Numbers 28 And 29 And Attached Front Basement Area Railings And Gates

Numbers 28 and 29 are a pair of attached houses built around 1847 in Clifton, Bristol, designed by Charles Underwood and completed by WB Gingell. They are rendered with limestone dressings, have party wall stacks, and a slate and pantile mansard roof. The houses follow a double-depth plan and are in a Neoclassical style, each with three storeys, a basement, and an attic, arranged as a two-window range.

The symmetrical front features shallow projecting wings, a deep cornice, and a parapet, linked to single-storey outer porches by a deep moulded band that continues to the adjacent pairs of houses. Segmental-arched doorways have raised surrounds, plate-glass overlights, and two-panel doors. Windows have raised surrounds with sill blocks and small ears; the ground floor windows are tripartite with four-pane sashes, while those on the second floor have two-pane sashes with margin panes. Number 28 has a first-floor balcony over the inner window, with elaborate cast-iron decorative railings featuring a Vitruvian scroll design, and a full-height extension set back above the porch.

The rear elevation has a five-window range, with semicircular-arched windows on the first floor. These have raised, keyed surrounds, tripartite outer windows and a single central window, all with two-pane sashes. First-floor cast-iron balconies with diagonal railings and a Vitruvian scroll are present, and the upper floor windows have raised, eared surrounds and six-pane sashes. The interior of the houses has not been inspected.

Attached to the front are spear-headed cast-iron railings enclosing the basement area. The houses were completed by Gingell after the original speculator became bankrupt. They form part of a group of four linked semi-detached pairs of houses situated between a more formal terrace and separate pairs along the western side of the square, all designed by Underwood.