Gay Street in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England, links Queen Square to The Circus. It was designed by

John Wood, the Elder John Wood, the Elder (1704 – 23 May 1754) was an English architect, working mainly in Bath. In 1740 he surveyed Stonehenge and the Stanton Drew stone circles. He later wrote extensively about Bladud and Neo-Druidism. Because of some ...

, in 1735 and completed by his son John Wood, the Younger. The land was leased to the elder Wood by Robert Gay, MP for Bath, and the street is named after him. Much of the road has been designated as Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

s. The houses are of 3 storeys with

Mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

s, with many also having Ionic columns. There are slight variations in window design but they work together to provide a consistent streetscape. Many of the houses are now used as offices. Numbers 2 to 17 are on the west side.

Hester Thrale Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi (née Salusbury; 27 January 1741 or 16 January 1740 – 2 May 1821)Contemporary records, which used the Julian calendar and the Annunciation Style of enumerating years, recorded her birth as 16 January 1740. The pro ...

, who was also known as Mrs Piozzi, lived at number 8, with its 4 Corinthian

pilasters In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

on the ground and 1st floors in 1781. Number 18 to 30 are on the east side of the road. It was built before the west side. Number 41 is on the corner between Gay Street and Queen Square. It was the home of John Wood, the Younger. Numbers 31 to 40 have been designated as Grade II. The Jane Austen Centre is at number 40, although

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

actually lived at number 25.

Gallery

File:41 Gay Street.jpg, 41 Gay Street, Bath * List of Grade I listed buildings in Bath and North East Somerset

References

{{reflist Grade I listed buildings in Bath, Somerset Streets in Bath, Somerset 18th century in Bath, Somerset