36 Tyndall's Park Road

Summary

A mid-C19 villa, probably by George Gay and now part of the University of Bristol Arts Complex.

Reasons for Designation

36 Tyndall’s Park Road, University of Bristol, a mid-C19 villa is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* an assured Italian design with double fronts on a prominent corner site, and with high quality interior fittings and fixtures.

Historic interest:

* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impacts of world events on this community, and the sacrifices it made in the First World War.

Group value:

* as part of the Bristol suburb developed at Tyndall’s Park formerly associated with the Royal Fort. It retains companion buildings, many listed in recognition of their status as an important historic group.

History

36 Tyndall’s Park Road was built in about 1862-72, probably by the architect and builder George Gay, on part of the Royal Fort parkland he had bought from Thomas Tyndall. It is shown with the adjacent villas on Woodland Road on Ashmead’s Map of 1874 where number 36 is marked as ‘Chiltswood’. It was bought by the congregation of nearby Church of St Mary the Virgin following the end of the First World War and gifted to the parish for use as a church house, which opened in November 1919. The row of villas was in government use during the Second World War and later passed into the ownership of the University of Bristol (full status granted in 1909).

The University held a limited competition to create a new Faculty of Arts in 1978, incorporating 36 Tyndall’s Park Road and the Woodland Road villas. The competition was won by the partnership of MacCormac and Jamieson (later MJP) and the job architect was Sandy Wright. Building works took place between February 1982 and January 1985. The completed scheme, which included the refurbishment of the associated villas, is shown on the Ordnance Survey Map of 1990, and has since been much altered.

Details

A former villa, now part of a university faculty building, of mid-C19 date, probably by George Gay.

MATERIALS: constructed of squared, coursed Pennant rubble with limestone dressings, ashlar ridge stacks and a slate hipped roof.

PLAN: double-depth plan and of two storeys plus attic and basement.

EXTERIOR: built in the Italianate style the building occupies a corner site with a full side elevation. The front (Tyndall’s Park Road) has a left-hand gable with rusticated quoins, plinth, ground-floor cornice band, first-floor sill band, frieze and bracketed stone eaves. The doorcase to the right of the gable has rusticated quoins to a balustrade and balcony, with a keyed round-arched doorway to a plate-glass fanlight and double four-panel door. The ground-floor keyed segmental-arched windows have aprons, with a three-light bow to the gable with a balustrade. There is a single window to the right of the door with brackets to a balcony with a removed balustrade. The round-arched first-floor windows have cornices, triple windows in the gable with a segmental pediment, and single windows to the middle and right. A round-arched attic window to the gable has a shouldered architrave, similar to that on the dormer window on the right of the roof, which also has a cornice and scrolled top. There are two ashlar stacks to the ridge.

The matching four-window right return (facing Woodland Road) has a right-hand gable and three windows to the left. The windows are plate-glass sashes. To the right is the 1980s entrance* to the Faculty of Arts/ Arts Complex, of single storey with central glazed entrance framed by columns and with a plain projecting canopy and cornice. A glazed pitched roof* is attached to the side walls of the villas to either side, at first-floor height. The first floor windows have been enlarged to doors and have inserted stairs* and a walkway*. The late-C20 additions are not of special interest.

The left return has a tall stained-glass stair light with margin panes, and segmental-arched basement windows.

INTERIOR: the original lobby is to the Tyndall’s Park Road entrance and has a glazed screen with etched glass and half-glazed door, to a tiled central stair hall with a lateral open stone dogleg stair with cast-iron balusters and a large newel. The hall and stair have a modillion cornice and there are six-panel doors with panelled reveals to the principal rooms, all of which have mid-C19 joinery including rebated shutters. Across the building are plaster moulded ceiling roses, cornices and other detailing. The room facing Tyndall’s Park Road has a fireplace with a plain marble chimney piece. A plaque in the hallway is inscribed: ST MARY THE VIRGIN/ TYNDALLS PARK/ THIS BUILDING WAS PURCHASED BY/ THE CONGREGATION OF ST MARY’S/ AT THE TERMINATION OF/ THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1918/ AND GIVEN TO THE PARISH/ AS A THANKOFFERING FOR VICTORIOUS PEACE,/ AND FOR USE AS A CHURCH HOUSE/ IT WAS OPENED NOVEMBER 5TH 1919/ FRED NORTON M.A. VICAR.

The upper floors and basement has been converted to office use although principal fittings such as joinery have been retained.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: there is a rubblestone garden wall with coping on the property boundary, partially removed to form an entrance on Woodland Road. There are stone gate piers with caps to Tyndall’s Park Road.

* Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that these aforementioned features are not of special architectural or historic interest.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

380742

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Phased faculty: Arts Faculty, Bristol in Architects' Journal, Vol. vol. 191, no. 5, (31/01/1990), 33-48, 53-55
Sandwich courses in Architects' Journal, Vol. vol. 179, no. 8, (22.02.1984), 24-27
Bristol backs: Faculty of Arts, Bristol University in Architectural Review, Vol. vol. 175, no. 1047, (May 1984), 48-53
Victorian villa infill in Concrete Quarterly, Vol. no. 141, (Apr/Jun 1984), 28-31
MacCormac & Jamieson: Arts faculty extension, University of Bristol in Architectural Review, Vol. vol. 167, no. 995, (08.01.1980), 8
Bristol backlands in Architects' Journal, Vol. vol. 169, no. 9, (28.02.1979), 410-11
Low profile university in Building, Vol. vol. 236, no. 7077 (9), (02.03.1979), 37
Victorian rehab wins Bristol competition in Building Design, Vol. no. 434, (23.02.1979), 52

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