Abbey Chambers Bath, England
Listed Building Data
Abbey Chambers has been designated a Grade II listed building in England with the following information, which has been imported from the National Heritage List for England. Please note that not all available data may be shown here, minor errors and/or formatting may have occurred during transcription, and some information may have become outdated since listing.
- List Entry ID
- 1394082
- Listing Type
- listed building
- Grade
- II
- Date Listed
- 11 August 1972
- Name
- ABBEY CHAMBERS
- Location
- ABBEY CHAMBERS, KINGSTON PARADE
- District
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Grid Reference
- ST 75133 64733
- Easting
- 375133.0000
- Northing
- 164733.0000
Listed Building Description
Text courtesy of Historic England. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.
KINGSTON PARADE
Abbey Chambers 11/08/72
GV II
Houses, now office block. c1762, greatly altered and added to c1875. By Thomas Jelly for the Duke of Kingston's Estate, altered for Isaac Pitman's Fonetik Institute, altered again c1967 by Bath City Council. MATERIALS: Limestone ashlar with Welsh slate roofs. PLAN: L-shaped block in two distinct sections. To right five-bays c1762 house facing Kingston Parade. To left taller block with two-bays facing Kingston Parade, and seven-bays facing Kingston Buildings. EXTERIOR: Three storeys and attic. c1967 Georgian' style bow fronts to ground floor, flanking probably c1875 central doorway with panelled door with rectangular light over, and bracketed hood. Platband. First floor windows have dropped sills, six/nine sashes in plain reveals. Second floor windows are six/six. Plain parapet (cornice removed), mansard roof with four flat-topped dormers single paired on left, all plain sashes. Truncated end stacks without pots. Blind return wall to York Street. Block to left on site of Nos 6-8 Kingston Buildings, but there does not appear to be any earlier fabric than c1875. Three storeys with full height attic. Kingston Parade elevation has c1967Georgian' style shop window as above. Platband. Windows above are all six/six sashes. Cornice at attic level. Kingston Buildings elevation very severe. Platband and cornice are carried round. Central doorway with panelled double doors and swan neck pediment over. Inscription `FONETIK INSTITUTE'. All windows late C19 plate glass sashes, plain. Plain parapet, roof not visible on front. INTERIORS: Were completely replanned and modernised by Bath City Council in c1967. The c1762 house was originally part of Church Street and stood opposite the contemporary Kingston Baths, also a Jelly design. When Abbey House was demolished in c1755 the Roman Baths were discovered beneath; and Kingston Baths were demolished in 1887 to open up what is now the Roman East Baths beneath the pavement of the present Kingston Parade. The surviving building was purchased by Isaac Pitman for £600 at the Manvers Estate sale in 1874, and was developed and used as his Fonetik Institute until 1888. Abbey Chambers became the head office of The Bath and Portland Stone Co. 1888-1967; and was the Planning and Environmental Services department of Bath City Council, 1967-1994. SOURCES: (Orbach J: Card Index of Bath Architects and Streets: 1978-; Colvin H: A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1660-1840: London: 1978-: 457; Holland E: The Kingston Estate within the walled City of Bath: Bath: 1992-; Bath Archaeological Trust/RCHM England: Georgian Bath Historical Map: Southampton: 1989-; The Bath Chronicle: Images of Bath: Derby: 1994-).
Listing NGR: ST7513364733
