GEORGIAN BATH Sta,—During recent weeks considerable interest has been aroused
in No. 5 Beauford Square, the so- called 'Christmas card house,' which is threatened, with demolition to make way for a block of fiats. This Trust has endeavoured to speak for those who would greatly regret the disappearance of this pic- turesque little house of Strahan's, one of the few remaining pre-John Wood houses in the city; but it would be wrong to suppose that it fails to under- „- stand the genuine difficulties of the local authority in their task of filling the ugly gap which now detracts from the charm of the area. No. 5 does not fill the depth of the site, and there is in- sufficient space for any further building to complete the Barton Street frontage and be economically viable.
My trustees take the view that it would be a simple matter to build a companion house to the Christmas card house in the vacant site of No. 4, and so complete the east side of the Square once more, but it could not be represented as a business proposition. Letters of support for the campaign to save No. 5 have stressed the fact that Georgian Bath belongs to Europe and not to Bath alone. there, in fact, a sufficient weight of opinion to, produce the money needed to replace No. 4 Beau- ford Square and provide adequate treatment of the Barton Street frontage? A sum in excess of £10,000 might be required. The Bath Preservation Trust is prepared to span-.. sor a fund and to work with national societies of similar aims to find the most suitable solution to the problem. Promises of financial support for this project should be sent to the Treasurer, Bath Pre- servation Trust, National Provincial Bank Ltd., High Street, Bath, if possible before the end of March: all those informing the Trust of their concern about this matter will then be advised whether the sup- port warrants proceeding with the preparation of a definite plan, or whether this delightful relic of eighteenth-century domestic architecture must be allowed to be swept away by the bulldozers of economic necessity.
R. D. GEORGE Hon. Secretary. Bath Preservation Trust 6 Bath Street, Bath, Somerset
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