The Prize House

The Prize House

A terraced house of three storeys and three bays, built in Bath stone ashlar with a slate valley roof concealed behind a parapet. The building demonstrates fine late neo-classical detail throughout.

The facade is distinguished by a moulded cornice supported on ogee brackets, beneath which runs a three-bay parapet featuring pierced stone panels of linked ovals. The upper floors have plate glass sash windows set in moulded architraves. The second floor windows are housed in shouldered surrounds over a sill band decorated with scroll patterns and small decorated corbels below. The first floor contains tall windows in shouldered surrounds with upper corners that are curved and rebated, the reveals also being curved.

The principal feature of the facade is a pair of fine curved fronted stone balconies with cast-iron scrolled inserts between ashlar outer piers. The moulded stone top-rail links to a continuous sill band while the bottom moulded stonework connects to a stepped band. Each balcony has a moulded curved base on corbels projecting from the band, with small plain corbels to either side and a large stone bracket beneath the centre, which rests on scrolled carved keystones of the ground floor arched openings.

The ground floor contains an arcade of pilasters with moulded caps and moulded arched heads to a door and two windows, now fitted with twentieth-century door and plate glass fixed windows. Window sills finish flush with the pilasters and there are panels below with roundels. The right side returns briefly, windowless but with mouldings carried around.

The rear elevation to the left has a six-pane second floor window over an added two-storey lean-to, with a ground floor plate glass window to the left and a recessed entry to the right behind a screen of two tall timber columns and one pilaster respond. The first floor features a Venetian triple window. A long wing extends to the right toward Upper Frog Street, presenting a three-storey, four-bay north elevation over a narrow courtyard. This elevation has four-pane sashes to the upper floor, eight-pane to the first floor, and altered ground floor openings comprising a door, window and further door. The wing has a hipped west end to the roof and a one-window range to Upper Frog Street with a twentieth-century shopfront at ground floor level. A rubble stone wall bounds the courtyard, featuring a cambered-headed coach entry in red brick with rebates in the jambs for gates, fitted with twentieth-century iron gates.

The interior contains very good detail in late neo-classical manner. The staircase rises between the front and rear rooms, running parallel with the facade. The front room features a fine moulded cornice with two main mouldings, the upper one being acanthus, and a ceiling border of double guilloche with an acanthus centre rose. The fireplace surround is simple and well-designed in ashlar, with a block in the frieze and cornice broken forward over the block.

A broad square opening leads to the stair-hall, which has timber Ionic half-columns. The stair-hall itself displays a moulded cornice to the ceiling on the left, a floral ceiling border and small acanthus rose. The left wall contains a blind opening with arched head, panelled piers, and a metal-traceried broad fanlight over mirror-glazed double-doors with marginal glazing bars and sidelights. The stair to the right has an apsidal end and features fine cast-iron balusters with mahogany rail and a cast-iron bottom newel with spiralled rail end. Beyond the stair, a passage continues along the south wall with similar cornice and ceiling border, opening fully to the right into the rear room. Two Roman Doric timber columns with pilaster responds frame this opening. The rear room has a simple moulded cornice, timber neo-Georgian fireplace with centre plaque, and a twentieth-century door to the rear yard.

The main staircase in the centre of the house rises in four flights. The apse at the stair end contains a large arched sash-window with a coloured-glass band and an arched niche to either side. The first floor landing has a similar arched glazed double door on the south wall but with fluted half-columns instead of panelled piers, and unusual Composite capitals. The ceiling has similar moulded cornice, floral border and acanthus rose as the stair-hall.

The first floor front room is very fine, with a deep frieze, undercut acanthus moulding, cove and cornice with rosettes beneath. The ceiling has a rose trail border. The marble fireplace has large consoles to panelled piers with a panelled frieze, and a cast-iron grate with tiled sides. Behind the stair, the passage along the south wall has moulding similar to the stair-hall, with an arched entry from the stair landing echoed by a blind arch at the west end. A full-width opening to the right has Corinthian fluted pilasters, possibly altered or missing answering columns. The rear room has cornice and ceiling border matching the front room, with an ornate ceiling rose featuring a six-leaf centre, guilloche and Greek flower outer border. A rear alcove has a similar pair of pilasters framing an opening and a Venetian window without mouldings, possibly an addition.

The stair continues upward with a similar arched window in the apse flanked by niches serving the second floor landing. A roof-light with ridged moulding, a moulded base, cornice and floral border completes the sequence of landings.

Throughout the interior, windows have moulded surrounds and panelled shutters.