Queen Square (Bath)

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Beau Nash Obelisk
Beau Nash Obelisk
South side of the square, which is now the Francis Hotel
South side of the square, which is now the Francis Hotel

Queen Square is a square of Georgian houses in the city of Bath, England.

Queen Square was the first speculative development by the architect John Wood, the Elder. Wood lived in a house on the square.[1] Numbers 21-27 make up the north side.[2] Which was described by Nikolaus Pevsner as "one of the finest Palladian compositions in England before 1730".[3]

The west side (numbers 14 - 18 and 18A, 19 & 20) was designed by John Pinch in 1830 and differs from Wood's original design as the central block is in Neo-Grecian style.[4] The south side (numbers 5-13) which was originally left open is now occupied by a hotel.[5] All of the buildings have been designated by English Heritage as grade I listed buildings. The obelisk in the centre of the square was erected by Beau Nash in 1738.[6]

During World War II, between the evening of 25 April and the early morning of 27 April 1942, Bath suffered three air raids in reprisal for RAF raids on the German cities of Lübeck and Rostock, part of the Luftwaffe campaign popularly known as the Baedeker Blitz. Over 400 people were killed, and more than 19,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed.[7] Houses on the south side of Queen Square were damaged but have subsequently been restored.[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Queen Square. UK attractions. Retrieved on 2008-01-10.
  2. ^ QUEEN SQUARE (north side). Images of England. Retrieved on 2008-01-10.
  3. ^ Queen Square. Bath Net. Retrieved on 2008-01-10.
  4. ^ QUEEN SQUARE (west side). Images of England. Retrieved on 2008-01-10.
  5. ^ QUEEN SQUARE (south side). Images of England. Retrieved on 2008-01-10.
  6. ^ QUEEN SQUARE obelisk. Images of England. Retrieved on 2008-01-10.
  7. ^ History - Bath at War. Royal Crescent Society, Bath. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
  8. ^ Royal Crescent History: The Day Bombs fell on Bath. Royal Crescent Society, Bath. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.