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Empire Hotel, Bath

Buildings and structures in Bath, SomersetGrade II listed buildings in Bath, SomersetGrade II listed hotelsHotel buildings completed in 1901Hotels in Somerset
Former Empire Hotel and Pulteney Bridge, Bath
Former Empire Hotel and Pulteney Bridge, Bath

The Empire Hotel in Bath, Somerset, England was built in 1901 and has been designated as a Grade II listed building. It is situated on Orange Grove close to both Bath Abbey and Pulteney Bridge. It was designed by the Bath City Architect Major Charles Edward Davis for the hotelier Alfred Holland and built from Bath Stone, on the site of the Athenaeum. It was described by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as a ‘monstrosity and an unbelievable piece of pompous architecture’.The building occupies a large L-shaped block. It is six storeys high plus the octagonal corner tower. The front of the building onto Orange Grove has eight bays and the side overlooking the River Avon has nine bays.The architecture of the roof shows the three classes of people, a castle on the corner for upper class, a house for the middle classes and a cottage for the lower classes.During World War II it was used by the Admiralty as a postal sorting office and remained in their possession until the 1990s. In 1996 it was then refurbished and became apartments and a restaurant.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Empire Hotel, Bath (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Empire Hotel, Bath
Grand Parade, Bath Widcombe

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Wikipedia: Empire Hotel, BathContinue reading on Wikipedia

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Latitude Longitude
N 51.382222222222 ° E -2.3577777777778 °
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The Empire

Grand Parade
BA2 4DF Bath, Widcombe
England, United Kingdom
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Former Empire Hotel and Pulteney Bridge, Bath
Former Empire Hotel and Pulteney Bridge, Bath
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Buildings and architecture of Bath
Buildings and architecture of Bath

The buildings and architecture of Bath, a city in Somerset in the south west of England, reveal significant examples of the architecture of England, from the Roman Baths (including their significant Celtic presence), to the present day. The city became a World Heritage Site in 1987, largely because of its architectural history and the way in which the city landscape draws together public and private buildings and spaces. The many examples of Palladian architecture are purposefully integrated with the urban spaces to provide "picturesque aestheticism". In 2021, the city was added to a second World Heritage Site, a group of historic spa towns across Europe known as the "Great Spas of Europe". Bath is the only entire city in Britain to achieve World Heritage status, and is a popular tourist destination. Important buildings include the Roman Baths; neoclassical architect Robert Adam's Pulteney Bridge, based on an unused design for the Rialto Bridge in Venice; and Bath Abbey in the city centre, founded in 1499 on the site of an 8th-century church. Of equal importance are the residential buildings designed and built into boulevards and crescents by the Georgian architects John Wood, the Elder and his son John Wood, the Younger – well-known examples being the Royal Crescent, built around 1770, and The Circus, built around 1760, where each of the three curved segments faces one of the entrances, ensuring that there is always a classical facade facing the entering visitor. Most of Bath's buildings are made from the local, golden-coloured, Bath Stone. The dominant architectural style is Georgian, which evolved from the Palladian revival style that became popular in the early 18th century. The city became a fashionable and popular spa and social centre during the 18th century. Based initially around its hot springs, this led to a demand for substantial homes and guest houses. The key architects, John Wood and his son, laid out many of the city's present-day squares and crescents within a green valley and the surrounding hills. According to UNESCO this provided... "an integration of architecture, urban design, and landscape setting, and the deliberate creation of a beautiful city". Development during modern eras, including the development of the transport infrastructure and rebuilding after bomb damage during World War II, has mostly been in keeping with earlier styles to maintain the integrated cityscape.

Ralph Allen's Town House, Bath
Ralph Allen's Town House, Bath

Ralph Allen's Town House is a grade I listed townhouse in Bath, Somerset, England. Ralph Allen commenced building it in or shortly after 1727, although it is unlikely he ever lived there. At the time Allen was living in Lilliput Alley, in a house of some 15 rooms, then known as "Lease 7 on the Kingston rental (Countess of Kingston on Hull)", which is now 1 and 2 North Parade Passage. In 1745, Allen moved to Prior Park. His brother Phillip took over the Kingston Lease and continued to run the Postal business.Opinion is divided as to whether John Wood the Elder designed the "Town House", however the ostentatious decoration is not a style he uses elsewhere in Bath. Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, has also been suggested as the architect. The enhanced decoration with rustication, Corinthian pillars and decorated pediment may have been incorporated purely to demonstrate the fine carving qualities of Bath Stone.John Wood the Elder, in his 1742 writing in his Essay towards the future of Bath he says: While Mr. Allen was making the Addition to the North Part of his House in Lilliput Alley he new fronted and raised the old Building a full Story higher; it consists of a Basement Story sustaining a double Story under the Crowning; and this is surmounted by an Attick, which created a sixth Rate House, and a Sample for the greatest Magnificence that was ever proposed by me for our City Houses. Because of the modern use of "magnificent" it is often thought that in this passage Wood is referring to the Town House. But elsewhere in his Essay, Wood explains that his use of magnificence refers to size. He refers to decoration as "ornament" or "dress". A closer examination of Wood's words and the number of floors in the Town House reveal that he was not referring to this building. A 6th rate house is the largest in Wood's list. The Town House does not comply with his description. Wood was talking about the House in Lilliput Alley where Allen was then living.