Queen square

Question 1

Who set out plans to transform Bath in 1725?

Answer 1

John Wood Elder (1704-1754).

Question 2

Why did John Wood Elder take an entrepreneurial approach to development outside the city walls?

Answer 2

He was frustrated at trying to develop within the city walls and his ambitions were on a grand scale to re-establish Bath in its imagined former glory.

Question 3

Who did John Wood lease land from on the Barton Farm estate to lay out Queen Square?

Answer 3

Robert Gay (1676-1738), Surgeon and MP.

Question 4

When did the construction of the north and south sides of Queen Square commence?

Answer 4

1729

Question 5

In honor of whom was Queen Square named?

Answer 5

Queen Caroline (1863-1737), wife of George II.

Question 6

What existing buildings influenced John Wood’s design of the north side of Queen Square?

Answer 6

Inigo Jones Covent Garden Piazza, Dean Aldrick’s Peckwater Quadrangle at Christ Church Oxford, and Grosvenor Square London.

Question 7

What is significant about the north side of Queen Square?

Answer 7

It is the first architecturally unified residential square and a pioneering example of a palace fronted terrace with 23 Bays.

Question 8

Who was the original house at no. 12 in the middle of the west side of Queen Square built for?

Answer 8

Dr. William Oliver (1695-1764). Famous as the inventor of Bath Oliver biscuit.

Question 9

What happened to the house at no. 12 on the west side of Queen Square?

Answer 9

The fist house built for Dr. Oliver was later demolished, and the space was filled in 1830 by Pinch the younger’s neo-Grecian design, now home to BRLSI.

Question 10

How did John Wood’s scheme for Queen Square financially benefit him?

Answer 10

He achieved a total annual rent of £305, which more than doubled his initial outlay of £137.

Question 11

When was the east side of Queen Square finished?

Answer 11

1735

Question 12

When was Queen Square officially completed?

Answer 12

1736

Question 13

What was the central obelisk in Queen Square dedicated to and who designed it?

Answer 13

It was dedicated to Frederick Prince of Wales in recognition of his 1738 visit, and designed by John Wood the Elder.

Question 14

Who originally lived at no. 9 in the middle of the south side of Queen Square?

Answer 14

John Wood the Elder (1704-1754)

Question 15

Who was ‘exceedingly pleased’ to be lodging at no. 13 Queen Square in 1799?

Answer 15

Jane Austen. Staying there with her Mother, brother and his wife.

Question 16

When did the Bath Royal and Literary Association move to its current location on Queen Square?

Answer 16

1932

Question 17

What happened during the Bath Blitz in April 1942?

Answer 17

Over 400 people were killed and 1900 buildings damaged, including extensive damage to the south side of Queen Square.(currently the Francis hotel - about to enjoy £13m refit)

Question 18

What was done in 1948 in memory of those killed in the Bath Blitz?

Answer 18

The central garden of Queen Square was given to the citizens of Bath. Previously it had been for the private use of residents of Queen Square.

Question 19

What scandal involved Lady Luxborough in 1736?

Answer 19

After previously being caught in a compromising situation with the family doctor, she then became pregnant by a young cleric, leading to her banishment to Barrells Hall., near Coventry in Warwickshire.

Question 20

What did Lady Luxborough establish at Barrells Hall?

Answer 20

One of the earliest Ferme ornée (ornamental farm) and the first use of the term Shrubbery in 1748.

Question 21

What was the selling price of no. 23 Queen Square (on the LHS of the North of QS) in 2021?

Answer 21

£3.45m.