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Top 10 Astonishing Facts about Royal Crescent, Bath

The royal crescent is a row of 30 terraced houses built in a sweeping crescent in Bath, England. It has become a well-renowned icon and the most outstanding example of Georgian architecture in the United Kingdom.

The Royal crescent made Bath be awarded UNESCO World Heritage status 30 years ago in 1987. The crescent has 114 columns on the first floor with an entablature in a Palladian style above. It was built between 1767 and 1774.

Several changes have been made to the interiors over the years. The Georgian stone façade remains much as it was when first built.

The royal crescent has a royal hotel and spa, a five-star haven of elegance and tranquillity an excellent place to stay when you visit.
In this article, you will discover the top 10 astonishing facts about the Royal Crescent.

1. The Royal Crescent was designed by John Wood, the younger

John Wood was an English architect working mainly in the city of Bath, Somerset. He was the son of the architect john wood, the elder.

During the 18th century, his designs were highly influential, with the Royal crescent being one of the best examples of Georgian neo-classical architecture.

In the 1770s, the neo-classical style was becoming fashionable. John designed the royal crescent to have single order and plain decoration throughout.

The Royal Crescent was built between 1767 and 1774, and john wood designed the tremendous curved façade with iconic columns on a rusticated ground floor.

2. It was initially known as the crescent

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The street was added the “Royal” adjective at the end of the eighteenth century. The name was changed after Prince Frederick, Duke of York, and Albany had stayed there.

The duke of York initially rented number one and bought number 16.
The royal crescent is close to Victoria Park and linked via Brock Street to the circus, which was designed by john wood, the elder.

3. The front of the royal crescent has a ha-ha

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Ha-ha is a landscape design element ditch on which the inner side is vertical and faced with stones.

The outer face of the ha-ha is sloped and turfed, making an effectively invisible partition between the lower and upper lawns.

The ha-ha is designed to not interrupt the view from the royal national park and to be invisible until seen from close by.

When the ha-ha was created, it was more profound than it is now. The railings between the crescent and the lawn are included in the heritage at risk register produced by English heritage but have been restored and removed from the record.

4. One of the royal crescent façades stands out from the rest

In the 1970s, the resident of number 22, Miss Amabel Wellesley-Colley, painted her front door and window promise yellow instead of the traditional white.

Miss Wellesley- Colley was issued a notice from Bath City council directing her to repaint the door with traditional white.

A court case suing her was launched, and she defended herself at the public enquiry. She won the case, resulting in the state of the state environment declaring that the door remained yellow.

5. The houses along the royal crescent are not as uniform as they appear

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The façade may look orderly, but the rear is a jumble of different depths and roof heights. Each original purchaser bought a façade and employed their owner architect to build a house behind the façade to their liking.

Due to this, what appears to be two houses is occasionally just one. This town system can be seen from the road behind the crescent, while the front is uniform and symmetrical.

This architectural design was described as queen Anne’s Fronts and Mary-Anne’s backs. Royal crescent was the first terraced house to be built as a country in the city with its view over the parkland opposite.

6. No. 1 royal crescent is a historic house museum

Number one is now owned and maintained by the Bath Preservation Trust. The Bath Preservation Trust illustrates the fall of lives of wealthy owners of the late 18th century.

Each room of no.1 is designed to show how the Georgian would have furnished their houses with guides who give the history.

In 1967 No. 1 was purchased by major Bernard Cayzer, a family member of a family that made its fortune through a shipping line.

7. The royal crescent has classical architectural

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It has an impressive 144 icon columns, every 30 inches in diameter and reaching 47 feet.

The royal crescent hotel bought two sets of coupled columns with a single-window between them which is the middle of the crescent.

The houses were built of bath stone and slate roofs, which were initially stone tilled. The houses appear similar with only minor variations between them.

The front of the houses has cast iron railing mirrored by those on the opposite side of the road at the top of the Victorian park.

 8. Its where the remains of the Roman wall were found

In 2003 Time Team, an archeological television programme dug the royal crescent in search of a roman cemetery and fosse way.

Time Team found remains of a Roman wall behind the crescent and evidence of possible iron and Bronze age settlement on the lawn infront.

9. The royal crescent had several damages during World War II

Bath was hit by substantial bombing raids with hundreds of fatalities and significant damage. In April 1942, No.2 and No. 17 were burnt out and were taken to public ownership.

The council rebuilt the interiors restoring the houses to their glory.

10. The royal crescent was featured in several films and television

The crescent’s iconic architectural design has made many directors use it for films. In 1965 the black comedy the wrong box used the crescent extensively as a location for the movie.

Also, in 2007 a Tv edition of Jane Austen’s Persuasion had many scenes shot at the crescent where Elliot’s family was supposedly living in Bath.

Finally, in 2004, the hotel in crescent was a location for the BBC 1series our Girl, and recently No.1 appeared in the Netflix dram Bridgeton.