No. 18 And Atached Railings

No. 18 Russell Street and Attached Railings

House, circa 1771-1773, designed by John Wood the Younger.

This house occupies the junction of Russell Street and Bennett Street, with its entrance front facing Russell Street and a matching elevation on its right side to Bennett Street. The building is almost entirely enclosed to its left side and rear by adjoining structures.

The front elevation to Russell Street comprises three bays arranged over three storeys, an attic and basement, with five windows across its width. The first floor contains three grouped plate glass horned sashes with the narrower examples to left and right, set within splayed ovolo moulded architraves with continuous frieze and cornice. A lowered stone sill with continuous wrought iron balconette runs below these windows. Similar plate glass horned sashes in matching architraves with wrought iron balconettes occupy the centre and right positions. The second floor has three plate glass horned sashes in ovolo moulded architraves with stone sills. The ground floor displays three grouped plate glass horned sashes, again with narrower examples flanking a central group, in plain reveals with continuous stone sill. To the right are three blind windows in plain reveals. The centre contains a six-panel door with flush beaded and fielded panels within a reeded timber surround, flanked by single-pane sidelights and surmounted by a decorative fanlight. This entry sits within a splayed round-headed reveal and is sheltered by a zinc tent canopy on wrought iron brackets. A Pennant paved crossover with wrought iron footscraper sits flush with the pavement. The basement level has an eight-over-eight sash window to the left in a plain reveal with splayed jambs and stone sill, with some glazing bars cut out from the upper sash. To the right are two six-over-six sash windows in plain reveals with stone sills. A 19th-century half-glazed door and boarded screen stand under the crossover on the left, whilst a small eight-pane fixed light window occupies the right side of the wall. An unmoulded six-panel door in ashlar infilling stands under the right crossover. Three single dormers with six-over-six sashes break the roof line. A band course over the ground floor carries the incised street name 'RUSSELL STREET' to the right. The building is crowned by a modillion eaves cornice and coped parapet.

The elevation to Bennett Street, on the right side, rises three storeys with an attic and basement over a three-window range. The first floor has three plate glass horned sashes in splayed ovolo moulded architraves with friezes and cornices, set above lowered stone sills with wrought iron balconettes. The second floor contains three plate glass horned sashes in ovolo moulded architraves with stone sills. The ground floor has three plate glass horned sashes in splayed reveals with stone sills. The basement features a sash window in a splayed reveal with stone sill to the centre, and a matching blind window in a plain reveal to the left. To the right, an extension into the area is fitted with a six-pane window on its left side; this blocks further opening. Above the roof of the extension are three fixed panes in a splayed reveal. Limestone area steps with Pennant treads and wrought iron handrails stand to the left at the angle of the area. A single dormer with a six-over-six sash breaks the roofline. A band course over the ground floor and modillion eaves cornice with coped parapet continue from the Russell Street elevation. A single-window elevation with dormer to the rear left is not clearly visible.

The building is constructed principally of limestone ashlar to the front and right side, with ashlar and render to the basement and ashlar and rubble to the rear. The roof is triple-pile and parapeted, with a mansard form featuring three hips to the front, covered with very large Welsh slates. Ashlar chimney stacks, some with early clay pots, stand on coped party walls: to the left adjoining No. 17 Russell Street, to the rear right adjoining No. 16 Bennett Street, and to the rear left. A lead hopperhead and downpipe are attached to the left elevation.

The interior was not inspected during listing but was recorded by the Bath Preservation Trust's survey of interiors. The staircase is located at the back of a central hall and features wooden treads, slender column and vase balusters (three per tread), an upswept wooden handrail, and columnar newel posts. A sitting room to the right of the entrance contains fielded panelling and numerous other features.

Attached wrought iron railings and two gates with shaped heads stand on painted limestone bases, forming subsidiary features to the house.

Russell Street was developed by John Wood in conjunction with the Assembly Rooms and the east end of Rivers Street, built on part of Holdstock's Garden or Russell's Close. This land was purchased by Wood and Andrew Sproule, his trustee, from Thomas and Daniel Omer on 30th December 1768.