Details
BRISTOL
ST5672NE ROYAL YORK CRESCENT, Clifton
901-1/13/1003 (North East side)
08/01/59 Nos.1-12, 12A AND 14-46
and attached front basement area,
terrace railings and gates
(Formerly Listed as:
ROYAL YORK CRESCENT
Nos.1-12, 12A AND 14-46)
GV II*
Terrace of 46 houses. Developed by James Lockier from 1791,
probably by Willam Paty, stopped 1801, restarted 1809 and
completed 1820. Brick, now rendered, with limestone dressings,
ashlar ground floor to the right-hand 3, with party wall
stacks and slate and pantile double mansard roofs.
Double-depth plan. Late Georgian style.
Each of 3 storeys, attic and basement; 3-window range, 4
windows to the 2 houses at each end of the crescent section. A
very long shallow crescent with straight 3-house end sections,
and the middle pair broken forward; articulated by giant
pilasters through first-floor sill band, cornice and parapet.
Left-hand doorways to left of centre, right-hand doorways to
the right, have semicircular arches with moulded surrounds,
teardrop fanlights to Nos 1, 3 & 43-46, most plate glass,
varied doorways most with fluted pilaster jambs, and doors
with 6 raised panels to varied early and mid C19 patterns.
No.16 joined with No.17, the doorway replaced by a window,
with a barlysugar downpipe to the party wall. No.2 has an
Ionic distyle-in-antis porch. No.46 has tall Ionic columns to
a first-floor timber balcony. 5 stepped voussoirs to
originally 6/6-pane sashes, plate-glass replacements; most
first-floor windows extend to the floor.
Later first-floor timber tented balconies have cast-iron
brackets and flat stanchions, wrought-iron pointed-arched
railings with quatrefoils to Nos 1, 4, 22, 27-32, 41 & 43-5,
No.33 is Grecian, Nos 2, 12, 20 & 40 late Victorian cast-iron,
and the rest wrought-iron lattice with cast-lead ornament.
Later dormers with the parapet cut or reduced; full attic
storeys to Nos 3, 19, 20 & 25.
INTERIOR: features include entrance hall divided by a
semicircular arch to open dogleg stairs with stick balusters
and a curtail; first-floor rooms linked by folding doors;
panelled shutters and 6-panel doors; stone fire surrounds.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: attached wrought-iron front basement area
railings and gates with urn finials.
Reputed to be the longest terrace in Europe. Completed
externally before the crash, but fitting out took nearly 30
years. Forms a most significant element of the important view
of Clifton from across the Avon.
(Ison W: The Georgian Buildings of Bristol: Bath: 1952-: 228;
Gomme A, Jenner M and Little B: Bristol, An Architectural
History: Bristol: 1979-: 219; The Buildings of England:
Pevsner N: North Somerset and Bristol: London: 1958-: 448).
Listing NGR: ST5691372941
