Details
GAY STREET
(East side)
Nos.18-30 (Consec) with attached railings
12/06/50
GV I
Thirteen terrace houses stepped downhill from No. 18 to left. 1755-1760, by John Wood the Younger, with C19 and C20 alterations.
MATERIALS: Limestone ashlar facades, rubblestone to rear, steep, double pitched slate mansard roofs with dormers and moulded stacks to right party walls.
PLAN: Double depth plans.
EXTERIOR: Two storeys with attics and basements. Two, three and four-window range. Each house has coped parapet, stopped cornice, moulded architraves to upper floor windows, those to first floor with cornices, ground floor platband and plinth. Mostly six/six-pane sash windows, some with crown glass and thick glazing bars. Except for terminals (Nos. 18 and 30), doorcases are to left, moulded architraves with pediments on shaped brackets, doors had formerly eight raised and fielded panels, first floors formerly had sill band. No. 18 has four-window range with six/six-pane sash windows, that to second floor right with crown glass and thick glazing bars, two dormers. Stacks, lowered sills and balconettes to first floor, splayed reveals and horned sashes to first and ground floors, thick glazing bars to basement. Right-of-centre doorcase has engaged Ionic columns on pedestals supporting entablature with modillion cornice. Upper panels of door are glazed. To right lead rainwater head and downpipe. No. 19 has three-window range. Two dormers with thick glazing bars to six/six-pane sash windows, horned plate glass sashes to main floors, six/six-pane sashes to basement, splayed reveals to first and ground floors, lowered sills to first floor, five-panel door has one glazed panel to top. No. 20 similar to No. 19 with balconettes to first floor and lead rainwater head and downpipe to right. No. 21 similar to No. 19 with all plate glass windows and truncated stack. No. 2 has two-window range with plate glass sash window to dormer, truncated stack, six/six-pane sashes to second floor, splayed reveals, lowered sills and plate glass sashes to first floor, splayed reveals and plate glass sash to ground floor, six-panel door glazed to top and blocked overlight. No. 23 has two-window range with six/six-pane sash windows, paired to the dormer; splayed reveals to the first and ground floor; first floor sill band; an overlight replacing the upper door panels and a lead downpipe to the right. No chimney pots. No. 24 has two-window range with six/six-pane sash windows to the dormer, and to second floor that has thick glazing bars; plate glass sashes in splayed reveals to the first floor, ground floor and basement; balconettes a and lowered sills to the first floor; six-panel door with overlight replacing the upper panels. No. 25 is three-window range with plate glass sash windows; two dormers; splayed reveals the first floor, ground floor and basement; lowered sills to the first floor; a five-panel door glazed to the top. No. 26 is three-window range with plate glass sash windows; two dormers, that to the left has a two-light casement window; splayed reveals to the first floor, ground floor and basement; mid C19 scrolled balconettes and lowered sills to the first floor; a five-panel door glazed to the top and a lead downpipe to the right. No. 27 has six/six-pane sash windows; two dormers; a restored first floor sill band and sills and a six-panel door. No. 28 is three-window range with six/six-pane sash windows to two dormers, the second floor and basement; splayed reveals, lowered sills and six/nine-pane sash windows to the first and ground floors; one glazed horizontal pane to the top of a seven-panel door. No. 29 is three-window range with six/six-pane sash windows; splayed reveals to the first and ground floors and basement; a six-panel door with a margin paned overlight. No. 30 to the corner of George Street, has the roof hipped to the right with a stack to the rear. Three-window range with plate glass windows; lowered sills to the first floor; splayed reveals to the ground floor and a moulded architrave without a pediment to a seven-panel door glazed to the top with a thick lintel or narrow blocked overlight. `GAY STREET¿ is carved into the platband. The right return in George Street is virtually symmetrical. Plate-glass sash windows. The central bay is stepped forward with a wide stack above a pediment. The surviving sill band is cut through by three windows to the first floor; many other windows are blind.
INTERIORS: No. 23 by Bath Council 1990 Hall has barley sugar balusters with Doric newels, Regency architraving. Nice Regency soffit cornice and readings in architrave either side of chimneybreast. No. 27 was refurbished in 1993 after extensive research on the building and its history, and new roof, windows and shuttering added. Large stone central staircase with barley sugar twisted Doric colonnettes, solid timber treads. Descends to basement and it becomes polygonal after second floor. Original box shutters on ground floor front have been lowered 6¿ with the window sills, and dropped 1ft at rear with additional panel at top. No. 28 inspected by Bath Council 1987 has most features intact though later partitions; grand central spiral staircase, Baroque handrails on landings and Doric colonnettes on balusters, alternate ones fluted. Lobby behind staircase. Copy of Georgian rooflights, late C18 fireplace to rear from Walcot Reclamation. Early white Victorian marbled fireplaces on first floor, panelled walls and dado on second.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: Attached spearhead iron railings to each house with gates to basement.
HISTORY: Gay Street is named after Robert Gay, a surgeon of Hatton Garden and landowner of this area. Leases were granted a few months after the death of John Wood the Elder, in May 1754. The road forms a steeply rising link between Wood¿s two principal urban set-pieces. The southern part (now comprising Nos. 31-41 Gay Street) were originally known as Barton Street, and predated the remainder of the street by some twenty years. Building leases dated 14th December 1759, for Nos. 18 and 19; 20th July 1757, For Nos. 20-25; 3rd January 1755, for Nos. 26-30. No. 27 was completed in 1757 and Dr William Oliver, renowned physician and creator of the `Bath Oliver' biscuit was the first owner. In 1774 the building was occupied by Dr William Falconer, physician to the now Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases. The artist Robert Woodroffe lived there from 1837-1848.
SOURCES: (Mowbray Green, `The Eighteenth Century Architecture of Bath (1904), 140-143; W. Ison, `The Georgian Buildings of Bath' (1980 ed), 142, 230].
Listing NGR: ST7480165178
