Numbers 1 To 10 (Consecutive) And Attached Front Basement Area Railings

Terrace of 10 houses on Windsor Terrace, Clifton, Bristol

A terrace of ten houses with attached front basement area railings. The building began in 1782 with retaining walls constructed by William Watts. The centre pair of the design is probably by John Eveleigh, dating to around 1790, with the terrace completed to a much reduced design by John Drew in 1807.

The terrace is built in limestone ashlar and render with party wall stacks and slate mansard roofs. It follows a double-depth plan and is in the Late Georgian style. Each house has 2 storeys, an attic storey and basement, with a 3-window range.

A massive raised retaining wall and terrace supports a composed palace front with a slight concave curve. The end pairs and centre pair are broken forward, with the centre pair slightly raised. The ground floor features ashlar rustication, except for Nos 5 and 6 which are rendered to a band. Fluted Corinthian pilasters rise to the upper floors. Nos 5 and 6 have a full entablature, while the remaining houses have a thin string and modillion cornice with dies and balustrade, which ramps up to the centre section.

The ground floor has semicircular-arched openings with incised voussoirs. The lower right-hand doorways have 5-pane fanlights; No.1 features a distinctive teardrop fanlight with a lantern, reeded transom and 6-panel doors with reeded flush lower panels. Upper floors have 6/6-pane sashes and 9/9-pane first-floor sashes, with triple 6/6/6-pane sashes to No.5. Wrought-iron basket balconies with cast-lead decoration are present at Nos 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8. Third-floor windows sit below the cornice at Nos 2-4, with attic storeys added to Nos 7 and 8.

The left return has rounded corners and a single-storey porch with three semicircular arches to the side with imposts, and a canted first-floor bay. Steps descend to basement areas with doorways.

The interior of the centre pair is particularly notable. The entrance hall is divided by a semicircular arch from a central top-lit lateral open-well stair with stick balusters, ramped rail and curtail. Marble fireplaces with moulded jambs and corner roundels are present throughout. First-floor front rooms feature marble fire surrounds with moulded jambs decorated with wreaths and bouquets. Arched recesses are found on the ground and first floors, accompanied by elaborate cornices, 6-panel doors and panelled shutters. No.6 has round glazed lights set into the ground-floor stair treads.

The subsidiary features include attached spear-headed wrought-iron basement area railings and gates.

Historically, most of Watts' capital was spent on the massive revetment supporting the terrace. Eveleigh originally conceived the project as a larger crescent, but only the centre pair was built before the financial collapse of 1791. John Drew subsequently completed the project to what has been described as a confused version of the original design. The noted educationalist Hannah More died at No.4 in 1833. The terrace was painted by Samuel Jackson around 1825 and 1839. It forms part of the visually important view of Clifton from across the Avon.