WALCOT STREET ENHANCEMENT STUDY
WALCOT STREET BACKGROUND INFORMATION
'At all stages of development the grander houses were accompanied by the building of artisan accommodation'AR.1973
Walcot Street is unique. It is no ordinary street and commands fierce loyalty and partisanship.
It follows the line of the old Roman Road into Aqua Sulis from the North, parallel with the River Avon and since the 2nd century AD, Walcot Street has supported a diverse and thriving commercial, residential, artisan , specialist and artistic community.
It still retains evidence of not only its Roman heritage (in archeological finds)but also its medieval,C17,C18,C19 and C20 past. The architectural mix of grand and small buildings both ecclesiastical and secular, its diversity,the fabulous vistas up and down the street,over the river,and its proximity to the river, add to its rich and varied character.
Trades and commerce are specialist and creative; architectural fittings, stone, framing, gilding, records, bicycles, ceramics, furnishings, hats, wholefoods, painting, printing, computer programming, photography, glass blowing, decorating techniques, furniture making, kitchens and knitting etcetera.
You can buy antique or modern.Bristol does its specialist shopping here,it has no equivalent. The Saturday fleamarket is renowned as is Walcot Reclamation and Walcot Nation Day,when the street closes to traffic and opens to celebrate and you need a Nation Day passport to enter the¹Sovereign State of Walcot¹. It attracts revellers from miles around.It has its own website, it has its own charisma.
Here too, you can eat, drink,worship,sing,dance and be merry. There are over 50 shops,3 pubs,1 club,1 hotel,4 restaurants/cafe's and 4 takeaways. It is a 24hour street providing much evening entertainment attracting a variety of age groups from Bath and the surrounding area.
'All five adjacent grounds ran down from Walcot Street to the river.In the C16 and C17 centuries,they were generally held by leading Bath citizens,who were members of the corporation. In 1585 , Cornwell House land and next ground but one to the South owned by John Chapman and in 1623 by his grandson Richard,former mayors and aldermen of Bath' The Survey of Bath and District.
No 13 Walcot Street has been called many things, 'a village in the city', 'slightly seedy, run down, but vital and busy', 'a specialist area serving a city wide population', bohemian, artisan, boasting ; musicians, comics, singers, writers, actors, playwrights, directors,poets, architects, designers, photographers, artists, engineers, conservators and sculptors.
It is the contemporary cultural centre of Bath. The international Natural Theatre Company was born here,Crescent Studios of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush fame was here,Jane Austen's father is buried here and Walcot Street was home to former mayors of the City, aldermen and leading Bath citizens.
There is a wealth of talent here 'The Wealth of the Nation'. It is an interactive community, and, almost village like in that many traders have traded here for more than 20 years, many shops are owner occupied ,both commercial and residential and Walcot Street provides work,rest and leisure.
There are more residents here than in 1977.It supports a wide and diverse working and residential community as it did then. In 1975,Walcot Street was included in the Bath Conservation Area. Bath became a World Heritage Site in 1987.
In 1997 Bath and North East Somerset produced the 'Walcot Street Works', a Conservation Area Character Assessment and Principles for Development Report which highlighted the complex nature of the character of Walcot Street and the need to identify it and protect it in order to instruct Planning Guidance. 'Walcot Street Works' was subsequently adopted as Supplementary Planning Guidance re new developments. B&NES set up the Walcot Street Officer Team to ensure that the character of the area as defined in the 'Walcot Street Works' is preserved and enhanced, by coordinating a corporate approach, within the Council,to the management of the Walcot Street Area.
In 1999 a Public Art Feasibility Study was commissioned by B&NES which aimed to identify key areas which should be given particular attention during the planning and development process of new proposed developments in Walcot Street. 'Walcot Street' an excellent report, was produced by Katie Hallett in January 2000. It illustrated the benefits and types of Public Art which could be applied throughout the regeneration of Walcot Street and its Riverside area and recommended ,
a). that an artist should work with Bath Archeological Trust recording finds in their archeological investigation on the Beehive Yard site prior to new development and
b).an artist should work with the CI:TE team on the design of the traffic calming scheme between Beehive Yard and Old Orchard. Unfortunately,to date, an artist has not worked with the Bath Archeological Trust although these Walcot Street finds are of international importance, but, this proposal is a result of artist /consultant collaboration with B&NES officers,the CI:TE team,residents and traders of Walcot Street and Future Heritage following a public consultation meeting at the Hilton Hotel set up by B&NES in September 2000.
At present an artist/consultant, Roger Dickinson,funded by the Year of the Artist project, is working with the CI:TE team to produce a public art strategy,raise the profile of artists input into city schemes and create an overall design for pedestrian signage for Bath City.
The traders, residents,Council Officers and users of the street have strong feelings for Walcot Street and recognise its unique qualities. There is a clear appreciation for its private and public spaces, its long vistas, its intimate yards, architectural delights,evocative steps and towering walls.
The truth is that people would very much like to retain the present character of Walcot Street but they feel slightly sidelined in Bath, would like more profile and want to see the glories of the street adequately maintained. Here is an opportunity to counteract certain problems developing in Walcot Street.
There are historic buildings and areas of the street which are in critical states of disrepair and the new developments, built sensitively by Future Heritage in sympathy with the character of the street, have brought an opportunity to at least pay attention to Walcot Street and bring it into a state of repair.
This is a Conservation Area in a city with World Heritage status. Through the desire to use artists, craftspeople and designers, B&NES has recognised the wishes of the community to improve and retain the quality of this unique urban environment and through the implementation of the recommendations of the feasibility study(Walcot Street) commissioned to give an overall strategy for Walcot Street they have shown a commitment to encourage new developers to work in collaboration with artists to make sure that these regeneration projects do not destroy the character of Walcot Street.
By using site specific solutions rather than off the peg ones,they will raise the profile and maintain the very best of Walcot Street for generations to come. However,the London Road regeneration carried out over this last year which has seriously affected trading in Walcot Street gives clear evidence of poor planning and missed oppportunity resulting in mundane,unstimulating solutions for a major gateway route into Bath city.
The St Swithin's development on Walcot Street has been designed sympathetically, but here too,there are areas of missed opportunity. The people of Walcot Street have been consulted, their input is valued and the best solutions must be sought for the long term .
Bath city,has fine examples of the benefits of embellishment and it would be criminal not to use the skills and talents available in and around Bath to achieve the quality that there is and that we wish to continue seeing in Bath, in the long term. Katie Hallett's feasibility study set up an overall strategy and the following proposals outline ways and means for putting this into practice.
Types of input , partnerships, means of funding,ways of sourcing artists and long term maintenance are suggested to create a stimulating and well maintained environment for the central area of the street .
This will create a much more user friendly area for pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchair users, pram pushers, children and the elderly.
They should be encouraged to use and enjoy the street.To look, buy, play, learn, rest, talk, walk and appreciate the rich heritage and valuable life to be found in Walcot Street.
WALCOT IMPROVEMENTS STUDY INDEX