Description

BRISTOL

901-1/36/1589 PICTON STREET
08-NOV-09 MONTPELIER
(South side)
25
PICTON HOUSE AND FORECOURT RAILINGS

II
House, used as office in late-C20, of c.1830.

MATERIALS: Roughcast rendered Pennant stone rubble with limestone dressings, roof not visible.

PLAN: 2-storeyed L-shaped plan with single-depth main range to front and small range to rear left (north).

EXTERIOR: Symmetrical double front with pilasters to frieze, cornice and parapet. The central doorway has a pedimented doorcase and fanlight over the six-panel door. The windows are 8/8 hornless sashes in fluted architrave with a small key. Above the door is a similarly-framed panel, on two small brackets, inscribed PICTON HOUSE. Rear: A large rectangular window has been inserted at ground floor; above this to the first floor are two 8/8 hornless sashes; below it a segmental arched double doorway gives access to the basement. Stone steps lead up from the small courtyard to a doorway in the north elevation of No. 23 (not included in the listing). The small north range has a canted oriel window at first floor with wooden casement to ground. There is a doorway at ground floor on the inner elevation.

INTERIOR: On each floor there is one room either side of the central narrow single flight stair, with a further room within the north range. The staircase has a narrow handrail, which looks to have been re-used. Doorways at ground floor have reeded architraves with roundels.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: spear-headed railings to forecourt. No. 23 which adjoins Picton House to the right is not of special interest.

HISTORY: Picton House and No. 23 Picton Street stand back from the street, aligned to the west and thus at a slight angle to their neighbours. The adjacent rows of houses are shown on Ashmead and Plumley's Map of 1828 but Picton House and No.23 are not. Stylistically, the house looks to be of late Georgian date and its construction probably post-dates the map by only a few years. It was converted into flats in the post-war period and was used as an office in the late C20.

SOURCES
Bristol City Council. Montpelier Conservation Area Appraisal. October 2008

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: Picton House and forecourt railings are designated Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* This is a good example of a classical town house, showing characteristic Regency touches.
* Despite some alteration to the interior, it retains its plan form and some features of interest, including good plasterwork and door surrounds.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26498048

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings