The Royal Crescent in Bath is one of the city’s best-known architectural works. This curved row of 30 terraced houses got its start as an outgrowth of work started by architect John Wood the Elder. Wood had built much of the Georgian buildings in Bath such as Ralph Allen’s Town House, Prior Place mansion, Queen Square, and the set of terraced town houses known as The Circle. When he died in 1754, his son, John Wood the Younger, wanted to carry on his father’s tradition. He wanted to emulate his father’s Palladian style and continue to cater to the middle and upper classes. Town houses such as those in the Circus were increasingly popular among the middle classes who could afford a higher standard of living than their predecessors.

Picking up where his father left off, Wood the Younger began another set of terraced town houses further down from the Circus, determined to build something even grander. His design formed a crescent shape with town houses that featured a rusticated first floor and Ionic columns stretching up the second and third floors. These elements combined with the arrangement of doors and windows created what many have felt is a simple and elegant design.

While homeowners were able to design the interior as they wished, those who purchased lots prior to construction had to conform with Wood’s design for the exterior. As such, while the homes are all alike on the outside, no two homes are the same internally. Some of the homes that appear to be two separate buildings are actually one. Additionally, some of the homes have an extra floor on the roof, others have two, and some simply stop after the third floor with just a flat roof. Even the stairs may go straight up or wrapped around square or elliptical wells.

Work began on the houses in 1767 and finished in 1775. The first person to move into the Crescent was Henry Sandford at no. 1, who leased it from 1776 to his death in 1796. The Crescent became a fashionable place to live for many wealthy writers, singers, and other persons of renown. As such, the homes include many plaques dedicated to former residents. The “Royal” part of the name was said to be added after Prince Frederick, the Duke of York and Albany, stayed there for a time in the late 18th Century.

By the 19th Century, the Roman baths that made the city famous were starting to lose their appeal and Bath saw a drop off in tourists, which also meant a drop in renters for the homeowners who used the rents to supplement their income. It started to become even more of a place for the wealthy to retire and as its history carried on into the 20th Century, servants’ quarters began to be transformed more into offices and spare rooms. No. 1 was eventually transformed into a museum, while The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa found a home at no. 16, transforming the Georgian town house into a five-star lodge.

While much of the bombing in World War II was focused on London, other parts of Britain were attacked as well, including Bath. During what is known as the Bath Blitz, part the Baedecker Blitz, no. 2 and no. 17 were absolutely gutted by incendiary bombs, leaving only Woods’ exterior behind. During the 1970s, no. 22 was the scene of some controversy when Miss Wellesley-Colley painted her door yellow instead of white, leading to a court case that resulted in the Secretary of State for the Environment letting her keep the yellow door. Today, in addition to the museum at no. 1 and the hotel at no. 16, many of the homes are still private residences or have been converted into flats. The entirety of the Royal Crescent is a Grade I listed building.