The Lions and Attached Pavilions, Balustrades, Gate Piers and Railings, Bridgwater, Somerset

Description

BRIDGWATER

ST2937SE WEST QUAY
736-1/10/208 (West side)
24/03/50 The Lions and attached pavilions,
balustrades, gate piers and railings

GV I

House. 1720-30. By and for Benjamin Holloway. Flemish-bond
brick of alternate red and yellow; stone coping, cornice,
banded pilasters, architraves, cills, projecting central bay
and rusticated basement; double-pitched pantile roof with
yellow brick stacks to all gable ends; pyramidal slate roofs
to the pavilions.
Double-depth plan with forward pavilions and mid C19 side
wings. Provincial Baroque style. 2 storeys with semi-basement;
symmetrical 5-window range. Windows to the main block are
6/6-pane sashes in segmental-arched, pulvinated architraves
with keystones which die into the cornice above.
A wide flight of steps over a basement arch leads up to the
central bay; the blocking course, replacing a former parapet
wall, is raised above an open segmental pediment, dentilled
corbels coincide with the cornice and form capitals to fluted
pilasters; these frame a semicircular-arched sash window with
a moulded archivolt, keystone and imposts; a recessed panelled
apron rests on the cornice of the doorcase which spans the
facade as a string-course. The raised-and-fielded 8-panel door
is set in a pulvinated architrave with a crest to the
keystone, all framed by Doric columns and a triglyph frieze
with patera; the outer sides of the bay have banded
rustication on both floors.
The flanking windows to the first floor have moulded cills and
plain shallow shaped aprons with guttae to the ends. The
ground-floor windows have bracketed cills. The basement
windows have flat gauged stone arches below a string course.
The single-storey pavilions are set forward to the front of a
paved courtyard at street level and linked to the pilasters by
rusticated arches. They have hipped roofs, moulded and banded
eaves cornices, pilasters, (that to far left missing) and
Venetian windows to the fronts; the central arches of which,
with large keystones dying into the bands, are blocked, the
fixed casements with thick glazing bars to the sides have
heavy cornices above and panels below; that to far right is a
blind ashlar recess. C20 doors in moulded architraves face the
courtyard.
Rear: the C18 left (north) ballroom wing is 2 storeys with
basement; 3-window range. Red Flemish-bond brick, it has a
plain parapet, bracketed cills to eared architraves with
raised cornices, 3/6-pane sash windows to the first floor and
6/9-panes to the ground floor, the lower sash and cill of the
window to left have been removed to make a door. The 3-window
range rear of the lower early C18 main block to right, of
yellow Flemish-bond brick, has raised surrounds and keystones
to 6/6-pane sash windows; the central range has been rebuilt
(C20) in stretcher-bond brick with a large 6/6-pane sash
window to the first floor and C20 double doors to the ground
floor; flanked by C20 windows under segmental arches to the
semi-basement.
INTERIOR: C18 joinery including doors and shutters. A
semicircular arch, now blocked, to rear of entrance hall has
acanthus-leaf edging to the intrados and a plaster shell to
centre, similar to those in No.12 Castle Street (qv).
The room to left of ground-floor front has high
raised-and-fielded panelling which sweeps up to approx 2m to
meet the fireplace wall to left; a c1840 white marble
fire-surround with block corners and an oval panel with
radiating flutes to centre of lintel is set under 4 square
panels below a dentilled cornice at ceiling level. Carved
scrolls sweep down from the cornice to meet the panelling
which has 2 shell alcoves to the corners.
The wall to right of central entrance hall has been removed,
that to the left has a dado rail which sweeps up to a 6-panel
door, the tallest panels of which are at the top;
raised-and-fielded panelling below dado rail. Room to right,
consisting of the former hall, rear room and front room, has a
mid C19 cornice, raised-and-fielded panelling to the shutters
and panelled reveals to a door to rear right leading to the
C18 and C19 ballroom.
The large C18 ballroom has a very high ceiling, a modillion
cornice with patera and a frieze of key pattern and swags.
Traces of 2 high and wide semicircular arches to left can be
seen, these were lowered to become segmental arches below a
C19 picture rail. The 6/9-pane sash windows have C18 added
moulding to the panelling of the shutters. The late C19
fireplace against the front wall is in Jacobean style with
columns and panelling, to right-hand wall is a C19
segmental-arched recess.
The ground-floor room of the C19 wing has a wooden fireplace
to left with an eared architrave and C18-style moulding, a
moulded and reeded cornice, high skirting boards and a
segmental-arched recess to the rear. The closed-string
staircase to rear of former hall has turned balusters, fretted
ends and a moulded rail.
The lodge to the right has stone skirtings, a corner stack and
a late C19 Gothic-style fireplace with a cinquefoil-headed
cast-iron grate. This was where the drivers waited.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: C20 low panelled and corniced gatepiers
carry spectacular Chinese-style dogs (The Lions) which are
connected to the pavilions by low ashlar walls with C20
square-section stone balustrades. The steps to the door are
flanked by C19 railings with scrolls attached to the vertical
rails.
History: The house was built for himself by Benjamin Holloway,
a carpenter and builder who was employed by the Duke of
Chandos to build and possibly design the houses in Castle
Street. The house was illustrated in William Halfpenny's
"Perspective Made Easy", 1731.
(Buildings of England: Pevsner N: South and West Somerset:
London: 1958-: 98; Colvin H: A Biographical Dictionary of
British Architects 1660-1840: London: 1978-: 378; VCH:
Somerset: London: 1992-: 201).

Listing NGR: ST2998037288

External Links

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.