21 Queen Square, Bath

Two weeks ago, for my birthday, I decided to visit the lovely city of Bath. One of the buildings that I came across is no. 21 on the wonderful Queen Square, area. A showpiece of Georgian architecture, Queen Square was built by John Wood the Elder between 1728-1735. It is possible that Queen Square was built in a rather piecemeal fashion, and we can’t be sure when no. 21 was built. However, looking through newspaper records and online census, throws a fascinating glimpse into the history of this building. In 1851, the census states that the house was a boarding house, run by Henry Perkins, 29, of Easington, Gloucestershire, with his wife Emma, aged 30. Resident with them are 7 visitors, and 5 servants. They include individuals such as Charles Eustace, 86, a landed proprietor from Ireland and William Isgrove, 27, a servant from Wells, Somerset.

An advertisement from 1859 searching for a headwaiter shows that No. 21 had been taken over by the Bath and County Club. The 1871 census suggests that the No. 21 Queen Square was lived in by the Dennis family, but by 1891 was lived John Gait, house steward and caterer, his wife Rhoda, daughter Mary and Son, Bertie, along with 8 servants. There were no guests resident at the time of the 1891 census.