Kelso House: Former Gas Works Offices

Kelso House, formerly the offices of the Bath Gas Light and Coke Company, is a utility company office building constructed between 1858 and 1859 by Manners and Gill. The building is constructed of limestone ashlar with a Welsh slate roof. It is a square block with a central entrance, extending over two storeys, an attic, and a basement, and features five windows at each principal elevation. The ground floor is rusticated, with openings featuring voussoir heads. It contains arched windows with four-panel sashes. There is a six-panel entrance door with a plain fanlight above. A platband runs at first-floor level, accompanied by a sill band. The first-floor windows have segmental heads, four-panel sashes, and eared architraves. A band above the window heads carries the incised lettering “BATH GAS LIGHT AND COKE COMPANY.” A parapet tops the building, above a mansard roof with three flat-topped dormers. The dormers contain four-panel sashes, with a tripartite window flanked by two four-panel sashes. The west and east elevations have similar detailing; the west elevation has three narrow dormers and one blind window on the first floor. The rear elevation mirrors the front, with four windows and a canted bay to the left. The interior remains uninspected. The first plans to bring gas to Bath date from 1815, with an Act of Parliament confirming the company’s right to light the city in 1819. The site previously housed gasometers within wooden sheds. Gas production at the site ceased in 1971, and the works experienced major demolition in 1983. The building represents a conservative design firmly within the Georgian architectural style, intended to project an image of solid respectability for a modern utility enterprise.