Gate Piers At South End Of Ralph Allen Drive

The gate piers at the south end of Ralph Allen Drive date from around 1740 and were designed by John Wood the Elder. Made of limestone ashlar, these large piers stand on either side of the Drive where it meets North Road at the top of the hill, near Top Lodge. Each pier is approximately 1.2 meters square and 4 meters high, featuring rusticated surfaces. The bases of the piers are mostly hidden by later road and pavement surfaces, while the tops have wide moulded capping that supports very large horizontally moulded urns. The inner faces of the piers include hanging stiles that lead to modelled console heads.

These piers are one of three similar pairs that remain from the Prior Park estate. Currently, they no longer have gates and have been repositioned to straddle the road exit. The eastern pier is likely in its original position, while the western one has been moved. Ralph Allen Drive was originally a private carriage drive, which was taken over by Bath City Council in 1921. The road was widened with the help of unemployed labor and reopened as a public thoroughfare in 1922. A wooden sign on the eastern pier still indicates 'Private road', and this pier also has the letters LWP, representing Lyncombe and Widcombe Parish. The large urns were designed to showcase the quality of Bath stone from Ralph Allen's quarries and its capacity for large-scale craftsmanship.