‘A retreat from the ephemeral thrills of the brand new to the permanent’ is how a well-known creative director and designer recently described the appeal of Bath’s finite supply of authentic Georgian splendour. Among its most magnificent is undoubtedly Lansdown Crescent; a Grade I-listed masterpiece designed by the architect John Palmer and built between 1789 and 1793. Just removed from, but conveniently close to, the cultural bustle of Bath’s ethereal centre, the crescent of twenty houses arches gently across a pastoral scene of grazing sheep and far-reaching views of the surrounding countryside. This particular house has been restored and brought beautifully and sensitively to new levels throughout its 6,600 sq ft by the interior designer Lydia Fay, and beyond into a garden worthy of the most refined Provençal mas.
The façades of these wonderful houses provides an anonymity to what lies behind the three principal storeys of Bath stone, offering a scene that has remained largely unchanged for over two centuries and stands as a great example of Palladian architectural principles. Apart from their rusticated ground-floor storeys they are gracefully inornate, though the wrought-iron fences of each rise into intricate overthrows with scrollwork that culminates in a single central lamp. In romantic fashion, these illuminate the long entrance paths that bridge to the front door alongside the large courtyard gardens at lower-ground level.
