No. 42 and Attached Railings

No. 42 is a house, later converted into flats, dating from 1770-1775. It is part of the Rivers Street development by John Wood the Younger. The front is constructed of limestone ashlar, with rubble stonework below the basement windows and at the rear. The roof is a mansard style with Welsh slate to the front and Roman tiles to the rear, incorporating coped party wall stacks with early clay pots. The front features a staircase.

The building is three storeys high with an attic and basement, presenting a three-window front. The first floor has three two-paned sash windows, set within splayed, ovolo moulded architraves which have a frieze and cornice, and a lowered, moulded stone sill supported on console brackets. The second floor mirrors this design with plate glass sash windows. The ground floor has two plate glass sash windows to the right, and a six-panel door with flush beaded and glazed panels, within a pedimented Doric doorcase and a single window to the left. A small two-pane window is positioned to the left of the door. Basement windows are two-paned, and a C20 glazed door is located under the crossover. Limestone area steps, with a C20 handrail, lead to the entrance. A double dormer window incorporates two-paned sashes. A band course runs above the ground floor, and a modillion cornice sits beneath a coped parapet. A lead downpipe is attached to the right, shared with No. 43 Rivers Street. The partially visible rear elevation contains three grouped plate glass sashes on the second floor, along with C20 windows in a double and single dormer. The interior remains uninspected.

Attached to the front are wrought iron railings and a gate, with shaped heads on limestone bases. The property’s construction reflects a scheme involving multiple land transactions and several Bath builders working under Wood’s designs. Rivers Street was developed on land conveyed on perpetual leasehold from Sir Benet Garrard, from the Rivers Estate (owned by Sir Peter Rivers Gay), and from Thomas and Daniel Omer.