Waterstones, Regent Street, Bristol
37 Regent Street is a Grade II Listed Building in the middle of Clifton. The original villa was built in the late 18th Century, with the ground floor converted to a bank and extended forwards in about 1900.
The front of the bank consisted of a central section with Ionic stone columns between the windows, with a grand entrance with a segmental pediment over on the left-hand side. On the right-hand side the entrance to the upper floors had a smaller door with a stone canopy supported on fluted consoles.
The window openings had solid stone infill to the lower parts and the windows had areas of obscured glazing. The solid panels between the columns ruined the intended appearance of a classical temple front with freestanding columns.
Consent was obtained for conversion of the empty bank to an active retail use. The stone infills and the heavy timber windows were cut out, new full-length glazed panels were fitted, and new stonework was pieced in at the sides of the columns. Decorative metal railings were installed across the base of the windows, similar to those shown in a photograph of 1914.
The new Waterstones bookshop has introduced a popular and active amenity in this busy street.