The Paragon, Bath
Encyclopedia
The Paragon in the Walcot
area of Bath, Somerset
, England is a street of Georgian
houses which have been designated as listed buildings. It was designed by Thomas Warr Attwood
. It now forms part of the A4.
Numbers 1 to 21 are 3 storey houses with mansard roof
s. Each building has matching doors and widows with central pediment
s and flat entablature
s either side of the 1st floor windows and Tuscan
pilaster
s and pediment
s to the doorways.
Numbers 22 to 37 continue the theme from numbers 1 to 21 and were completed in 1775 by Joseph Axford, a local mason. Numbers 28 to 32 were damaged by bombing during World War II
but have since been restored.
St Swithin's Church was built between 1779 and 1790 by John Palmer
. On 30 May, 1797 the abolitionist William Wilberforce
and Barbara Spooner Wilberforce
were married in the church. It 1805 it was the burial place of the writer and poet Christopher Anstey
and, in 1831 of Rear Admiral Sir Edward Berry
. The church house which forms number 38 The Paragon was built in the early 18th century. The adjoining cemetery has gates with a rusticated
base and panels with inverted torches between pilasters. There is an entablature
with metopes
and triglyph
s.
The Building of Bath Collection lies just off the Paragon in a courtyard, known as "The Vineyards", in a building which was built in 1765 as the Trinity Presbyterian Church. It was also known as the Countess of Huntingdon
's Chapel, as she lived in the attached house from 1707–1791.
Walcot, Bath
Walcot is a suburb of the city of Bath, England. It lies to the north-north-east of the city centre, and is an electoral ward of the city.The parish church, on The Paragon is dedicated to St Swithin and was built in 1779-90 by John Palmer....
area of Bath, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England is a street of Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
houses which have been designated as listed buildings. It was designed by Thomas Warr Attwood
Thomas Warr Attwood
Thomas Warr Attwood was an English builder, architect and local politician in Bath.He was a member of a prominent local family and a member of the city Council from 1760. Although he held no formal appointment, he acted as city surveyor and architect...
. It now forms part of the A4.
Numbers 1 to 21 are 3 storey houses with mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
s. Each building has matching doors and widows with central pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
s and flat entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
s either side of the 1st floor windows and Tuscan
Tuscan order
Among canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a "Tuscan order", "the solidest and least ornate", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di...
pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s and pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
s to the doorways.
Numbers 22 to 37 continue the theme from numbers 1 to 21 and were completed in 1775 by Joseph Axford, a local mason. Numbers 28 to 32 were damaged by bombing during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
but have since been restored.
St Swithin's Church was built between 1779 and 1790 by John Palmer
John Palmer (Bath architect)
John Palmer was an English architect who worked on some of the notable buildings in the city of Bath in England...
. On 30 May, 1797 the abolitionist William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...
and Barbara Spooner Wilberforce
Barbara Spooner Wilberforce
Barbara Ann Wilberforce was the spouse of abolitionist and MP William Wilberforce...
were married in the church. It 1805 it was the burial place of the writer and poet Christopher Anstey
Christopher Anstey
Christopher Anstey was an English writer and poet.Anstey was the son of Dr. Anstey, a wealthy clergyman, the rector of Brinkley where he was born. He was educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, where he distinguished himself for his Latin verses. He became a fellow of his college...
and, in 1831 of Rear Admiral Sir Edward Berry
Edward Berry
Rear Admiral Sir Edward Berry, 1st Baronet, KCB was an officer in Britain's Royal Navy primarily known for his role as flag captain of Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson's ship HMS Vanguard at the Battle of the Nile, prior to his knighthood in 1798...
. The church house which forms number 38 The Paragon was built in the early 18th century. The adjoining cemetery has gates with a rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
base and panels with inverted torches between pilasters. There is an entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
with metopes
Metope (architecture)
In classical architecture, a metope is a rectangular architectural element that fills the space between two triglyphs in a Doric frieze, which is a decorative band of alternating triglyphs and metopes above the architrave of a building of the Doric order...
and triglyph
Triglyph
Triglyph is an architectural term for the vertically channeled tablets of the Doric frieze, so called because of the angular channels in them, two perfect and one divided, the two chamfered angles or hemiglyphs being reckoned as one. The square recessed spaces between the triglyphs on a Doric...
s.
The Building of Bath Collection lies just off the Paragon in a courtyard, known as "The Vineyards", in a building which was built in 1765 as the Trinity Presbyterian Church. It was also known as the Countess of Huntingdon
Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon
Selina, Countess of Huntingdon was an English religious leader who played a prominent part in the religious revival of the 18th century and the Methodist movement in England and Wales, and has left a Christian denomination in England and Sierra Leone.-Early life:Selina Hastings was born as Lady...
's Chapel, as she lived in the attached house from 1707–1791.