20, 21 AND 22, UNION STREET

A row of shops with living accommodation above, built around 1806 and altered in the 20th century. The building was likely overseen by City Architect John Palmer, but based on designs from around 1791 by Thomas Baldwin. The construction is limestone ashlar, painted except for the attic floor of numbers 21 and 22. The roofs are not visible from the street. The layout is a deep single-depth plan located behind numbers 3 to 5 Union Passage.

The building is three storeys and has attics, with nine bays arranged symmetrically. Numbers 20 and 22 step back behind numbers 19 and 23, while number 21 projects forward, each feature accentuated by giant, quarter-Corinthian pilasters. The shopfronts were replaced in the late 20th century, with one shopfront shared by numbers 21 and 22. The first floor of number 20 has an Edwardian display window with four lights separated by Ionic half columns supporting an entablature. Numbers 21 and 22 feature a central window with a decorative cornice, and sunk panels above the side windows; number 20 originally mirrored this detail. A sill band runs along the second floor, and the windows are set in plain reveals. The windows are plate glass with transoms in numbers 21 and 22. Number 20 has six-over-six sash windows on the second floor and in the attic, with a blind central window in the attic. Numbers 21 and 22 have small-paned casements to the attic. The building has a cornice over the second floor, and a cornice and parapet to the attic storey, with stone stacks but no chimney pots.

The ground floors retain no features of particular interest, and the interiors have not been inspected. These three premises form a central part of a former terrace of thirty-one bays extending between Northumberland Place and Cheap Street. The right-hand eight bays have been redeveloped in the 20th century, and the adjacent three-bay premises (number 23) is a post-World War II reconstruction. The original design of the terrace is now less apparent due to alterations, and the slope of the land detracts from its impact. Union Street was originally proposed as part of improvements to the city centre following the Bath Improvement Act of 1789, intended to improve communication between the Pump Room and Baths, and the Upper Town; construction began in 1806.