South Parade, Bath

This article is about the street in Bath. For the street in Oxford, see South Parade.

South Parade
LocationBath, Somerset, England
Coordinates51°22′47.8″N 2°21′22.3″W / 51.379944°N 2.356194°W / 51.379944; -2.356194
Built1743
ArchitectJohn Wood, the Elder
Architectural style(s)Georgian
Listed Building – Grade I
Official nameNo 1 Nos 2 and 3 (The Halcyon Hotel and Circo Bar and Lounge) Nos 4 to 8 (consec) (Pratt's Hotel)
Designated12 June 1950[1]
Reference no.443617
Listed Building – Grade I
Official nameNos 9 to 13 (consec) (Southbourne Hotel) No 14
Designated12 June 1950
Reference no.443619
South Parade, Bath is located in Somerset
South Parade, Bath
Location of South Parade in Somerset

South Parade in Bath, Somerset, England, is a historic terrace built around 1743 by John Wood, the Elder. All of the houses have been designated as Grade I listed buildings.[1][2]

South Parade was part of a wider scheme to build a Royal Forum, including North Parade, Pierrepont and Duke Streets, similar to Queen Square, which was never completed. Wood designed the facade, of Bath stone, after which a variety of builders completed the work with different interiors and rear elevations. Many of the buildings are now hotels and restaurants whilst some remain private residences.[3] The area which Wood envisaged as an area of sunken gardens matching the houses is now a car park.[4]

Numbers 1, 2 and 3 (which is now the Halcyon Hotel and now includes Circo Bar and Lounge nightclub[5]) and numbers 4 to 8 (which became the 46 room Pratt's Hotel[6]) form a 3-storey terrace with a double break at the centre. There is a central pediment and balustraded parapet and the central door has Ionic columns. Number 6 was associated with Sir Walter Scott in 1775.[1]

Numbers 9 to 13 became the Southbourne Hotel and is now divided into flats. Number 12 was associated with John Hunter FRS in 1785. Number 14, which was associated with Fanny Burney in 1780, is the end of terrace and next to the River Avon.[2]

On the southern side of the road is the Roman Catholic St John's Church, which was designed and built between 1861 and 1863 by Charles Francis Hansom[7] who added the 222 foot (68 metre) spire in 1867.

  1. ^ a b c "No 1 Nos 2 and 3 (The Halcyon Hotel) Nos 4 to 8 (consec) (Pratt's Hotel)". Images of England. English Heritage. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  2. ^ a b "Nos 9 to 13 (consec) (Southbourne Hotel) No 14". Images of England. English Heritage. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  3. ^ "Bath World Heritage Site Management Plan" (PDF). Bath and North East Somerset Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  4. ^ Arnold, Dana (2002). "Architecture in Britain 1530-1830". Reading architectural history - Looking Back And Ahead. Routledge. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-415-25050-4.
  5. ^ "Circo Bar & Lounge". The Halcyon Hotel. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  6. ^ "Pratt's Hotel". Bath Hotels. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
  7. ^ "Roman Catholic Church of St John". Images of England. English Heritage. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2009.