Description

656-1/30/1394

RIVERS STREET (North side)
Nos. 20 and 21 and attached railings and vaults

(Formerly Listed as: RIVERS STREET (North side) No.16. Nos 17-31 (consec))

12/06/50

GV
II
Two terrace houses, now laterally converted into flats. 1768-1770 with C19 and C20 additions. Part of the Rivers Street development by John Wood the Younger.

MATERIALS: limestone ashlar to front, rubble below basement windows to left (No.20), rubble plinth to basement to right (No.21), rubble to rear to left (No.20), ashlar and rubble to rear to right (No.21). Both houses have double pile parapeted mansard roof, Welsh slate to front and rear, with two rebuilt ashlar stacks rising from coped party wall to left of each house.

EXTERIOR: each house has three storeys, attic and basement, behind a three-window front. First floor has six plate glass horned sashes in splayed ovolo moulded architraves rising from lowered moulded stone sills on consoles and with friezes and cornices, small C19 cast iron window boxes to right hand window to each house. Second floor has six plate glass horned sashes in ovolo moulded architraves rising from stone sills. Ground floor has, to left of each house, two plate glass horned sashes in splayed reveals with stone sills, to right of each house six-panel door; that to left (No.20) with flush reeded and three glazed panels with etched glass and C18 lion's mask knocker with one pennant step in enriched pedimented Doric doorcase, two steps to crossover paved with large pennant slabs with pair of C19 cast iron foot-scrapers; the house to right, (No.21), has a front door with flush and four glazed panels with similar etched glass with one pennant step in pedimented Doric doorcase, two steps to pennant-paved crossover with C19 cast iron footscraper. Basements have two six/six-sashes in plain reveals with stone sills to each house; to left (No.20), plank door with three-pane overlight in ashlar infilling under crossover, one plank door and one window opening to vaults; to right (No.21), panelled door partially visible under crossover, two plank doors and two glazed window openings to vaults, to left (No.20), limestone area steps with wrought iron handrail, to right (No.21), C20 area steps. Each house has band course over ground floor, continuous modillion cornice and coped parapet. Shared lead downpipe to centre.

Rear elevations partially visible have small plate glass sash to second floor left (No.20), eight/eight-sash to second floor right (No.21) and small tilting window, each house has double dormer with six/six-sashes.

INTERIORS: not inspected.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: Each house has attached wrought iron railings and gate with shaped heads on limestone bases.

HISTORY: Rivers Street was developed by John Wood the Younger on three parcels of land: Nos. 1-11 constructed in conjunction with Catharine Place on ground conveyed on perpetual leasehold from Sir Benet Garrard to Wood and Brock as his trustee 19/20 December 1766. Nos. 16-28 and 36-47 Rivers Street with areas behind Nos. 46 and 47 on ground conveyed from Rivers Estate (owned by Sir Peter Rivers Gay) to Wood 5 March 1768 for 99 years. Nos. 28-35 Rivers Street were constructed in conjunction with Russell Street on ground bought by John Wood and Andrew Sproule as his trustee from Thomas and Daniel Omer 30 December 1768 on perpetual freehold rents. Strip of ground on which Nos 12-15 and 48-50 Rivers Street constructed probably never acquired by Wood. Sites of Nos. 12-15 were conveyed from Rivers Estate to Thomas and James Beale on 30 December 1774 and 16 October 1776 on perpetual freehold rents.

A number of different Bath builders were responsible for implementing Wood's overall design, re Ison.

SOURCES: Building leases and rate books; Walter Ison, The Georgian Buildings of Bath (2nd ed. 1980), 233.

Listing NGR: ST7476265456

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26673745

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

• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Period property manual, victorian house manual 2 books collection set by ian rock
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  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)