Description

RIVERS STREET
656-1/30/1409 (South side)
11/08/72 No.35 and attached railings

(Formerly Listed as:
RIVERS STREET (South side)
Nos 32 & 33.
No.34 (Russell House).
No.35 (Rivers House))
GV II

End of terrace house. c1773-1775 with mid-C19 alterations.
Part of the Rivers Street development by John Wood the Younger.
MATERIALS: Limestone ashlar to front and left side, rubble to right side, ashlar to rear of small wing to right. Artificial slate parapeted mansard roof, hipped to left and right and to left of single depth wing to right, coped party wall to rear adjoining No.8 Russell Street (qv) with two ashlar stacks with early clay pots, small ashlar stack on coped gable wall to right, small ashlar stack with early clay pot rising from front wall to left.
EXTERIOR: House at corner of Rivers Street and Russell Street with symmetrical entrance front to Rivers Street of three storeys, attic and basement, and five-window front with two-storey porch to centre bay and ground floor extension to left-hand bays.
First floor has, to left, two blind windows, pedimented window to centre now obscured by C19 extension, to right one window with plate glass lower sash, obscured above, and one plate glass horned sash, all in ovolo moulded architraves with friezes, cornices, and sills on console brackets. Second floor has two blind windows to left, three six/six-sashes to centre and right, all in ovolo moulded architraves with stone sills. Ground floor has to right one blind window in plain reveal with stone sill, one plate glass horned sash in similar reveal. To left and centre C19 extension has four narrow two-light windows with segmental heads in plain reveals with projecting keystones; C20 door with single pane overlight; deep plinth with applied order of flat pilasters supporting moulded cornice; pierced parapet with dies over pilasters and moulded coping. Bay to centre right containing door continues upwards to first floor with plate glass sash with segmental head.
Basement has one six/nine-sash in splayed reveal with stone sill, door under extension not visible. Three single dormers with six/six-sashes. Main range has band course over ground floor, modillion cornice and coped parapet. Return to Russell Street is three storeys, attic and basement; three-window front. First floor has three plate glass horned sashes in ovolo moulded architraves with splayed jambs with friezes and cornices, lowered moulded stone sills on console brackets. Second floor has three plate glass horned sashes in ovolo moulded architraves with stone sills. Ground floor has three unequally divided plate glass sashes with segmental heads to upper lights in plain reveals with splayed jambs and lowered stone sills.
Narrow front to C19 extension to right has six-panel door with moulded and fielded panels and single pane overlight with projecting keystone. Incised lettering `RIVERS HOUSE¿ over door.
Basement has three six/six-sashes in plain reveals with stone sills, each with wrought iron guard bars, six-panel door under crossover, C20 area steps. Double dormer with six/six-sashes.
Band course over ground floor with incised lettering `RUSSELL STREET¿ to right, modillion cornice and coped parapet.
INTERIOR: Not inspected. Noted as having decorative plasterwork ceiling in style of Daniel Fowles, one of the principal builders in this area of Bath, to first floor front.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: 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. 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: ST7482165427

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26688764

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.

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