Dowry Parade And Attached Front Basement Area Railings

Nos. 303 and 305 Dowry Parade are a pair of attached houses located on Hotwell Road in Bristol, built between 1763 and 1764 and divided around 1790. Constructed by Benjamin Probert and Robert Comfort, they are designed in the style of Thomas Paty. The houses are made of red brick with limestone dressings, featuring large brick party wall stacks and a double-depth pantile roof.

The buildings are three storeys high, with an attic and basement, and have a symmetrical five-window front. The façade includes rusticated pilaster strips and a moulded coping. The central doorways are paired and have raised ashlar surrounds with panelled jambs, Greek key designs at the imposts, fluted lintels, and cornices. The doorways are topped with semicircular arches that have plate-glass overlights, with No. 303 featuring a metal fanlight frame and both doors being six-panel designs. The windows consist of 6/6-pane sashes in flush frames, with five stepped voussoirs, and there are two hipped dormers; the middle windows across the party wall are blocked.

There are steps leading down to open basement areas, and arched cellars beneath the deep flagged pavement. The rear elevation has a full-height hipped projection and a semicircular-arched stair light. The interior has not been inspected.

The houses are complemented by attached cast-iron railings and gates with urn finials at the front basement area. The original doorcases with Gibbs surrounds and pediments were replaced when the houses were divided. Various speculative builders were involved in the construction, using designs similar to those of Thomas Paty.