Nos. 17 And 18 With Railings

Nos. 17 and 18 are a pair of terrace houses located on the north side of Beauford Square, dating from around 1730, with later alterations including raising and refronting in the late 18th century. They are constructed of limestone ashlar with rubble at the rear and feature slate double roofs.

The houses are three storeys high with a basement, and all windows are twelve-pane sashes set in plain reveals. No. 17 has two windows at the second floor above paired sashes on the first and ground floors, along with two casements in the basement. Above its doorway is a painted-in blind light. No. 18 features a paired sash, one half blind, and an additional sash to the right, above paired sashes at the first and ground floors, with two twelve-pane windows in splays at the basement. It also has a blind light above the doorway.

Both houses have a six-panel door to the right with a three-pane transom light, framed by a moulded architrave and topped with a segmental pediment supported by fluted pilasters with consoles. They have a small moulded cornice with a shallow blocking course and a parapet, and to the right of each house are pairs of ashlar stacks at the coped part divisions.

The basement areas are enclosed by simple railings on a stone curb, which return at the doorways. This development from around 1727 represents a significant effort to create an architecturally coherent square in a style distinct from that of John Wood, marking an important phase in the growth of Bath and holding great group value with the Theatre Royal. The pair of houses retains only the doorways that reflect the original Strahan configuration, while the rest has been refaced and refenestrated.