Gate Piers and Gate at Main Entrance to Prior Park

GATE PIERS AND GATE AT MAIN ENTRANCE TO PRIOR PARK, RALPH ALLEN DRIVE

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Overview

Heritage Category:
Listed building
List Entry Number:
1394605
Date first listed:
11-Aug-1972
Statutory Address:
GATE PIERS AND GATE AT MAIN ENTRANCE TO PRIOR PARK, RALPH ALLEN DRIVE

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Listed building
List Entry Number:
1394605
Date first listed:
11-Aug-1972
Date of most recent amendment:
15-Oct-2010
Statutory Address 1:
GATE PIERS AND GATE AT MAIN ENTRANCE TO PRIOR PARK, RALPH ALLEN DRIVE

Location

Statutory Address:
GATE PIERS AND GATE AT MAIN ENTRANCE TO PRIOR PARK, RALPH ALLEN DRIVE

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:
Bath and North East Somerset (Unitary Authority)
Parish:
Non Civil Parish
National Grid Reference:
ST 76032 62918

Details

RALPH ALLEN DRIVE 656-1/67/1360 (East side) 11/08/72

Gate Piers and gates at main entrance to Prior Park

(Formerly Listed as: RALPH ALLEN DRIVE Gate Posts at entrance to Prior Park)

GV II

Gate piers with walls and gates. c1740. By John Wood the Elder. MATERIALS: Limestone ashlar, wrought and cast iron gates. Pair of rusticated piers approx 1.4m square and 4.5m high, with moulded bases mainly concealed by later paving; their wide moulded cappings with double blocking course carry colossal decorative urns. Hanging stiles have decorative scroll heads, and carry pair of fine iron gates with concave top rail, and twisted main and dog bars, with embellishments: these are probably mid-19th century. To either side short run of ashlar wall containing pedestrian opening with segmental head and keystone, doors or gates removed. To right, adjoining main road, quadrant of wall returned to main boundary wall, and salient of triangular walling, both crowned by low iron spiked railings. HISTORY: These imposing gates, one of five pairs of giant gate piers close together, announced arrival at Ralph Allen's estate: they embody the grandeur and scale of Ralph Allen's mission to create a seat of magnificence, using locally quarried stone. The urns are remarkable for their sheer size and were intended to demonstrate the quality of Bath stone from Allen's quarries, as well as the ability of his masons' workshop to turn such large blocks on a lathe. SOURCE: Gillian Clarke, `Prior Park. A Compleat Landscape¿ (Bath 1987), 40-49.

Listing NGR: ST7603262918

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:
510003
Legacy System:
LBS

Legal

Ordnance survey map of Gate Piers and Gate at Main Entrance to Prior Park

Map

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 05-Jun-2026 at 04:38:19.

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End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

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