No. 35 And Attached Railings

No. 35 and Attached Railings, Rivers Street

This end-of-terrace house dates to around 1773–1775 and forms part of the Rivers Street development by John Wood the Younger. It underwent mid-19th-century alterations. The building is constructed in limestone ashlar to the front and left side, with rubble to the right side and ashlar to the rear of a small wing on the right. The roof is an artificial slate parapeted mansard, hipped to left and right and to the left of the single-depth wing, with a coped party wall to the rear adjoining No. 8 Russell Street, two ashlar stacks with early clay pots, a small ashlar stack on the coped gable wall to the right, and a small ashlar stack with an early clay pot rising from the front wall to the left.

The main elevation to Rivers Street is symmetrical, presenting three storeys, an attic and basement, with a five-window front. A two-storey porch occupies the centre bay, and there is a ground-floor extension to the left-hand bays. The first floor contains two blind windows to the left, a pedimented window to the centre (now obscured by a 19th-century extension), one window with a plate glass lower sash (obscured above) to the right, and one plate glass horned sash, all set in ovolo moulded architraves with friezes, cornices and sills on console brackets. The second floor has two blind windows to the left and three six-over-six sashes to the centre and right, all in ovolo moulded architraves with stone sills. The ground floor features one blind window in a plain reveal with a stone sill to the right, and one plate glass horned sash in a similar reveal. The 19th-century extension to the left and centre has four narrow two-light windows with segmental heads in plain reveals with projecting keystones, a 20th-century door with a single-pane overlight, a deep plinth with an applied order of flat pilasters supporting a moulded cornice, and a pierced parapet with dies over pilasters and moulded coping. A bay to the centre right containing a door continues upwards to the first floor with a plate glass sash with a segmental head. The basement has one six-over-nine sash in a splayed reveal with a stone sill and a door under the extension not visible. Three single dormers with six-over-six sashes pierce the roofline. The main range has a band course over the ground floor, a modillion cornice and a coped parapet.

The return to Russell Street is three storeys, attic and basement, with a three-window front. The first floor has three plate glass horned sashes in ovolo moulded architraves with splayed jambs, friezes and cornices, and lowered moulded stone sills on console brackets. The second floor has three plate glass horned sashes in ovolo moulded architraves with stone sills. The ground floor has three unequally divided plate glass sashes with segmental heads to the upper lights in plain reveals with splayed jambs and lowered stone sills. A narrow front to the 19th-century extension to the right contains a six-panel door with moulded and fielded panels and a single-pane overlight with a projecting keystone. Incised lettering reading "RIVERS HOUSE" appears over the door. The basement has three six-over-six sashes in plain reveals with stone sills, each with wrought iron guard bars, and a six-panel door under a crossover, with 20th-century area steps. A double dormer with six-over-six sashes is present. A band course runs over the ground floor with incised lettering reading "RUSSELL STREET" to the right, followed by a modillion cornice and coped parapet.

The interior has not been inspected, but the building is noted as having decorative plasterwork on the ceiling of the first-floor front room in the style of Daniel Fowles, one of the principal builders in this area of Bath.

Attached wrought iron railings and a gate with shaped heads on limestone bases form subsidiary features.

Rivers Street was developed by John Wood the Younger on three separate 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 19–20 December 1766. Nos. 16–28 and 36–47 Rivers Street, with areas behind Nos. 46 and 47, were constructed 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 ground on which Nos. 12–15 and 48–50 Rivers Street were constructed 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. A number of different Bath builders were responsible for implementing Wood's overall design.