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Norfolk Crescent

Introduction

Norfolk Crescent is a communal garden for a crescent built around 1790 to the early-19th century. The area in front of the crescent was originally a formal garden but by 1848 an informal layout was in place. The last house to be completed in the crescent was No. 11 which was completed in 1822.

The garden of Norfolk Crescent occupies a triangle of low-lying land on the north bank of the River Avon. It has a bumpy and uneven surface and no planting of note. The garden was found to be poorly-maintained when last surveyed in 1985. It had virtually no planting, and the area had been used for disposal of rubble and rubbish, leaving the surface of the ground uneven and irregular.

Visitor Access, Directions & Contacts

Access contact details

This is an urban green space with general public access.

Directions

Norfolk Crescent lies off the A4 Upper Bristol Road.

History

18th - 19th Century

Norfolk Crescent was built in the 1790s and completed in the early-19th century. The site was leased to Richard, an attorney, in 1792, and his associates in the speculation were the builders James Brown and Thomas King. Plans for a street to enter the centre of Norfolk Crescent had to be dropped, and the area in front of the Crescent was instead laid out as a formal garden. Pictures of the Crescent show that there was dense planting of shrubs and trees at the western end of the garden, and a map of 1848 shows an informal layout in the garden.

20th Century

In 1942 during the Second World War an incendiary bomb landed near the crescent and the north end was gutted by fire. It was not repaired until 20 years later in the 1960s, when Nos. 1-7 were rebuilt with the same façade as the original.

Period

  • 18th Century
  • Late 18th Century
Features & Designations

Designations

  • Conservation Area

  • Reference: Bath

  • The National Heritage List for England: Listed Building

  • Reference: night watchman's hut
  • Grade: II

Features

  • Garden Building
  • Description: Night-watchman?s hut. This is a small, circular building in the corner of the garden. It is clearly shown on early prints of the Crescent.
  • Town House (featured building)
  • Description: Norfolk Crescent was built in the 1790s and completed in the early-19th century.
  • Earliest Date:
  • Latest Date:
Key Information

Type

Garden

Purpose

Ornamental

Principal Building

Parks, Gardens And Urban Spaces

Period

18th Century

Survival

Part: ground/below ground level remains

Hectares

0.8

Open to the public

Yes

References

References