Royal West Of England Academy

The Royal West of England Academy is an art gallery built in 1857, with interior design by C Underwood, a facade by JR Hirst, and later alterations in 1912 by SS Reay and H Dare Bryan. It is constructed of limestone ashlar with lateral stacks, the roof is not visible, and the building follows a double-depth plan. The architectural style is Italianate.

The building is two storeys and an attic, with a 6-window range, and is arranged in three stepped tiers, the 19th-century ground floor projecting forward. The ground floor is rusticated to a cornice, topped by a parapet with balustraded sections above the windows. The entrances at each end and in the centre are set forward; the outer entrances have architraves with lintels inscribed “STUDIOS” to the left and “SCHOOL OF ART” to the right, a frieze with triglyphs above, and two-leaf, eight-panel doors. The middle entrance is within a porch with fluted Doric columns, a frieze and cornice, and a heraldic cartouche held by beasts above. Three semicircular-arched windows with glazing bars are set between the entrances. The first floor is divided into three sections; the outer sections are articulated by paired Corinthian pilasters framing large shell-headed niches containing statues of Flaxman and Reynolds, with impost bands and subsidiary pilasters, and balustrades with draped urn finials above. Five keyed semicircular-arched windows are set between these, articulated by attached Corinthian columns to a frieze and modillion cornice. The blind attic is also divided into five sections, articulated by pilasters to a frieze and cornice; the outer sections have balustrades, with three inscribed panels between them, and five lunette niches with allegorical carvings. A large carving of three female figures crowns the parapet. Large stacks flank each side, featuring corbelled cornices.

The interior is distinguished by its coloured marble. The entrance lobby has fluted pilasters and an imperial staircase with black turned balusters and rail, large newel plinths with cast-iron lamps, and a pedimented statue niche on the half-landing. The first-floor lobby features a coffered, domed ceiling, and spandrels painted by Walter Crane. Exhibition rooms are characterized by Greek carved friezes below cornices with acroteria, and doorcases with panelled reveals, dentil cornices, and six-panel doors. The original external staircase was enclosed in 1912 by Reay, following drawings by Bryan, who also glazed the first-floor windows and vaulted the first-floor lobby. It is part of a noteworthy group of civic buildings and represents a fine example of its type.