is illuminated at night.
As the hill rises away from the city centre it passes over a tunnel, built in 1840, on the Great Western Railway
close to Bath Spa railway station
and the Kennet and Avon Canal
at Bath Locks
via an elliptical arch bridge.
villa with a steep Mansard roof
. Number 2 is from the early 19th century and has shutters over the windows. Number 3 includes a porch which is elaborately enriched with carving, Neo-Grecian gate posts and wrought iron gates. Number 4 has a parapet
which sweeps up to central balustrade with a rococo
flourish, as does number 5 which is also known as Cornwall Lodge. Number 6, which is also known as Willow House, includes a wrought iron verandah
on the 1st floor. Number 7 has a shallow hipped roof
. Number 8 is also known as Upsala Villa. The road elevation of number 9, built in 1820, extended in 1870, presents half an octagon in plan with overhanging eaves.
Number 10 is a 2 storey Neo-Grecian villa built in the early 19th century by Thomas Baldwin
. The central projection has a curved portico
with 4 fluted Ionic
columns and Ionic pilaster
s which go through 2 floors. It is a Grade I listed building.
Numbers 11, 12 and 13 form a block of attached villas. Number 14 is also from the early 19th century. Number 15, which is also known as The White Loge, is of a similar vintage and includes a 2 storey porch with Doric
columns, as does number 17. Number 18 is from the late 18th or early 19th century and includes a wrought iron
veranda, and number 19, which is also known as Woodland House, has a balustraded parapet. Numbers 20 and 21 form a block. Number 22 has a rusticated
ground floor and quoin
s.
Number 23 was built in 1817 by William Smith of Walcot
, for J Barnard. It is a 3 storey building with a mansard roof
.
Claverton Lodge was built around 1825 and later enlarged and altered in classical style when a columned loggia porch with a with conical roof was added.
Combe Royal was built in Jacobeathan style between 1815 and 1820. The lodge is in a similar style.
Ardenlee is thought to be an early 19th century recasing of an earlier building.
The large Italianate villa, Bathwick Grange, which was formerly known as Montebello, was built by Henry Goodridge
as his own house, and includes a lodge. He is also though to have built Bathwick Hill House next door. Fiesole is another Italianate house probably by Goodridge which later became a Youth Hostel.
Oakwood, which was formerly known as Smallcombe Grove, which is also in the style of Goodridge was built for local painter Benjamin Barker. It has an ornamental garden, bridge and pool with fountain.
Casa Bianca and La Casetta also have an Italianate style and include Tuscan columns
. Miles House followed in a similar style around 1840 to 1850.
Uplands dates from around 1840, and Upton House has been dated to the early 19th century.
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England is a street lined with historic houses, many of which are designated as listed buildings. It climbs south east from the A36
A36 road
The A36 is a trunk road and primary route in England that links the port city of Southampton to the city of Bath. At Bath, the A36 connects with the A4 road to Bristol, thus enabling a road link between the major ports of Southampton and Bristol. Originally, the A36 continued onto Avonmouth, but...
towards the University of Bath
University of Bath
The University of Bath is a campus university located in Bath, United Kingdom. It received its Royal Charter in 1966....
on Claverton Down
Claverton Down
Claverton Down is a suburb on the south-east hilltop edge of Bath, Somerset, England. It is linked to the Bathwick area of the city by Bathwick Hill....
, providing views over the city.
To the north is Sham Castle
Sham Castle
Sham Castle is a folly in Bathampton overlooking the city of Bath, Somerset, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. It is a screen wall with a central pointed arch flanked by two 3-storey circular turrets, which extend sideways to a 2-storey square tower at each end of the wall.It was probably...
, a folly
Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
built in 1762 by Richard James, master mason for Ralph Allen
Ralph Allen
Ralph Allen was an entrepreneur and philanthropist, and was notable for his reforms to the British postal system. He was baptised at St Columb Major, Cornwall on 24 July 1693. As a teenager he worked at the Post Office. He moved in 1710 to Bath, where he became a post office clerk, and at the age...
, "to improve the prospect" from Allen's town house in Bath
Ralph Allen's Town House, Bath
Ralph Allen's Town House is a grade I listed townhouse in Bath, Somerset, England.Ralph Allen, commenced building it in or shortly afer 1727, although it is unlikely he ever lived there...
. It is a screen wall with a central pointed arch flanked by two 3-storey circular turrets, which extend sideways to a 2-storey square tower at each end of the wall. It is illuminated at night.
As the hill rises away from the city centre it passes over a tunnel, built in 1840, on the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
close to Bath Spa railway station
Bath Spa railway station
Bath Spa railway station is the principal railway station in the city of Bath, in South West England.-Architecture:Bath Spa station was built in 1840 for the Great Western Railway by Brunel and is a grade II* listed building...
and the Kennet and Avon Canal
Kennet and Avon Canal
The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is commonly used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section...
at Bath Locks
Bath Locks
Bath Locks are a series of locks situated on the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Bath, England.Bath Bottom Lock, which is numbered as No 7 on the canal is the meeting with the River Avon just south of Pulteney Bridge...
via an elliptical arch bridge.
South side
Number 1 is a 2 storey early VictorianVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
villa with a steep Mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
. Number 2 is from the early 19th century and has shutters over the windows. Number 3 includes a porch which is elaborately enriched with carving, Neo-Grecian gate posts and wrought iron gates. Number 4 has a parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
which sweeps up to central balustrade with a rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
flourish, as does number 5 which is also known as Cornwall Lodge. Number 6, which is also known as Willow House, includes a wrought iron verandah
Verandah
A veranda or verandah is a roofed opened gallery or porch. It is also described as an open pillared gallery, generally roofed, built around a central structure...
on the 1st floor. Number 7 has a shallow hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
. Number 8 is also known as Upsala Villa. The road elevation of number 9, built in 1820, extended in 1870, presents half an octagon in plan with overhanging eaves.
Number 10 is a 2 storey Neo-Grecian villa built in the early 19th century by Thomas Baldwin
Thomas Baldwin (architect)
Thomas Baldwin was an English surveyor and architect in Bath.He did not originally hail from Bath but was first recorded in the city in 1774, where he was initially a clerk to plumber, glazier, and politician Thomas Warr Attwood. By 1775, he was appointed as the Bath City Architect after...
. The central projection has a curved portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
with 4 fluted Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
columns and Ionic pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s which go through 2 floors. It is a Grade I listed building.
Numbers 11, 12 and 13 form a block of attached villas. Number 14 is also from the early 19th century. Number 15, which is also known as The White Loge, is of a similar vintage and includes a 2 storey porch with Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
columns, as does number 17. Number 18 is from the late 18th or early 19th century and includes a wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
veranda, and number 19, which is also known as Woodland House, has a balustraded parapet. Numbers 20 and 21 form a block. Number 22 has a rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
ground floor and quoin
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
s.
Number 23 was built in 1817 by William Smith of Walcot
Walcot, Bath
Walcot is a suburb of the city of Bath, England. It lies to the north-north-east of the city centre, and is an electoral ward of the city.The parish church, on The Paragon is dedicated to St Swithin and was built in 1779-90 by John Palmer....
, for J Barnard. It is a 3 storey building with a mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
.
Claverton Lodge was built around 1825 and later enlarged and altered in classical style when a columned loggia porch with a with conical roof was added.
Combe Royal was built in Jacobeathan style between 1815 and 1820. The lodge is in a similar style.
North side
Number 35 is a 3 storey building with a portico of 4 Doric columns, while numbers 36 and 37 form a block of two semi-detached houses. Number 38, which is also known as Bayfield House, has a portico with Doric columns, while numbers numbers 39 and 40 form a block of two semi-detached houses similar to numbers 36 and 37.Ardenlee is thought to be an early 19th century recasing of an earlier building.
The large Italianate villa, Bathwick Grange, which was formerly known as Montebello, was built by Henry Goodridge
Henry Goodridge
Henry Edmund Goodridge was an architect whose work started in the 1820s.-Works:Goodridge's neoclassical buildings in Bath include:* Cleveland Bridge;* one of the earliest shopping arcades...
as his own house, and includes a lodge. He is also though to have built Bathwick Hill House next door. Fiesole is another Italianate house probably by Goodridge which later became a Youth Hostel.
Oakwood, which was formerly known as Smallcombe Grove, which is also in the style of Goodridge was built for local painter Benjamin Barker. It has an ornamental garden, bridge and pool with fountain.
Casa Bianca and La Casetta also have an Italianate style and include Tuscan columns
Tuscan order
Among canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a "Tuscan order", "the solidest and least ornate", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di...
. Miles House followed in a similar style around 1840 to 1850.
Uplands dates from around 1840, and Upton House has been dated to the early 19th century.