Bath must be one of the most celebrated cities in Europe. People flock to see its formal Georgian architecture, one of the most complete of any in Europe. The highlight for many is the Royal Crescent, the grand sweep of formal Georgian architecture with its magnificent setting and wide-ranging views. Palatial in appearance and scale, it is, however, a series of terraced houses though on a grander scale than those normally associated with the term. The wealthy occupants were able to emulate the grandeur of their country seats while in the city without the expense and upkeep of a large house.
Of course, it is important to realize that the Royal Crescent was not designed as a stand-alone piece of architecture and town planning but as part of a sequence of spaces designed by the Bath architects, John Wood the Elder and his son, imaginatively named, John Wood the Younger. Between 1734 and 1774, they designed a sequence of elegant spaces from Queen Square in the south, via Gay Street to The Circus and then to the Royal Crescent itself. This sequence of formal geometric spaces – square, circle, crescent – created an urban landscape unlike any other at the time. Indeed, the Royal Crescent was the first such shaped terrace to be built anywhere in Europe. All these elegant buildings were, as stated, terraced houses, but their scale and grandeur portrayed a wealthy and aristocratic ambience which became the template for the planned development of wealthy suburbs throughout Britain over the next 150 years.
Given their size, many of the properties have been converted into flats and, doubtless, many have lost internal features and been poorly sub-divided too. Some minor external changes have taken place too, but the overall impression is one of elegant symmetry and uniformity. The crescent was granted a grade I listing as a building of special architectural or historic interest in 1950 which means that future alterations are carefully controlled.
However, one incident in the 1970’s that gained national notoriety was that of the “case of the yellow door.” A resident had painted their front door yellow without the necessary consent disrupting the harmony of the rest of the crescent where all the doors were a more subtle white or plain timber. Enforcement action was taken by the Council, but the owner refused to abide and appealed the decision. The case became something of a cause celebre and became an important precedent in future listed building law – the appeal inspector deciding that the yellow door was not harmful to the overall historic and architectural importance of the crescent and allowing it to remain, to the fury of the local council and many others in the city. As an interesting footnote, the property was sold many years later and, while the new owner was open to the possibility of repainting with white, the general feeling was that the door was now more significant and “historic” in its yellow hue. Given the somewhat stifling uniformity of Bath’s Georgian architecture, oldgreytravel has some sympathy for this celebration of individuality.
While many of the houses have been altered and sub-divided, the Bath Preservation Trust have taken on and restored the large No 1 Royal Crescent as an example of an C18 townhouse of this period. The renovation and furnishings are exceptional and it provides a vivid impression of how life in these terraced houses must have been in their prime.
No 1 Royal Terrace is open to the public on a regular basis. There is a small entrance fee. Check the website for details www.no1royalcrescent.org.uk
