18a-18e, Emlyn Square

No. 18a-18e Emlyn Square is a house that has been converted into flats, built between 1845 and 1846 for the Great Western Railway Company. The building is constructed from coursed limestone rubble with ashlar quoins and features a slate roof. It is a three-storey corner block with one bay facing Emlyn Square and a two-bay return to Bristol Street, with the corner splayed. The entrance is located in a two-storey extension. The window surrounds are chamfered and stone quoined, with twenty-pane casements on the ground floor, sixteen-pane above, and eight-pane on the splay, all featuring label moulds. Each gable has keyed oeils de boeuf. The architectural details are similar to those of No. 15 Emlyn Square. The building is part of a village designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel to accommodate workers for the Great Western Railway, with construction starting in 1842 and most buildings completed by 1855. The village is noted for being one of Britain’s best-preserved and architecturally ambitious railway settlements.