16, Rivers Street

656-1/14/1390

RIVERS STREET (North side) No.16

11/08/72

(Formerly Listed as: RIVERS STREET (North side) No.16. Nos 17-31 (consec))

GV II End of terrace house, now shop to corner of Rivers Street and Gloucester Street. c1770 (lease dated 05.03.1768) with C19 and C20 alterations.

MATERIALS: limestone ashlar painted to ground floor, slate mansard roof hipped and canted to left with moulded stacks to left party wall.

PLAN: double depth plan with canted left corner.

EXTERIOR: three storeys with attic and basement, two-window principal front. Coped parapet, cornice and ground floor platband returned to left (modillion cornice to front and canted corner) over six/six-pane sash windows in moulded architraves to upper floors, cornices and bracketed sills to those on first floor, blind to second floor right. Blank wall to right has evidence of sill to former door. Upper windows of left return in Gloucester Street are blind windows to right, six/six-pane sashes to centre over flush six-panel door with three-pane overlight, two/two-pane sash to second floor left, four/four-pane sash to first floor left and plate glass sash to ground floor. Early/mid C19 shop spans canted corner and right of left return. Cornice to fascia, plate glass windows on brackets with moulded glazing bars and overlights flanking C20 half-glazed door. Above shop on left return faint painting advertising former grocer's shop.

INTERIOR: not inspected.

HISTORY: Rivers Street was developed by John Wood the Younger on three parcels of land: Nos. 1-11 constructed in conjunction with Catharine Place on ground conveyed on perpetual leasehold from Sir Benet Garrard to Wood and Brock as his trustee 19/20 December 1766. Nos. 16-28 and 36-47 Rivers Street with areas behind Nos. 46 and 47 on ground conveyed from Rivers Estate (owned by Sir Peter Rivers Gay) to Wood 5 March 1768 for 99 years. Nos. 28-35 Rivers Street were constructed in conjunction with Russell Street on ground bought by John Wood and Andrew Sproule as his trustee from Thomas and Daniel Omer 30 December 1768 on perpetual freehold rents. Strip of ground on which Nos 12-15 and 48-50 Rivers Street constructed probably never acquired by Wood. Sites of Nos. 12-15 were conveyed from Rivers Estate to Thomas and James Beale on 30 December 1774 and 16 October 1776 on perpetual freehold rents.

A number of different Bath builders were responsible for implementing Wood's overall design, re Ison.

SOURCES: Building leases and rate books; Walter Ison, The Georgian Buildings of Bath (2nd ed. 1980), 233.

Listing NGR: ST7473265461