South Parade 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, is a historic

terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...

built around 1743 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 ...

. All of the houses have 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. South Parade was part of a wider scheme to build a Royal Forum, including North Parade, Pierrepont and Duke Streets, similar to Queen Square, which was never completed. Wood designed the facade, of

Bath stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate originally obtained from the Middle Jurassic aged Great Oolite Group of the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its h ...

, after which a variety of builders completed the work with different interiors and rear elevations. Many of the buildings are now hotels and restaurants whilst some remain private residences. The area which Wood envisaged as an area of sunken gardens matching the houses is now a car park. Numbers 1, 2 and 3 (which is now the Halcyon Hotel and now includes Circo Bar and Lounge

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

) and numbers 4 to 8 (which became the 46 room Pratt's Hotel) form a 3-storey

with a double break at the centre. There is a central pediment and

balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

d parapet and the central door has Ionic columns. Number 6 was associated with Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

in 1775. Numbers 9 to 13 became the Southbourne Hotel and is now divided into

flats Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Apartment, known as a flat in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), a two-dimens ...

. Number 12 was associated with

John Hunter John Hunter may refer to: Politics *John Hunter (British politician) (1724–1802), British Member of Parliament for Leominster * John Hunter (Canadian politician) (1909–1993), Canadian Liberal MP for Parkdale, 1949–1957 *Sir John Hunter ( ...

FRS in 1785. Number 14, which was associated with

Fanny Burney Frances Burney (13 June 1752 – 6 January 1840), also known as Fanny Burney and later Madame d'Arblay, was an English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright. In 1786–1790 she held the post of "Keeper of the Robes" to Charlotte of Mecklen ...

in 1780, is the end of terrace and next to the River Avon. On the southern side of the road is the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

St John's Church, which was designed and built between 1861 and 1863 by Charles Francis Hansom who added the 222 foot (68 metre) spire in 1867.

Gallery

File:1 South Parade.jpg, 1 South Parade File:9-13 South Parade, Bath.JPG, 9–13 South Parade File:14 South Parade, Bath.JPG, 14 South Parade

References

{{reflist Houses completed in 1743 Grade I listed buildings in Bath, Somerset Streets in Bath, Somerset 1743 establishments in England

Gallery

See also

References