Great British Architecture: Bath Royal Crescent

The Royal Crescent in Bath is one of the most famous buildings in this city. This row of 30 curved terraced houses was built by the architect John Wood Sr. Wood built many Georgian buildings in Bath, such as Ralph Allen's town house, pryor Price's mansion, Queen's Square and a set of stepped town houses called circle. When he died in 1754, his son John Wood Jr. wanted to inherit his father's tradition. He wants to imitate his father's Palladio style and continue to cater to the middle class and the upper class. Town houses like circus are becoming more and more popular. In the middle class, they have a higher standard of living than their predecessors.

Where his father left, young Wood began to build another townhouse farther away from the circus, determined to build a more magnificent building. His design forms a crescent shape with the town house, which is characterized by rusty first floor and ion columns on the second and third floors. These elements combine with the layout of doors and windows to create a simple and elegant design that many people think.

Moreover, the owner can design the interior at will, and those who bought a lot of land before construction must conform to the appearance design of Wood. Therefore, although the appearance of the houses is the same, no two houses are the same inside. Some houses look like two independent buildings, but they are actually one. In addition, some houses have an extra roof, some have two floors, and some stop after three floors, only with flat roofs. Even stairs can go straight up or bypass square or oval wells.

The work started at 1767 and ended at 1775. The first person to move to Crescent Street was Henry Sandford, who lived at 1. He rented this place in 1776 until his death in 1796. For many rich writers, singers and other celebrities, the new moon has become a fashionable place to live. Therefore, there are many plaques of former residents in these houses. It is said that the "royal" part of the name was added after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany moved in. At the end of 18,

In the19th century, the Roman bathhouse, which made the city famous, began to lose its appeal, and the number of tourists in Bath also decreased, which also meant that the number of tenants who supplemented their income with rent decreased, and it began to become more like a place where the rich retired. As its history continued into the 20th century, servants' residences began to be transformed into more offices and spare rooms. 1 was finally transformed into a museum, and the Royal Crescent Hotel and Spa found a home on 16, transforming the house in Georgia City into a five-star cabin.

Most of the bombing in World War II was concentrated in London, and other parts of Britain were also attacked, including Bath. In the so-called Bath Blitzkrieg, No.2 and 17 were completely destroyed by incendiary bombs, leaving only the appearance of Woods. In the 1970s, No.22 was a controversial place, when Miss Wellesley painted her door yellow and white, which led to a court case. As a result, the minister of the environment asked her to keep the yellow door. Today, many houses are private houses or have been converted into apartments, except for the Museum 1 and the Hotel 16. The entire Royal Crescent Building is a first-class listed building.