11 Charlotte Street, City Centre, Bath
11 Charlotte Street, otherwise known as Charlotte House, is a Grade II listed terraced mid-19th century building, originally constructed as a Moravian Chapel, situated within the Bath City-Wide Conservation Area and World Heritage Site. The building remains a prominent feature within the streetscape with a grand, symmetrical frontage in the Neoclassical style with a central portico flanked by a twin pair of columns either side of the main entrance, capping the eastern end of the Grade II terrace at 2-10 Charlotte Street. It makes up part of an accumulated assemblage of larger, more grandiose buildings to the eastern end of Charlotte Street, including the Grade II* Elim Church, and the Grade II* 12 Charlotte Street. The external façade remains attributed with greater significance, where it is indicated that the original interior has largely been lost as part of earlier works to convert the building to office use in the late 1980s. The original building is indicated to have been internally split between the Church within the central and right hand bays, and a house contained within the left hand bay.
In light of the Climate Emergency, BPT is in-principle supportive of energy efficiency retrofit measures to improve the thermal performance of a building, where changes can be demonstrated to be sensitive to the special interest of a listed building and the wider character and appearance of the historic environment.
We are supportive of the principle of installing secondary glazing as a less invasive and ‘light touch’ easily reversible retrofit measure to improve the thermal performance and residential comfort of a historic building and ensure its long-term, sustainable use. The installation of secondary glazing would result in very limited harm to historic fabric, restricted to the proposed fixing points. Where it’s proposed to install secondary glazing “to apartments on ground floor and first floor”, it remains unclear as to the extent of installation across the building, such as whether it would be installed across all elevations. Further it seems that the windows on the left hand bay (associated with the internal creation of a proposed ‘townhouse’) would be excluded. We recommend this aspect of proposals is further clarified; in particular, where secondary glazing may be fitted to the windows in the principal façade, we encourage installation across all windows in keeping with the symmetrical emphasis of the building’s original design and appearance.
The proposed installation of a slimlite double glazing within the existing sash frame at lower ground level is supported. The window as existing sits below pavement level and is of restricted visibility as part of the wider building façade, and as such any change in this location would have a limited impact on the appearance of the building.
Where it is proposed to install a number of new flues, fan terminals, and gas meters on the side elevations of the building, we recommend that these are finished in a cream or buff colour to sit recessively against the Bath stone façade. Alternately a colour that matches existing examples of RWPs already in situ may be considered to ensure a coherent appearance and finish. Where possible, we recommend any fixings or new openings are concentrated on the mortared joints between the stonework to minimise as far as possible the irreversible loss of historic stonework.