NOS. 69 AND 71 ORIEL HOUSE (69) AND ORIEL VILLA (69)

This is a semi-detached pair of villas, numbers 69 and 71, likely built around 1845, as mentioned in the Bath Guide of 1853. Later 20th-century additions have been made. The villas are constructed of limestone ashlar with slate roofs.

The architectural style is picturesque Tudor, characterised by steep-pitched roofs and a complex plan. The main range has gables, with the return gable to the front being particularly prominent in number 69. Number 69 is set back from the road, with a dormer featuring “modillion” eaves and a narrow gablet with a small light above it on each floor. To the right is a three-light window to each floor, both with drip courses. The return elevation features a large external stack, originally with three diagonal flues, now cropped, and a sunk panel inscribed "ORIEL HOUSE". A ridge stack sits at the party wall, featuring six octagonal shafts with cappings on a square base. The left return has an entrance with two gables: the first containing a lancet window above a two-story porch with a stepped gable and a two-light window above a pair of double-casement doors under a drip. The second gable is slightly set back and features a shield and a two-light window above a 20th-century window. All gables are coped and retain remains of former finials. The rear elevation has two-light casements at three levels.

Number 71 has a brought-forward gable with a small bellcote above a lancet, and a semicircular oriel with stone mullions and a transom, featuring a crenellated parapet on a modelled bracket. The ground floor has a casement in four narrow lights with a drip. The return elevation has a small dormer above three-light casements with drips, a flush gable with a lancet, and a slender octagonal finial above a deep, square, two-story porch with lancets on the sides and a two-light window with a drip above a pair of doors in a four-centered arch, all under a square drip. A high porch parapet features a central shouldered gablet. To the right is a further gabled range on two floors, with a two-light window above a bold, canted, flat-roofed bay. A rear block features a tented canopy across the ground floor with a glazed door, and a stack to the north gable end.

The interiors have not been inspected. These villas were likely built as part of a larger development, marking a shift from the simpler classical style of other properties along Prior Park Road. They flank Bewdley Road, alongside numbers 61 and 63.