40 and 41, Rivers Street

Two terrace houses stand on the south side of Rivers Street, dating to circa 1770 as part of John Wood the Younger’s development of the street. The buildings are constructed of limestone ashlar with double-pitched slate mansard roofs, featuring paired dormers and moulded stacks to the coped party walls.

Architecturally, the houses are three storeys high. Number 40 is two windows wide, while Number 41 has three bays. A continuous coped parapet and modillion cornice run along both properties. The second-floor windows have moulded architraves, while the first-floor windows feature moulded architraves with cornices and lowered sills. Each house has a pedimented doorway with engaged Tuscan columns and a six-panel door glazed to the top, located to the left of the entrance, and an irregular lead downpipe runs along the party wall. Number 40 exhibits a two-window range with three/six-pane sash windows in the attic. The second floor has six/six-pane sashes, the first floor has splayed reveals and plate glass sashes, and the ground floor features a two/two-pane sash with margin panes and horizontal glazing bars. Number 41 has six/six-pane sash windows on the attic, second, and ground floors, with six/nine-pane sashes on the first floor. The interiors have not been inspected.

Rivers Street was developed in three distinct sections, with differing land ownership and lease arrangements. The land for numbers 1–11 and 16–28 and 36–47 was conveyed to John Wood and his trustees, while numbers 28–35 were built in conjunction with Russell Street on ground acquired from the Omer family. Various Bath builders implemented John Wood's design. Historical information comes from building leases, rate books, and Walter Ison's "The Georgian Buildings of Bath."