31A, Rivers Street

This is an end-of-terrace shop, built between 1770 and 1775, and altered in 1895. It is part of the Rivers Street development by John Wood the Younger.

The building is constructed of limestone ashlar, now painted, with a Welsh slate roof. The roof is hipped to the right, with a coped parapet that slopes down to the front on the left side. There is an ashlar stack, without pots, against the flank wall of the adjacent property at No. 31 Rivers Street.

The front elevation, with rounded corners, sits at the junction of Rivers Street and Julian Road. The building is three storeys high and one window wide. The first floor has a plate glass sash window with horns, set in a plain reveal with a timber sill. The second floor has a two-light timber casement window in a plain reveal with a stone sill. The ground floor has a half-glazed door and a plate glass window within a moulded timber surround, forming a small shop front.

The right side of the building has a plate glass sash window with horns, set in a plain reveal with a stone sill, on the first floor. The ground floor has an eight-pane shop window with an elaborate surround including panelled pilaster strips with moulded console brackets flanking a deep frieze. This shop front dates from 1895 and was designed by J Foster, Builder. The rear elevation, facing Julian Road, has four small plate glass windows.

The interior has not been inspected.

Rivers Street was developed by John Wood the Younger on three parcels of land, utilizing various leases and agreements. The specific ground for this property was conveyed from the Rivers Estate, owned by Sir Peter Rivers Gay, to Wood in 1768 for a 99-year lease. Several different Bath builders were involved in implementing Wood’s overall design.