110a and 112 Entry Hill (the Presbytery to the RC Church of St Peter and St Paul), Combe Down, Bath and North East Somerset

Summary

A former quarry master's house built in the late C18/early C19 with late C19 alterations, divided into two dwellings in the early 1950s, with the larger one becoming the new Presbytery to the Roman Catholic Church of St Peter and St Paul in 1954.

Description

MATERIALS: Bath stone ashlar front with coursed squared limestone rubble to the rear and sides, with a pantile roof.

PLAN: the building has a single depth plan, with a later added toilet out-shut to the rear serving both the ground and first floor.

EXTERIOR: the S elevation has a central three storey block of three bays with a lower two storey single bay wing attached to either side of it: that to the left being 110a Entry Hill, with the central block plus attached wing to the right comprising the presbytery, 112 Entry Hill. The entrance to the central block, is set under a later added stone porch (probably c1950s) and has a replacement door, like that to the entrance to the wing to its right. The entrance to the left hand wing has been blocked since the c1950s when the entrance to this new dwelling was inserted to the rear. The windows to the S front are all metal replacement sash windows (dating from the c1960s), the central opening to the third floor is blind. Above the central window is a small decorative Regency style pediment resting on console brackets. The W gable end has a six-by-six pane sash window to each floor, the E gable end has two metal sashes as above. The rear elevation is mostly blind with small casement windows to the out-shut, and with the windows and door opening to the rear W wing (to 110a Entry Hill) all introduced in the c1950s. To the rear E, where the building is attached to 106 Entry Hill (not under consideration for listing), the outline of a former attached (out)building, probably that marked on the OS map of 1888, is visible in the stone work.

Attached to the SE corner of the W wing (110a Entry Hill) is a C20 garage, built in stone rubble with a pitched roof, probably replacing an earlier, slightly smaller outbuilding in this location. The W wall of the garage is formed by a section of former garden wall (probably late C18 or early C19), now truncated, which contains a red Elizabeth II wall post box inserted in the c1960s. The garage and wall with inserted letter box are not of special interest and thus excluded from the List entry.

INTERIOR: the interior to 110a (the W wing of the building) was not inspected.

The interior of the presbytery (112 Entry Hill) retains late C18/early C19, as well as late C19, fixtures and fittings, including panelled doors, moulded architraves, deep skirting boards and with some built-in cupboards surviving.

The narrow entrance hall has late C19 poly-chromatic encaustic floor tiles. It has a late C18/early C19 cantilevered stone stair, enclosed at ground floor level. The stair has a closed string course, stick balusters, a turned newel post and a swept mahogany handrail.

The reception room to its W contains a plain, late C19 marble fireplace with console brackets. The dining room on the opposite side of the hall has a large, late C19, chamfered stone, Tudor-arched fire surround. This room connects with the adjacent kitchen, which contains a tall projecting chimney breast with plain surround to a former range. In one of the top corners of the small utility room adjacent to it, a fragment of a former stair survives that led from the kitchen to the bedroom above.

At first floor level the study W of the landing contains built-in bookcases (possibly late C19) to either side of the chimney breast with a modern stove replacing a former fireplace. The smaller study on the opposite side has a late C18/early C19 small timber fire surround, cast-iron grate now missing, with a late C18/early C19 built-in cupboard with panelled doors to its left, of similar date. The latter was probably a former door leading into the adjacent bedroom, with panelled door linings, as that to the surviving doorway on the other side of the chimney breast. The bedrooms on the top floor retain their late C18/early C19 plain timber fire surrounds.

History

110a and 112 Entry Hill comprise the former quarry master's house to Cross Ways, one of the principal stone quarries in Combe Down, Bath. It was probably built in the late C18/early C19. It was most likely owned by Ralph Allen, who lived at nearby Prior Park. By 1731 he owned most of the land at Combe Down, for which he had acquired quarrying rights for 100 years in 1729.

In 1788 his estate and quarries passed to Earl De Montalt, widower of Allen's niece. After De Montalt's death in 1803 the Prior Park estate was divided up and sold, with the quarry rights of another 26 years transferred. In 1830 the Benedictine Bishop Baines acquired Prior Park mansion to establish a junior seminary and college. From 1901 Catholics in the local area attended the chapel at Prior Park.

By 1841 the house and quarry at Cross Ways were occupied by James Sheppard. The Tithe Map & Award published that year shows the house as having a rectangular footprint, with the quarry to its rear, and the whole surrounded by an arable field. Cotterell's plan of 1852 shows the house, labelled Freestone Quarry, with an extensive vegetable garden to its S. By 1888, as shown on the first edition OS map published that year, the house was known as Crossway House with the land to its W, NE and E in use as stone quarries. By then a range of outbuildings appear to have been attached to its NE, the remains of which now partially survive, supported by scaffolding (106 Entry Hill, not under consideration for listing), and also to the SW, now (2016) occupied by a later garage belonging to 110a Entry Hill.

In 1887 a new company had been set up in Bath to rationalise production and marketing of Bath stone and seven established local firms were acquired. By 1900 sales of Bath stone were falling and at the beginning of the First World War most of the quarries had closed down.

In the early 1950s, due to the rising number of Roman Catholics in Combe Down, Fr John McReynolds, the chaplain of nearby Prior Park, initiated the building of a new parish church. In 1954 the presbytery was moved to 112 Entry Hill (the E part of the former quarry master's house), which had been donated by a convert, Miss Dorothy Spear. The W wing, then no. 110 Entry Hill (now 110a), became a separate dwelling with a garage attached to its S. The new Church of St Peter and St Paul (not under consideration for listing) was built in the grounds to the S. It opened in 1965 and was consecrated by Bishop Alexander on 1 June 1976.

Reasons for Listing

110a and 112 Entry Hill (the Presbytery to the Roman Catholic Church of St Peter and St Paul) in Combe Down, Bath, together forming a late C18/early C19 quarry master's house, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: as a good example of a late C18/early C19 quarry master's house;
* Historic interest: it has a strong historic association with the important Bath stone quarries in Combe Down as first established by Ralph Allen from the 1730s onwards, with its later use as a presbytery to the Roman Catholic Church of St Peter and St Paul built in the mid-1960s, reflecting the development of Roman Catholicism in Bath in the C20 adding to its interest;
* Later alterations: despite later alterations, including the replacement of its windows and its subdivision in the mid-C20, it has survived mostly intact, continuing to form an architectural entity, retaining many internal fixtures and fittings of note.

External Links

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