Sunnylands And West Lawn

Sunnyands and West Lawn are a detached house, originally built as one dwelling but now divided into two separate properties. The house dates to 1860, and was altered in 1865 by Wilson and Willcox, who were named in a deed related to the property owner. It was subsequently divided into two in 1962. The building is constructed of limestone ashlar with a Welsh slate roof.

The house has a rectangular main block with a projecting south wing containing the principal rooms. It is built in an Italianate style. The house is two storeys high, with three storeys in part, and has a basement, the level of which varies due to the sloping ground. The ashlar is finely crafted and incorporates plat and sill bands at each floor level. All windows are fitted with plate glass sashes.

Sunnyands includes a full-height canted bay window to the south wing. The south wing's windows on the first and second floors have key-shaped heads. The attic window has a lunette head. There are deeply projecting eaves and a tall ashlar stack to the right. A projecting porch has a door with a fanlight, flanked by narrow arched windows. It is topped with a modillion cornice and a parapet pierced by roundels. A secondary, modern iron and glass porch projects further forward. Above this is a single window with a keyed head and a bell-cast ‘castle’ roof on a bracketed cornice.

West Lawn features a secondary wing of the house, two storeys high, with paired, plain sashes. A conservatory has been added to the right, serving as an entrance to the house. A prominent belvedere tower rises two storeys above the main roofline. The tower is initially square, then octagonal, with a continuous sill and arched light on each face, connected by impost bands. It has deep bracketed eaves and a conical roof with a weathervane.

The interior of Sunnyands retains the main rooms and staircase, which has an elaborate cast iron balustrade and a mahogany handrail. The rooms have not been substantially altered, although they lack particular features. The interior of West Lawn has not been inspected.

The building is an elaborate and relatively unaltered villa by James Wilson, representing a good example of affluent suburban homes in Bath during the 1860s.