1813 Heritage Statement
Heritage Statement for Works to the Royal National Hospital for
Rheumatic Diseases
Work to be done is in different parts of the Hospital and they are listed
below together with an indication of their relevance to the historic structure.
The Hospital
The Hospital is housed in two attached buildings in the middle of Bath.
Both wings of the hospital were purpose built, the East wing designed by
John Wood and constructed between 1738 and 1732.
The West wing was designed by Manners and Gill and opened in 1861.
The Stairwell.
The most important item of work now proposed will be the redecoration and
tidying of the whole of the main staircase. This stair is in the West Wing
which was built in the mid 1800’s up to first floor level. The matching
extension to the stair up to the second floor was apparently not added until
the building was rebuilt in the early 1960’s according to the official history
of the hospital . I had been sure that I had seen reference to its being a late
19th century addition somewhere but plans showing both East and West
Blocks and dated 1932 show the stair going only as far as the first floor with
a simple narrow flight to the second floor.The whole is a very attractive oak
stair cantilevered off the thick flank walls.
Though the stair is well preserved the enclosing walls and doorways above
the ground floor have suffered modernization and alteration in an attempt to
maintain the hospital use of the building. The whole building suffered from
bomb damage during the Second World War and was re-built during the
early 1960’s with contemporary details and services ducting.
The services have been added to on an ad hoc basis since, they need regular
access for maintenance and upgrading and are already packed full.
The existing stairwell and its immediate surroundings are shown on drawing
1813-01 which is marked with photograph references. The photographs are
included on a separate CD.
The proposal is to redecorate the whole of the stairwell in a way that reflects
the age of the stair. Great care will be needed to carry out the work safely
whilst not imposing any additional load on the stair while it is being done. A
part of the tender process for carrying out the work will be the assessment of
the preferred methods of carrying out the work.
The intention is to cover the existing services ducting and equipment in an
appropriate manner described in the Design and Acess Statement.
We do not propose that the new covers should be made to artificially look as
though they are original but feel that it is important not to introduce
additional materials and finishes into the area.
The floors in the entrance hallway at the base of the stairs and on all of the
landings are oak boarding that has been covered in carpets. The original oak
was not suitable for a Hospital environment and was suffering from damage
from being heavilt trafficked before it was covered.
The new proposed finishes are described in the Design and Access
Statement.
The Main Entrance
Though it is obviously vital not to revise the appearance of the entrance any
more than necessary this is not in its original state.
The threshold level was altered in the mid 1960’s so that there was level
access from the pavement whereas previously entry had been up a couple of
steps.The doors were altered to suit at the same time.
Since then secondary automatic metal framed doors have been added at
immediately inside the “formal” wood doors and at the entrance to the main
staircase fro the entrance lobby.These are a dull khaki colour and will be
retained but taken apart and powder coated in cream silk.
The area will have new finishes similar to the existing but with better chosen
colours.
Stair in Basement
The handrail and balusters down the stairs and around the Roman Pavement
are 1960’s painted metal and will be retained bur repainted.
Main Waiting , Treatment and Patient Reception (West Wing Ground
Floor)
These three rooms are a part of the original West Wing building and were
re-built after the Word War II bomb damage in a manner that looks original
though in fact the room layouts were different(see attached 1932 Ground
Floor Plan).
Appointments Room(West Wing Ground Floor)
This room retains the shape and size shown on the 1932 plan and so is
presumably original but for the addition of an additional doorway that is a
faithful replica of that alongside.
The intention is now to divide the room into two with a central partition that
will not harm any of the original structure.
Consulting and Exam Rooms 1,2 & 3. (West Wing Ground Floor)
These rooms are on the ground floor of the West Block just inside the main
entrance and are to be renovated without altering any of their building
details..
Consulting and Exam Rooms 6,7 & 8(West Wing Ground Floor)
These rooms are on the ground floor of the West Block just inside the main
entrance and are to be renovated with alterations only to the post-war
partitioning. The 1932 record drawing shows them all as one large room.
First Floor Room 1W38,40,41,42,43 & 44 (West Wing First Floor)
This is a part of the hospital that was re-built in the early 1960’s and then
upgraded in the 1990’s.It is shown as existing on drawing 1813-10 with
photo references. The photographs are on the CD issued separately. The
proposals are shown on drawing 1813-11.
The rooms sit within the walls of the original West Block but none of the
finishes or details are more than twenty years old.None of the rooms or the
work within them is significant to the Listing of the building.
The Present High Dependency Unit(East Wing Second Floor)
The existing High Dependency Unit will never be used as such again. The
area as existing is shown on drawing 1813-12 and on the photographs
referenced below.It will now be used with minor revisions as a “Biologic”
treatment unit.The room sits within the walls of the original East Block but
none of the finishes or details are more than twenty years old.
None of the rooms or the work within them is significant to the Listing of
the building.
Sanitary Accommodation. (East First Floor)
This is in Rooms 1E02,03,04,06,07,08 & 09 on the second floor of the West
Block.
The present sanitary accommodation was installed as apart of the 1960’s rebuild of the hospital.
The rooms sit within the walls of the original East Block but none of the
finishes or details are more than twenty years old.
None of the rooms or the work within them is significant to the Listing of
the building.
JOHN PAGE ARCHITECT
johnpagearchitect@btinternet.com