6.2.1 The River Avon is an important feature of
Bath. The environs of the course taken by the river are very
varied. In places the river is in a tight corridor between
developments; elsewhere it flows through a wider fairly flat
bottomed valley with residential and business development. Further
out it flows through open spaces and meadows with trees and
woodlands.
6.2.2 The River Avon was a natural barrier to the
early expansion of the city and a source of transport. River
crossing points influenced street patterns and were a catalyst for
development. Bridges over the river are key features in their own
right; they also aid orientation and provide excellent views of the
city and surrounding hills.
6.2.3 In the early C18 the river channel in Bath was
partly canalised, the existing river side footpaths were upgraded
to a towing path and locks were added to make the river navigable
to Bristol. This allowed easier transport for Bath stone quarried
at Combe Down to reach Bristol and ports beyond, as well as easing
the import of coal from Wales, timber from the Baltic and other
imports to the city.
6.2.4 In the early C18 John Wood had a number of
grand plans to make use of the river near Terrace Walk as the
centre of the new city. North and South Parade were constructed but
then the focus of development moved to the upper part of the city.
As a result very little of C18 Bath related positively to the
river. The exceptions were Norfolk Crescent and Green Park, both
built in the later Georgian period and designed to take the views
along and across the river in accordance with the picturesque
movement. In the C19 and C20 development continued to turn its back
on the river; generally the public face of development related to
roads running parallel to the river. This resulted in the
area between the main buildings and river being occupied by small
scale buildings or service yards. This created variety in the
relationship of development to the river. The riverside
warehouses opposite Bath Quays are four to six storey buildings
located directly at the river’s edge. This relationship is
memorable and distinctive.
6.2.5 The River Avon valley provided the route for
alternative means of transport including roads, the Kennet and Avon
Canal, and the Great Western Railway. The latter two great linear
constructions of the C18 and C19, which link Bath to London and
Bristol, follow the contours only deviating where landform dictates
by locks or tunnels, aqueducts and viaducts. They can be picked out
at a distance from the many surrounding hills by the way they
constrict housing lines and by the trees along their course.
6.2.6 Key points include
·
River west of Widcombe is canalised with a towpath
·
Variety in the way development relates to the river
·
Most development turns its back on or ignores the river
·
Few sites positively respond to the river. Examples include Norfolk
Crescent and Green Park
·
Importance of bridges crossing the river – Pulteney Bridge,
Cleveland Bridge and Victoria Bridge through to more workaday
reminders of the industrial past
·
Importance of views from the riverside path and to the river
corridor between buildings
