1-8, Richmond Hill

Eight terrace houses on the north side of Richmond Hill, forming a consecutive row with long front gardens. Dating from around 1795, they were designed by John Pinch the Elder, though individual houses bear different build dates according to deeds. The group exemplifies early Georgian design with later 19th and 20th century alterations.

The houses are constructed in limestone ashlar with double pitched roofs and moulded chimney stacks to party walls. All buildings are three storeys tall with coped parapets and cornices. The frontages vary between two and three windows wide, creating an irregular but visually coherent composition.

No. 1, built in 1791 according to deeds, is set forward and stands taller than its neighbours. It has a two-window front with a lintel frieze and features sliding louvred shutters to the second floor, a swept canopy over a trellised first floor balcony on cast iron brackets, and a tripartite window to the ground floor left. The Bath Preservation Trust interior survey recorded two rooms per floor, an open string wooden staircase, reeded door surrounds with six-panel doors, and reeded marble chimneypieces with paterae to corners displaying Greek Revival plasterwork.

No. 2 has a three-window front with six/six-pane sash windows and a bracketed hood over the door to the right.

No. 3, built in 1793 by builder and carpenter William Wheeler, features a three-window front with six/six-pane sash windows and a projecting porch to the right. The Bath Preservation Trust interior survey noted a closed string wooden staircase, Greek Revival plasterwork and joinery, and marble chimneypieces incorporating mid-18th century Bristol Delft tiles. Later 19th century enrichment includes papier mâché Jacobean style ceiling decoration, a Baroque wooden overdoor and skirting.

No. 4 retains six/six-pane sash windows to the upper floors, with the first floor centre window converted to French doors. The ground floor was extended forward in the mid to late 19th century, now with a plain 20th century balustrade forming a first floor balcony. The ground floor has a two/two-pane tripartite window to the left and a 20th century door to the right.

No. 5 displays a three-window front with rendered finish and painted timber reveals to 20th century six/six-pane sash windows without horns. A 20th century porch with swept hipped glazed roof stands to the right.

No. 6 has a three-window front, stepped slightly forward, with slightly raised window surrounds. A mid-19th century enclosed porch to the right features a coped parapet, cornice, set back pilasters, and paterae to the frieze.

No. 7, built in 1790 according to deeds, is noticeably lower than its adjacent neighbours. It has a three-window front with painted render, 20th century double doors under a bracketed hood, and 20th century horned six/six-pane sash windows. The Bath Preservation Trust interior survey recorded a closed string wooden staircase with columnar newels and square rails, two rooms per floor, a reeded marble chimneypiece with grey marble slips, and a late 19th century rear extension.

No. 8 at the right end, built in 1793 according to deeds, consists of a two-window front with slate roof and lintel frieze. Six/six-pane sash windows to the second floor right and first floor incorporate balconettes. The ground floor features a mid-19th century enclosed porch to the right, flanked by pilasters supporting a coped parapet and cornice, with 20th century double doors. The original door has been altered and half-glazed. The rest of the front is spanned by a glazed verandah on timber columns with decorative tops and inverted scallop edge frieze. The left window was enlarged in the mid-19th century as a tripartite six/six-pane sash with reeded mullions.

The Bath Preservation Trust survey of interiors across the group records features including cantilevered stone staircases with metal newel posts, reeded mouldings to marble chimneypieces and door architraves, ceiling plasterwork, six-panel doors, and grey and white marble chimneypieces with square leaf panels to corners in main rooms and reeded wooden surrounds to fireplaces in upper rooms. No. 8 contains a late 19th century polychromatic tile hall floor.

These houses represent early designs by John Pinch: he signed some of the deeds, dated 1795, confirming his authorship of the scheme.