No. 1 With Railings

This is a large house, now used as offices, dating from 1729 and first recorded in rate books in 1734. It was designed by John Wood the Elder. The house is constructed of limestone ashlar with a Welsh slate roof. It occupies a prominent position at the top of a terrace of six houses on the east side of Queen Square and has a grand, symmetrical facade. The plan is double-depth, with a central entrance.

The three-storey house with attic and basement has a five-window front, with restored six/six sash windows throughout. The front door is an eight-panel door with a moulded architrave surround and pediment. The first-floor windows have raised sills and splayed surrounds with cornices. The second-floor windows have eared architraves. There is a drip course above the basement and platbands above the ground floor and first-floor sills. A very shallow blocking course and parapet continue from the adjacent No. 1A. The mansard roof has three flat-topped dormers, each with a six/six sash window. Each end of the property features coped party divisions with shared ashlar stacks, and there are four six/six sash windows in the basement. The rear elevation is not visible.

Partial inspections in 1980, 1991, and 1991 revealed that the basement includes a blocked fireplace, windows with shutters, and an original stone architrave fireplace. On the first floor, a lobby to a rear wing features ovolo timber panelling with a deep timber cornice and a panelled dado with cavetto and torus skirting. The basement areas are enclosed by simple cast iron railings on stone curbs, returning to the doorway over an area bridge.

The houses on the east side of Queen Square were among the earliest to be built as part of John Wood’s development. John Wood leased the site from Robert Gay in 1728 and subsequently granted underleases in 1729-1731. Queen Square is historically significant as the first example of large-scale town planning in Bath, drawing inspiration from contemporary London house building. Wood originally intended to level the sloping site, but this plan was abandoned due to cost. The square represents the earliest and lowest element in the sequence of developments by the Wood family that culminates with the Royal Crescent.