John Wood |
John Wood the Elder
(1704-1754). Detail from the oil painting, The Four Worthies.
The only known image of Wood. |
Queen Sq. - East side |
Built between 1729
and 1739, this was Wood's first successful development. |
Queen Sq. - North side |
The North side of Queen
Square was designed to give the impression of a grand unified
palace facade, but it is actually seven separate houses. |
Queen Sq. - Obelisk |
The obelisk is at the
centre of Queen Square, where it was intended that the residents
could promenade. Very different from the modern "bottle-neck"
of traffic. |
Die |
Stone die with carvings
showing the original plan for the central "garden" at
Queen Square. |
Capital from Circus |
Corinthian Capital
removed during conservation work in the 1960s. |
13 The Circus |
The Circus was built
between 1754 and 1767. It was commenced by John Wood the Elder,
but he died shortly after the foundation stone was laid. His son,
John Wood the Younger completed the project. |
The Circus - Roofline |
The roofline of the
Circus is punctuated with acorns. Serving to illustrate Wood's
belief in the Druids as the Princes of the Hollow oak and a reminder
of the legend of how Prince Bladud discovered the healing powers
of the hot springs. |
The Circus |
The Circus was Britain's
first circular street. It was based on the measurements that Wood
took at Stonehenge and the two have roughly the same diameter. |
Royal Crescent & Pavement |
The Royal Crescent
was designed by John Wood the Elder and built by his son between
1767-74. The roadway is laid with blocks of pennant or "blue
lias", quarried to the west of the city. |
Royal Crescent & Green |
This was the first
crescent in Britain and influenced the architectural development
of Edinburgh and Dublin. |
Royal Crescent Ha-ha |
The ha-ha is thought
to have been first developed by William Kent at Stowe. Pertaining
to the 18th century philosophy of the unspoilt beauty of nature,
or the "Picturesque" movement the ha-ha kept livestock
away from the gentry but did not ruin their view of the sweeping
landscape. |
Ionic capital |
Ionic is one of the
Five Orders of Classical Architecture. The three most common Orders
in use in Britain and therefore Bath at this time were Doric,
Ionic and Corinthian. |
Corinthian Capital |
The Corinthian Order
was the most flamboyant and decorative of the five orders. It
was used by Wood at Queen Square and the King's Circus. This
capital was saved from the King's Circus in the 1960s. |
