Details
BRISTOL
ST5673SE PORTLAND STREET, Clifton
901-1/7/928 (North West side)
Nos.34-42 (Even)
Carter's Buildings and attached gas
lamp
GV II
Includes: Nos.8-12 and Carter's Warehouse GLOUCESTER STREET
Clifton.
Includes: Nos.9-13 Carter's Buildings CARTER'S BUILDINGS
Clifton.
14 attached houses and warehouse, now studio. c1793, dated in
deeds, partly remodelled mid C19. Carboniferous limestone
rubble and Bath limestone dressings, party wall stacks, roof
not visible.
Single-depth plan houses arranged to form two 3-sided courts,
open to Portland Street, around the central warehouse. Houses
of 3 storeys; 1-window range. 3 connected terraces of houses,
2 pairs facing on to Portland Street and backed by terraces of
3 to the SW and 2 to the NE facing into the courts, linked by
a terrace of 5 across the back facing Gloucester Street, and
divided by a warehouse which separates the terraces and forms
flagged courts with each.
Each house has a plinth, first-floor plat band, inscribed
CARTER'S BUILDINGS, cornice and parapet; paired doorways have
raised surrounds and bracketed flat canopies to 6-panel doors.
Windows have relieving arches over raised, keyed surrounds, to
horned 2/2-pane sashes with margin panes; No.12 has 8/12-pane
sashes, and 8/8-panes to the second floor.
The warehouse, remodelled mid C19, has 4-storey, 3-window
range to Portland Street: a symmetrical front with wide banded
pilaster strips on the ground floor, wide rusticated quoins
above, to a frieze, cornice and parapet. 2-storey
semicircular-arched doorway has a coved, rusticated surround
with a tall key and impost band, and C20 door. Triple-keyed
segmental-arched windows above have sill blocks, with
second-floor jambs extending down to a short cornice, and
third-floor impost band. 5-window returns have keyed rubble
heads, and four 2-storey ground-floor windows, with metal
casements.
The elevation to Gloucester Street is a symmetrical 3-window
range with rusticated pilaster strips to a cornice and
parapet; central semicircular-arched doorway with rusticated
surround and reveals to recessed plate-glass fanlight and C20
panelled door. Flanking windows with keyed, segmental-arched
heads and imposts, first-floor Venetian window with the sill
incised CARTER'S WAREHOUSE and key, and 3 second-floor
semicircular-arched windows linked by a sill with blocks and
impost band.
INTERIOR: houses have dogleg winder stairs with uncut string,
panelled shutters and doors, and plain fire surrounds. Wide
arched vaults to the Gloucester Street houses open into the
courts. The warehouse has a vaulted basement, a left-hand
dogleg stair with uncut string, stick balusters and column
newels, and first-floor hall with queen-post trusses.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: attached iron gas lamp with flared glazed
lamp to the corner of No.40.
HISTORICAL NOTE: with James Place (qv), a unique arrangement
of courtyard housing in Bristol; courts were more common from
the late C18 in the fast-growing industrial towns of the
north. Shown on Donne's 1821 map. The warehouse is reported as
having been at times a school and social institute.
(Muthesius S: The English Terraced House: New Haven and
London: 1982-: 107).
Listing NGR: ST5685673145
