[5124] Bath : 14-17 The Circus

14-17 The Circus, Bath.

Four houses in the circular development of 33 houses, three with side entrances in other streets. 1754-69.

By John Wood the Elder (1704-1754), completed by John Wood the Younger (1728-1782).

Grade l listed.

 

The Circus forms a pivotal element in the succession of major urban set-pieces designed by the Woods, rising up from Queen Square to the Royal Crescent, and is one of the most dramatic examples of Neoclassical town planning in the country.

 

Nine acres of pasture known as the Hayes were assigned to the Woods by the Garrard family in 1753, but Wood the Elder died before work got underway; nonetheless the radical conception of the Circus is thought to be his, including the soon-abandoned notion of the circular space as a place for the muscular exercises of the youth of Bath, and he lived long enough to see the foundation stone laid in February 1754.

 

Considerable ground levelling was required before house construction got underway. The first building leases were granted in 1755 for plots in the south-west segment; William Pitt the Elder was among the first undertakers. The northern segment was the last to be built, with leases being granted in 1764-66.

 

The present appearance of the centre of the Circus dates from the late Georgian period: prior to this, the Circus was entirely paved with setts. The Woods originally intended an equestrian statue of George II to grace the open space, in keeping with the Roman theme of the ensemble; a water reservoir graced the centre of the Circus until the trees were planted.

 

The Circus as a set-piece is unassertive seen from outside, and imposingly monumental from within. It is among the great set-pieces of Georgian architecture. The Circus was extensively restored after World War ll: the uniform glazing bars date from the 1950s (the earliest programme of wholesale replacement) and the carved masonry to the fronts has also been renewed.

Done