Description

SYDNEY GARDENS
656-1/32/1648
Loggia

(Formerly Listed as:
SYDNEY GARDENS Rotunda)
11-AUG-1972

II

A loggia with projecting bow, attached to the rear of Sydney House (qv); a partial reconstruction of a late Georgian feature, by the Bath City Engineer, 1938.

MATERIALS: The loggia is constructed from limestone ashlar and has a flat roof (not visible but probably covered in lead).

EXTERIOR: The structure is a single storey, bow-fronted Ionic colonnade of four columns with an entablature; the columns stand on paired plinths. The blocks to either side have plinths and are flanked by Ionic pilasters. Above, a low parapet with a dentil cornice and frieze spans the front and the returns to either side.

INTERIOR: The interior has a circular roofed space; the rear wall has a central doorway with a panelled door set in an opening with a moulded architrave and cornice on consoles.

HISTORY: Sydney Gardens were laid out as commercial pleasure grounds between 1792 and 1794; the initial design was by the architect Thomas Baldwin, who, after he went bankrupt, was replaced by Charles Harcourt Masters in 1794. They were opened on 11 May 1795 as Sydney Gardens Vauxhall, and rapidly became a popular place of entertainment, hosting public breakfasts, promenades and galas. The main building was the Sydney Tavern (now the Holburne of Menstrie Museum), which stood at the western end of the central walk, and housed tea and card rooms, a ballroom, coffee room and a public house. In 1799, a section of the Kennet and Avon Canal was cut through the gardens, with the addition of decorative bridges and tunnels, which added to the picturesque appeal of the pleasure grounds. During the early C19, additional features and structures were introduced, adding variety and surprise in accordance with landscape design principles of the period. From c.1839, a section of the Great Western Railway was constructed, cutting through the gardens. Later in the C19, further ornamental structures were introduced, but these were largely cleared away after World War Two. In 1891, when the original 99-year lease of the Gardens expired, the entire site, including the Tavern, by then in use as a college, was sold, with the intention of replacing the former Tavern with a large hotel, and remodelling the grounds. The plan was abandoned and in 1908, the site was purchased by Bath City Council; the gardens were opened to the public as a municipal park in 1913, while the Tavern was remodelled by Sir Reginald Blomfield into the Holburne of Menstrie Museum. This structure replaces a more complex, double curved loggia, originally surmounted by statues, forming an exedra-like terminal to the main axis of Sydney Gardens. Originally built by Thomas Baldwin and built c.1795, it was reconfigured in 1836 at the time of the building of Sydney House in 1835-6, probably by John Pinch the Younger. It was rebuilt in a reduced form by the city authority in 1938. The gardens remain in use as a public park.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION:
The loggia at Sydney Gardens is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* The structure is a good example of a garden building dating from the early C20, but forming part of the C18 pleasure grounds at Sydney Gardens
* It embodies the reduced form of an original C18 structure, uses some of the earlier fabric, and is of good quality in its materials, craftsmanship and its correct Classical detailing
* Group value with Sydney House (qv), to the rear of which the loggia is attached, and the other listed buildings and structures within Sydney Gardens

Listing NGR: ST7590065385

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26674294

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.

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