Description

656-1/30/1399

RIVERS STREET (North side)
No.26 and attached railings

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

12/06/50

GV
II
Terrace house. 1770-1775 with C20 alterations. Part of the Rivers Street development by John Wood the Younger.

MATERIALS: limestone ashlar to front, rubble to plinth to basement, ashlar and rubble to rear, double pile parapeted mansard roof, Welsh Slate to front and rear, double Roman tiles to inner slopes, with coped party wall to left with two ashlar stacks with some early clay pots.

EXTERIOR: three storeys, attic and basement, three-window front. First floor has three six/six-sashes in ovolo moulded architraves with friezes and cornices and moulded stone sills on console brackets, second floor has three six/six-sashes in ovolo moulded architraves with stone sills. Ground floor has, to left, two six/six-sashes in splayed reveals with stone sills, to right a six-panel door with flush reeded, fielded and glazed panels with two pennant steps in pedimented Doric doorcase with incised numeral `26' (cut by Peter McLennan 1990), three steps to pennant paved crossover.

Basement has two six/six-sashes in plain reveals with stone sills, unmoulded six-panel door under crossover, limestone area steps with wrought iron handrail. Double dormer with six/six-sashes in cyma moulded architraves. Band course over ground floor and modillion cornice and coped parapet continuous with No.27 Rivers Street (qv).
Rear elevation has six/six-sashes including to double dormer, lead hopperhead at eaves to right and lead downpipe added 1987, single storey extension rebuilt 1987-1991, ashlar with pantile and pennant stone slate roof, nine-pane Back door from Brock Street.

INTERIOR: not inspected.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: attached wrought iron railings with shaped heads to rear and to front with matching gate 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. The strip of ground on which Nos 12-15 and 48-50 Rivers Street were constructed was probably never acquired by Wood. The sites of Nos. 12-15 were conveyed from the 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: ST7480065449

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26673752

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

• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)