On the regal Queen Square, minutes from the sights and smart boutiques of central Bath, the grand grade I listed Francis Hotel is a series of adjoining Regency townhouses undergoing a £14 million tarting up.
Actually, the eastern end is post-war reconstruction. The Germans bombed it out in the Baedeker Raids.
But, you know….
I used to work for a consultancy based in numbers 1 and 25 Queen Square. Horrible buildings. Cold and drafty. Public car park down the road very expensive.
Interesting. Did the windows have shutters & were they used? Were internal doors left open?
Historically, English houses had small windows & low ceilings to cope with long cold winters. Then after the Restoration, Italianate fashion dictates larger windows. In Italy that works with their long hot summers & & shorter milder winters. But. So architectural design thrashes around trying to make buildings liveable. Higher ceilings to cope with the fumes from the fires needed for heating etc.
Trying to use early Georgian for C21st lifestyle expectations just ain’t gonna work. Especially if the windows are subject to a preservation order. You want to live in a museum exhibit, you pay the price.
Isn’t the whole back of it a post-war rebuild?
The stick of bombs made a mess of the back, yes. Why all of that side of Barton St, down to Trim, is new stuff…..