No.7 And Attached Railings And Vaults

This is a house, built around 1775, and later converted into flats. It is located on Oxford Row in Bath and was likely designed by Thomas Warr Atwood, who was certainly involved in its development. The front of the house is constructed of limestone ashlar, painted on the basement level, and features a parapeted mansard roof covered with Welsh slate. A notable ashlar stack with early clay pots rises from the coped party wall to the left, set back-to-back with a similar stack on Bennett Street.

The house is three storeys high, with an attic and basement, and has a three-window front. The first floor has three plate glass sash windows with splayed, ovolo moulded architraves, stone sills, and decorative friezes and cornices. The second floor mirrors this design with three similar sash windows. The ground floor has two plate glass sash windows to the left and a six-panel door with flush, fielded, and glazed panels set within a stone doorcase. To the right of the door is a small window. A single step leads to a pennant paved crossover with a 19th-century cast iron footscraper. The basement level has a sash window to the left, a door with three glazed panes in place of two upper panels and a three-pane overlight, an additional window under the crossover, and two doorways leading to vaults, with 20th-century area steps. There are two double dormers with plate glass sash windows in the roof. Other exterior details include a band course over the ground floor, a modillion eaves cornice, a coped parapet, and a lead downpipe. The rear elevation is not visible.

The interior remains uninspected. Attached to the property are wrought iron railings and a gate with shaped heads on limestone bases. According to Council minutes from 1773, Thomas Warr Atwood acquired the ground on which the houses were built. The building exemplifies a standard Palladian style from the 1770s, potentially designed by Atwood, John Wood the Younger, or Thomas Jelly; however, Atwood is considered the most likely designer. He is described as a competent and conservative architect who produced excellent examples of English Palladian architecture applied to street design. The building’s development on Council land highlights its historical context.