Hillgrove House

Hillgrove House is a former coaching inn, dating back to 1783 and built for Sir George Paul. It is now a block of flats. The building is constructed of ashlar limestone, with ashlar chimneys and a roof of asbestos. It’s a two-storey building with an attic, and has a double pile plan.

The front facade has a five-window arrangement, featuring 12-pane sash windows in simple openings, with some upper floor windows having inserted casement lights. A central doorway is accessed by square-fronted stone steps leading to a projecting porch with Tuscan columns and pilaster responds; the door itself is six-panelled with a fanlight above. A plain upper floor band runs along the facade, topped by a moulded cornice and plain parapet. Five irregularly spaced gabled roof dormers are visible, containing a mix of sash and casement windows.

The south end features two gables, the right one rendered with a two-window sash arrangement, and a single-window sash to the left. A tall projecting chimney is located on the left gable. The north end has two gables, again with mixed fenestration. The rear elevation has mostly 12-pane sash windows, with a small lunette window located on the upper floor to the left of centre. Four eaves-mounted chimneys are present, two of which are tall with moulded caps; there are also three eaves-mounted gabled roof dormers with casements. A flat-roofed addition to the left part of the elevation is not considered to be of architectural significance. The interior has not been inspected.

Hillgrove House was built by Sir George Paul and others to benefit from the newly constructed Bath turnpike road, situated midway between the coaching inn at Petty France and Gloucester.