Kennet and Avon Canal Tunnel (Under Beckford Road)

Details

KENNET AND AVON CANAL 656-1/0/0

Kennet and Avon Canal Tunnel (under Beckford Road) 11/08/72

GV II*

A canal tunnel, dating from c.1800, by John Rennie, engineer. MATERIALS: The tunnel and portals are constructed from limestone ashlar. PLAN: The tunnel widens towards the north, as it exits Sydney Gardens, and measures around 51m in length. EXTERIOR: The south front, facing Sydney Gardens, has a semi-elliptical arch with radial voussoirs and vermiculated rustication extending beyond the slightly projecting smooth ashlar piers, which have coved niches set under recessed panels with swags. Above the centre of the arch is a large, raised ashlar panel articulated by a central mask of a male head, representing Father Thames, flanked by swags. A cornice and plain parapet step forward over the piers and central panel. The northern front, which lies outside Sydney Gardens, is of plain limestone ashlar, with a central projecting keystone at the top of the arch; the plain parapet is set slightly forward. The elliptical tunnel is lined in limestone ashlar. HISTORY: Sydney Gardens were laid out as commercial pleasure grounds between 1792 and 1794; the initial design was by the architect Thomas Baldwin, who, after he went bankrupt, was replaced by Charles Harcourt Masters in 1794. They were opened on 11 May 1795 as Sydney Gardens Vauxhall, and rapidly became a popular place of entertainment, hosting public breakfasts, promenades and galas. The main building was the Sydney Tavern (now the Holburne of Menstrie Museum), which stood at the western end of the central walk, and housed tea and card rooms, a ballroom, coffee room and a public house. In 1799, a section of the Kennet and Avon Canal (authorised 1794; opened 1810) was cut through the gardens, with the addition of decorative bridges and tunnels, which added to the picturesque appeal of the pleasure grounds; these were insisted upon by the proprietors of Sydney Gardens as part of their agreement with the canal company, which was entered into in 1795. The canal company paid £2,100 and the cost of providing the bridges and tunnels as compensation for the intrusion into the gardens. During the early C19, additional features and structures were introduced, adding variety and surprise in accordance with landscape design principles of the period. From c.1839, a section of the Great Western Railway was constructed, cutting through the gardens. Later in the C19, further ornamental structures were introduced, but these were largely cleared away after World War Two. In 1891, when the original 99-year lease of the Gardens expired, the entire site, including the Tavern, by then in use as a college, was sold, with the intention of replacing the former Tavern with a large hotel, and remodelling the grounds. The plan was abandoned and in 1908, the site was purchased by Bath City Council; the gardens were opened to the public as a municipal park in 1913, while the Tavern was remodelled by Sir Reginald Blomfield into the Holburne of Menstrie Museum. The gardens remain in use as a public park. This tunnel was constructed c.1800, after the cutting of the canal commenced in 1799. SOURCES: K R Clew, The Kennet and Avon Canal (1968) Brenda Snaddon, The Last Promenade: Sydney Gardens, Bath (2000), 19-20

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION The Kennet and Avon Canal Tunnel under Beckford Road designated at Grade II*, for the following principal reasons: * It is an unusually elegant example of a canal tunnel, dating from 1800, with the southern portal designed specifically to be highly decorative as well as functional, at the behest of the owners of Sydney Gardens * The tunnel makes a virtue of necessity and as well as providing a crossing over the canal, it is a positive feature of the picturesque pleasure grounds, adding to the variety and surprise of the designed landscape * The quality of the construction, the use of high quality materials throughout, and the impressive decoration of the south portal sets it apart from the majority of listed canal structures of this date and type * The tunnel is almost entirely unaltered since its construction * It forms part of an important group of four bridges and tunnels on the canal as it passes through Sydney Gardens, all of which are listed at Grade II*, and has group value with these and the other listed structures in the Gardens.

Listing NGR: ST7588565453

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