Nos. 1-7 (Consec) With Railings

Seven terrace houses, now mainly offices, built in 1778 by Thomas Baldwin on the south side of Wood Street in Bath. The terrace is constructed of limestone ashlar with slate roofs and extends the full length of Wood Street, returning to Queen Street and Barton Street at its ends. Units at the middle and each end are slightly stepped forward.

The building comprises three storeys with a full attic storey and basement. The main façade contains twenty-one windows, originally all twelve or fifteen-pane sashes in plain reveals, except to the attic storey, which has small bolection mould architraves. At attic level, each house has a central blind panel flanked by small six or twelve-pane windows.

The middle and end bays have plain sashes, except to the ground floor. At the first floor, windows (all except to No.7) have fifteen-pane balconettes and have been extended down through the plinth-band. Each end's ground floor features sunk arched panels flanking a sunk square panel; this arrangement is reversed in the middle three bays. Bays two and twenty at first floor have sunk arched panels with architraves to flared feet, frieze, and pediment.

The first floor's central three windows have architraves and are framed by flat Corinthianesque pilasters, with frieze displaying swags and a small cornice. Paired six-panelled doors with deep three-pane transom lights occupy bays six/seven and fifteen/sixteen in deep plain reveals. No.4 has a similar door with architrave surround, balanced by a plain sash to its right of centre.

The basement has generally twelve-pane sashes, painted. The first floor features a sill band and, underneath a guilloche band, arched panels at each end decorated with swags to the spandrels. The second floor also has a sill band, and between this and the guilloche band runs a series of thirteen bold elliptical rosettes. Above the frieze-band with cornice (raised to a low pediment over the ends and centre), the attic has a small cornice with blocking course and parapet. Four ashlar chimney stacks sit at each elevational break.

The return to Queen Street comprises three bays with sashes in plain reveals, two large twentieth-century display windows, and a triple sash to the ground floor. The first floor has a sill band and cornice above the second floor, with parapet to the attic. The return to Barton Street also comprises three bays, with nine-pane windows to the attic, twelve-pane windows flanked by blind lights at first and second floors, and sixteen-pane windows with blind lights to the ground floor.

The rear elevation is ashlar with scattered lights, mainly glazing bar sashes and a full-height canted bay near the centre.

The basement areas are enclosed by spearhead iron railings on a stone curb, returned at doorways, though these have been removed from the first three bays.

This is a speculative development by Baldwin that remains externally little altered and provides an interesting contrast with Wood's terrace on the opposite side of Wood Street, built nearly fifty years earlier. In the original scheme, the street was intended to be twice as wide as ultimately constructed. The 1750 map of Bath indicates the area was gardens at that time. Architecturally, the row shows the clear influence of Robert Adam in its scale and detailing.