Prior Park

Ralph Allen, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, was notable for his reforms to the British postal system. He moved in 1710 to Bath, where he became a post office clerk, and at the age of 19, in 1712, became the Postmaster.[2] In 1742 he was elected Mayor of Bath,[3] and was the Member of Parliament for Bath between 1757 and 1764.[3] The building in Lilliput Alley, now North Parade Passage in Bath, which he used as a post office, became his Town House.[4]

Allen acquired the stone quarries at Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines.[3] He used the unique honey-coloured Bath stone, used to build the Georgian city, and as a result made a second fortune. Allen built a railway line from his mine on Combe Down which carried the stone down the hill, now known as Ralph Allen Drive, which runs beside Prior Park, to a wharf he constructed at Bath Locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal to transport stone to London.[5] Following a failed bid to supply stone to buildings in London, Allen wanted a building which would show off the properties of Bath stone as a building material.[6][7]

Hitherto, the quarry masons had always hewn stone roughly providing blocks of varying size. Wood required stone blocks to be cut with crisp clean edges for his distinctive classical façades.[8] The Stone was extracted by the "room and pillar" method, by which chambers were mined, leaving pillars of stone to support the roof.[9] Bath stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate laid down during the Jurassic (195 to 135 million years ago). An important feature of Bath stone is that it is a freestone, that is one that can be sawn or 'squared up' in any direction, unlike other rocks such as slate, which forms distinct layers. It was extensively used in the Roman and Medieval periods on domestic, ecclesiastical and civil engineering projects such as bridges.[10]

Prior Park, Bath and Ralph Allen's railway in 1750 from an engraving by Anthony Walker

John Wood, the Elder was commissioned by Ralph Allen to build on the hill overlooking Bath: "To see all Bath, and for all Bath to see".[3] Wood was born in Bath and is known for designing many of the streets and buildings of the city, such as The Circus (1754–68),[11] St John's Hospital,[12] (1727–28), Queen Square (1728–36), the North (1740) and South Parades (1743–48), The Royal Mineral Water Hospital (1738–42) and other notable houses, many of which are Grade I listed buildings. Queen Square was his first speculative development. Wood lived in a house on the square,[13] which was described by Nikolaus Pevsner as "one of the finest Palladian compositions in England before 1730".[14]

The plan for Prior Park was to construct five buildings along three sides of a dodecagon matching the sweep of the head of the valley, with the main building being flanked by elongated wings based on designs by Andrea Palladio.[7] The plans were influenced by drawings in Vitruvius Britannicus originally made by Colen Campbell for Wanstead House in Essex, which was yet to be built.[7][5] The main block had 15 bays and each of the wings 17 bays each. Between each wing and the main block was a Porte-cochère for coaches to stop under.[5] In addition to the stone from the local quarries, material, including the grand staircase and plasterwork, from the demolished Hunstrete House were used in the construction.[15][16]

Construction work began in 1734 to Wood's plan but disagreements between Wood and Allen led to his dismissal and Wood's Clerk of Works, Richard Jones, replaced him and made some changes to the plans particularly for the east wing.[5][17] Jones also added the Palladian Bridge.[18] The building was finished in 1743 and was occupied by Allen as his primary residence until his death in 1764.[19]

Drawing from 1875 by W.Wills after Thomas Hearne incorrectly showing 13 bays in the main house

After Allen's death in 1764, William Warburton, Allen's relative, lived in the house for some time and it was passed down to other family members and then purchased, in 1809, by John Thomas, a Bristol Quaker.[20][6] After William Beckford sold Fonthill Abbey, in 1822, he was looking about for a suitable new seat, Prior Park was his first choice: ""They wanted too much for it," he recalled later; "I should have liked it very much; it possesses such great capability of being made a very beautiful spot."[21] Prior Park was offered for sale after Thomas's death in 1827 but the asking price of £25,000 was not obtained and the offer of sale withdrawn.[20]

Augustine Baines, a Benedictine, Titular Bishop of Siga and Vicar Apostolic of the Western District of England, was appointed to Bath in 1817. He purchased the mansion in 1828 for £22,000 and set to work to establish two colleges in either wing of the house, which he dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul respectively, the former being intended as a lay college, the latter as a seminary. The new college never became prosperous, however. Renovations were made according to designs by Henry Goodridge in 1834 including the addition of the staircase in front of the main building.[5][22] A gymnasium was also built in the 1830s including a courtyard for Fives,[23] and three barrel vaulted rooms on the first floor and a terrace roof.[24]

The seminary was closed in 1856 after a fire which, in 1836, had resulted in extensive damage and renovation and brought about financial insolvency. It was bought in 1867 by Bishop Clifford who founded a Roman Catholic Grammar School in the mansion.[6] Prior Park operated as a grammar school until 1904. During World War I the site was occupied by the army and used for officer cadet training. Following the war, several tenants occupied the site. In 1921, the Christian Brothers acquired the building and opened a boarding school for boys in 1924, which continues today as a mixed public school.[25]

The main building (the Mansion) has been badly burnt twice. The 1836 fire left visible damage to some stonework.[26] The 1991 fire gutted the interior, except for parts of the basement.[27] Unusually, the blaze started on the top floor, and spread downwards. Rebuilding took approximately three years.[28]