Sydney Gardens Hotel And Ravenswell

Sydney Gardens Hotel and Ravenswell are an asymmetrical pair of villas built in an eclectic Italianate style in 1853. The architect is unknown, but the style is similar to that of H E Goodridge. The buildings are constructed from limestone ashlar under slate roofs, with bracketed wooden eaves. They occupy a complex, staggered plan that extends to the rear, built on a sloping site, resulting in two and three storeys with attic levels.

The main elevation of the Sydney Gardens Hotel, on the left, features a single bay, angle quoins up to the attic level, and a bay window on the ground floor surmounted by an open stone parapet. The first floor has two-over-two sash windows within raised surrounds, with a segmental pediment over the bay window. An arched attic window sits within the gable above. Wide eaves are supported by wooden brackets. A square tower is set into the angle between the street and side fronts, containing an entrance at ground floor level, arched windows, a heavy bracketed cornice, and an upswept roof in a Jacobean style, finished with an elaborate stepped finial. The garden front features three storeys and an attic, with a tripartite window on the upper ground floor and a gabled attic storey.

Ravenswell, to the right, has two storeys and an attic to the main elevation. A decorated stone parapet, carried on heavy consoles, runs along the first floor. The arched attic window is set within a semi-circular surround with consoles and a finial. The garden front is distinguished by a deep, projecting hipped roof with a gable. The rear elevation features a lean-to roof and a tall chimneystack enriched with modillions and a pedimental cap.

The interior of the buildings has not been inspected. Constructed in 1853, the houses were originally named Lonsdale and Ravensworth and are located on the site formerly occupied by the labyrinth, an early feature of Sydney Gardens pleasure grounds, positioned between the Great Western Railway and the Kennet and Avon Canal as they enter Sydney Gardens. The buildings are designated at Grade II for being a good example of an early Victorian eclectic historicist villa, for the quality of its architectural detailing, materials, and craftsmanship, and for their group value with the front garden walls and other listed buildings in Sydney Road.