Royal Crescent, Bath

The Royal Crescent, found within the historic Roman city of Bath, was built by John Wood, the Younger. Though his name may have aged poorly, given his passing in 1782, the beautiful architecture John Wood produced has aged magnificently. The Royal Crescent can be seen as part of a tour of Bath including a nose around No 1. Afterwards you can take a stroll through Royal Victoria Park, which is overlooked by the Crescent.

Originally, when the Royal Crescent completed construction in 1774, the street was named only ‘The Crescent’. This is because, when viewed from above, the 30 terraced houses looks like a sickle moon. It wouldn’t become ‘Royal’ until Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, rented the 1st house. The Prince would later be remembered in history for his genius reorganisation of the British Military in the Napoleonic wars. Either way, one thing is certain. He must have enjoyed his stay, for he would later go on to purchase the 16th house.

The Royal Crescent is 150 metres long (500 foot), a distance run by Usain Bolt in 14.36 seconds. That’s 2 houses every second! Whilst an impressive speed, the building’s length speaks volumes about how John Wood mastered the use of limited space to create a truly historic row of houses.

Overlooking a parkland, the building is an example of the Latin phrase “Rus in Urbe”, meaning “The Country in the City”. There are 114 Ionic (an order of classical architecture) columns on the first floor. Above, the style becomes Palladian (a style of European architecture based on the works of Venetian architect Andrea Palladio).