No. 11 And Attached Railings

No. 11 Russell Street is a house, now converted into flats, built around 1771-1773. It was designed by John Wood the Younger and developed as part of Russell Street, alongside the Assembly Rooms and Rivers Street. The construction involved land purchased from Thomas and Daniel Omer by John Wood and Andrew Sproule.

The house is built from limestone ashlar to the front, with a rubble plinth to the basement and rubble to the rear. It has a double-pile, parapeted mansard roof, double Roman chimneys to front and rear, and a coped party wall with two ashlar stacks, some featuring early clay pots. The house is three storeys high, with an attic and basement, and has a three-window front. The first floor features three plate glass sash windows with ovolo moulded architraves, splayed jambs, friezes, cornices, lowered moulded stone sills, and simple wrought iron balconettes. The second floor mirrors this, with three plate glass sash windows in similar surrounds and stone sills. The ground floor has two plate glass sash windows in splayed reveals with stone sills to the right; to the left is an eight-panel door with fielded and single glazed panels, set within a cyma moulded architrave with console brackets supporting a projecting moulded cornice. A single cement-coated step leads to a crossover with two steps and Pennant stone inset into the treads, alongside a wrought iron handrail. The basement has six/six horned sash windows in plain reveals with stone sills, and another six/six sash in a former doorway. One double and one single dormer window with plate glass sashes are set into the roof. The rear elevation, partially visible, incorporates a glazing bar sash window serving the second-half landing of the staircase.

The interior was not inspected during the listing process.

Attached to the front of the house are wrought iron railings and a gate with shaped heads on painted bases. The development of Russell Street was undertaken in conjunction with the Assembly Rooms and the east end of Rivers Street on land previously known as Holdtock’s Garden or Russell’s Close.