Prospect House

Prospect House is a house built between 1853 and 1854 for the Great Western Railway Company. It is constructed from ashlar limestone with black mortar and features a slate roof. The building is two stories high and has three bays on the front, with a two-bay return to Bathampton Street. Inside, there is a central hallway with flanking reception rooms, and the layout is two rooms deep. The house has a gabled porch that includes an internal margin-glazed door and a fanlight. Notable exterior features include wide hipped and canted bay windows with two-pane sashes, as well as a two-storey bay on the side elevation. The upper windows are casements set within shouldered gables.

This house is part of a village designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel to accommodate workers for the Great Western Railway. The village layout, which resembles a grid, was based on Brunel’s early drawings from 1840. Construction began in 1842, and by 1855, most buildings were completed. Although Brunel designed only the first block of houses, the village is recognized as one of Britain’s best-preserved and architecturally ambitious railway settlements.