11 Rivers Street and attached railings

656-1/30/1385

RIVERS STREET (North side) No.11 and attached railings

(Formerly Listed as: RIVERS STREET (North side) Nos.1-15 (Consecutive))

12/06/50

GV II Terrace house, now flats. 1770-1775. By John Wood the Younger.

MATERIALS: limestone ashlar to front, painted to ground floor, rubble below basement windows, ashlar and rubble to rear, double pile parapeted mansard roof, Welsh slate to front, double Romans to upper slope to rear, Welsh slate to lower, coped party wall to right with two ashlar stacks with early clay pots.

EXTERIOR: three storeys, attic and basement, three-window front. First floor has three plate glass horned sashes in splayed reveals with lowered stone sills and wrought iron balconettes; second floor has three similar sashes in splayed reveals with stone sills; ground floor has to right two similar sashes, to left six-panel door with flush, fielded and glazed panels, pedimented Doric doorcase, with two steps to pennant paved crossover with wrought iron foot-scraper. Basement has two plate glass sashes in plain reveals with stone sills, plank door with five-pane overlight in ashlar infilling with attached wrought iron foot-scraper, no area steps. Double dormer with two plate glass sashes with moulded architrave partially remaining.Band course over ground floor, modillion cornice and coped parapet continuous with No.10 Rivers Street (qv).

Rear elevation partially visible, has wrought iron balconette to first floor, render cantilevered lavatory extension off second half-landing of staircase, lead hopperhead at eaves to right.

INTERIOR: not inspected.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: attached wrought iron railings and gate with shaped heads on limestone bases.

HISTORY: Rivers Street was developed by John Wood the Younger on three parcels of land: Nos. 1-11 constructed in conjunction with Catharine Place on ground conveyed on perpetual leasehold from Sir Benet Garrard to Wood and Brock as his trustee 19/20 December 1766. Nos. 16-28 and 36-47 Rivers Street with areas behind Nos. 46 and 47 on ground conveyed from Rivers Estate (owned by Sir Peter Rivers Gay) to Wood 5 March 1768 for 99 years. Nos. 28-35 Rivers Street were constructed in conjunction with Russell Street on ground bought by John Wood and Andrew Sproule as his trustee from Thomas and Daniel Omer 30 December 1768 on perpetual freehold rents. Strip of ground on which Nos 12-15 and 48-50 Rivers Street constructed probably never acquired by Wood. Sites of Nos. 12-15 were conveyed from Rivers Estate to Thomas and James Beale on 30 December 1774 and 16 October 1776 on perpetual freehold rents.

A number of different Bath builders were responsible for implementing Wood's overall design, re Ison.

SOURCES: Building leases and rate books; Walter Ison, The Georgian Buildings of Bath (2nd ed. 1980), 233.

Listing NGR: ST7469365472