York House Hotel

YORK BUILDINGS 656-1/30/1925

Nos.1 AND 2 York House Hotel

(Formerly Listed as: GEORGE STREET (South side) No.1 (York House Hotel) and No.2 York Buildings) 12/06/50

GV II

Includes: York House Hotel BROAD STREET. Symmetrical terrace of houses, later hotel and shops. 1755-1759, land was auctioned for building leases 1.10.1753 (Council Minutes). By John Wood the Younger. MATERIALS: Limestone ashlar, steep double pitched slate roof with eleven dormers and five truncated moulded stacks to party walls and right. PLAN: Double depth plan with rear additions. EXTERIOR: Three storeys with attics and basements, nineteen windows to whole terrace. Returned coped parapet and modillion cornice, moulded architraves to upper floor windows, those to first floor with continuous sill band and cornices, reveals have been chamfered, ground floor platband and plinth, plate glass sash windows. Centre stepped forward with seven windows; window to centre of whole terrace wider on each floor (now two/two pane sashes) over doorcase (probably early C19) with recessed panelled pilasters supporting cornice and blocking course, door (now window) has overlight. Set back left hand block has six windows and lead rainwater downpipe to right. Prostyle Tuscan porch (probably C19) to right of centre over semicircular arch to blocked door. Set back right hand block, No.2 York Buildings, not part of hotel, also has six windows. To each side are set back C20 doors with overlights under pediments on consoles, probably original house entrances. Between doors are two C19 shops, carved into platband are words: `THE OLD POST OFFICE'. Left return in Broad Street has five tripartite second floor windows with six/six pane sashes to centre and five Venetian windows to first and ground floors with plate glass sashes. All windows to right corner are blind. Downhill slope of Broad Street creates lower ground floor, two left hand ranges have Gothic glazing bars to Venetian windows. Wide shopfront to former tavern in C20 Regency style. South frontage onto yard has many sash windows including three large tripartite ones over double carriage doors which light former Assembly Room. INTERIOR: Not inspected. The land was auctioned for building leases 1 October 1753 (Council Minutes) and then constructed following a conventional Palladian design by the younger Wood. The return elevation to Broad Street, with its stripped down Venetian windows to the first floor, resembles other developments overseen by the younger Wood such as Brock Street or Rivers Street. The hotel has recently undergone extensive refurbishment and is thought to be much altered inside. At present unoccupied No.2 York Buildings was listed on 11 August 1972. SOURCES: J. Orbach, Card Index of Bath Architects and Streets (1978).

Listing NGR: ST7497965159