Bridge Keeper'S House To West Of Rea Bridge

This is a bridge keeper's house dating to around 1830, with a 20th-century addition. It was built as part of the Gloucester and Berkeley Ship Canal, and is attributed to Robert Mylne, the canal’s engineer. The house is constructed of stucco, with a brick chimney and an asbestos cement slate roof.

The architectural style is Greek Revival. The original part of the house is a single storey, and features a portico facing the canal, positioned off-centre to the right. The portico has fluted Greek Doric order columns on circular bases, arranged in a distyle in antis form, with engaged flanking walls each containing a small square window. The central doorway has original architraves and a 20th-century glazed door. A single 19th-century four-pane sash window is located to the left. The south end has a 19th-century four-pane sash window, the pediment above being filled and rendered. The north end features a 20th-century casement window and a 20th-century glazed door. The rear of the house has a pediment aligned with the portico, and a brick chimney. A large, flat-roofed 20th-century addition to the rear is not of particular architectural interest.

The house is one of two standard designs for bridge keeper’s houses on the canal, the other being at Sellars Bridge in Hardwicke. It is believed that while the design is by Mylne, the construction occurred after his death.