Nos. 44 And 45 And Attached Railings

Two houses, now united, located on the south side of Rivers Street. Built between 1770 and 1775 as part of the Rivers Street development by John Wood the Younger.

The buildings are constructed in limestone ashlar to the front, with rubble below basement windows. The rear of No. 45 is ashlar and rubble, while the rear of No. 44 is rubble. Both houses have double pile parapeted mansard roofs with artificial slate covering front and rear elevations. Each has a coped party wall to the right with two ashlar stacks, some featuring early clay pots.

Each house comprises three storeys, an attic storey, and a basement, with a three-window front. The first floor of No. 44 (to the left) has three two-over-two horned sashes set in splayed ovolo-moulded architraves with friezes and cornices, with lowered stone sills on cut-down console brackets. No. 45 (to the right) has three similar windows on its first floor. The second floor of both houses has three plate glass horned sashes in ovolo-moulded architraves with stone sills.

The ground floor of No. 44 has, to the right, two plate glass horned sashes in splayed reveals with stone sills. To the left is a six-panel door with flush beaded, fielded and single-glazed panels, a Pennant step, and a pedimented Doric doorcase with three steps to a Pennant paved crossover. A small six-pane window in plain reveal with stone sill is positioned to the left of the door. No. 45's ground floor has two similar windows to the right and, to the left, a six-panel door with flush beaded, fielded and glazed panels, one Pennant step, and a pedimented Doric doorcase with two steps to a Pennant paved crossover.

Both houses have two plate glass horned sashes in plain reveals with stone sills to the basement, twentieth-century doors under the crossovers, and twentieth-century area steps (No. 45 only). Each house has double dormers with plate glass horned sashes. Band courses run over the ground floor; modillion eaves cornices and coped parapets are present. A lead hopperhead and downpipe at the centre are shared between the two houses.

The rear elevations are partially visible. No. 44 has three grouped plate glass horned sashes (narrower to left and right) on the second floor, and plate glass horned sashes to double and single dormers. No. 45 features a full-height bow with a plate glass horned sash to the second floor and plate glass horned sashes to double and single dormers.

The interiors were not inspected during listing. The staircase to No. 44 was originally to the front and is now removed except to the basement. The staircase to No. 45 was originally to the rear and has been rebuilt in the twentieth century.

Rivers Street was developed by John Wood the Younger on three parcels of land. Nos. 1–11 were constructed in conjunction with Catharine Place on ground conveyed on perpetual leasehold from Sir Benet Garrard to Wood and Brock (as trustee) on 19 and 20 December 1766. Nos. 16–28 and 36–47 Rivers Street, with areas behind Nos. 46 and 47, were built on ground conveyed from the Rivers Estate (owned by Sir Peter Rivers Gay) to Wood on 5 March 1768 for 99 years. Nos. 28–35 Rivers Street were constructed in conjunction with Russell Street on ground bought by John Wood and Andrew Sproule (as trustee) from Thomas and Daniel Omer on 30 December 1768 on perpetual freehold rents. The strip of ground for Nos. 12–15 and 48–50 Rivers Street was probably never acquired by Wood. The sites of Nos. 12–15 were conveyed from the Rivers Estate to Thomas and James Beale on 30 December 1774 and 16 October 1776 on perpetual freehold rents. Various Bath builders were responsible for implementing Wood's overall design. In recent years these houses have been used as a hostel.