Fairfield

Fairfield is a large detached house dating from around the 1850s, likely designed by James Wilson. It is constructed of limestone ashlar with Welsh slate roofs. The house is an Italianate villa with a central stairhall and rooms arranged around it. The main south front has three windows, with slightly projecting bays at either end of the ground floor, framed by plain pilasters with caps. These bays contain tripartite windows, with stone mullions and two/two-sash windows, featuring an apron beneath each window with a circular pattern of one:two:one. A canted bay sits between the bays, also with tall two/two-sash windows. All the windows have blind boxes. A continuous cornice band runs along the first floor level. To the left is a four-light window with arched heads and stone mullions; in the centre, a three-light window opens onto a balcony with pierced balustrade and two/two-sashes with arched heads and sliding louvered shutters; and to the right, a projecting window has a two/two-sash window, panelled apron, sill band, and a decorated semicircular panel above. Bracketed eaves are present, with a gable over the right-hand window. An original timber and glass conservatory projects to the left. The entrance front features a projecting, single-storey porch. The upper floor has a projecting stack, six/six-sash windows and a projecting gable with a further window. The roofs are low-pitched with tall ashlar stacks with decorative pots. The interior of the ground floor is largely unaltered in the main rooms. Upper floor rooms have been divided but are potentially restorable. The staircase has a twisted iron balustrade and a mahogany rail, with a two-light stair window on the west wall. Much of the original joinery and fireplaces remain, though decorative treatment is heavily overpainted. The house was occupied by Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia in 1936 after his exile, and he resided there until 1941. The house was given to Bath City Council in 1958, later converted to an Old Peoples' Home, and now operates as a Day Centre.