Rarely available, recently refurbished, elegant, serene three bedroom, two bathroom apartment with private courtyard, communal garden, and garage parking in the iconic Circus, in the heart of Georgian Bath.
The vendor says: “We especially liked the lateral layout of this apartment, which feels luxuriously spacious, No 18 being one of the larger four bay houses on the Circus. We run our own conservation architecture practice and have completely refurbished the apartment to provide a comfortable and elegant home. The apartment is lower ground floor, not basement, hence the ceilings are high, and the space is very light, as the apartment is south facing. The hall with oak floor opens into a beautiful panelled sitting room, all the widows have been fully refurbished with draught seals and the panelled shutters overhauled, so with a gas coal-effect fire in a stone fireplace the room is cosy in winter, but this is a grand room as well for entertaining. The TV is hidden in a cupboard but swings out for watching so does not interfere with the beauty of the room. On the other side the hall opens onto the kitchen/dining room. The working kitchen is behind a wall of panelling, so you can easily close off the kitchen detritus, with a purpose made double sink and stainless steel splash back behind folding doors. I am a keen cook so have two ovens, a gas and induction hob and two fridges. The only part of the kitchen which is actually on view is the curved sweep of Carrara marble work top.”
“There are three bedrooms, one of which I use as an office, but it has an ingenious desk which converts into a three quarter size bed for visitors. The other bedroom is a double with views over our courtyard at the back. The master bedroom is a very generous space. There are plenty of built in wardrobes, a large en suite bathroom with a bath and underfloor heating, and a delightful sitting alcove in the window bay. There is a family bathroom as well, and we have replaced the boiler, heating and hot water system.”
“Outside, we find ourselves sitting out a lot more than we imagined, for morning coffee or evening drinks, in the covered area of the front courtyard. There are three vaults at the front, one of which has a butler’s sink, so very handy for watering and looking after the plants. All have light and power and provide useful storage. At the back we have a courtyard again which is completely private, and we often have barbeques there. The boiler and laundry room are housed just outside the back door. This courtyard leads into the communal garden, which is largely laid to lawn with mature borders, and is looked after by a gardener engaged by the management company.
“We are very fortunate to own a parking space in a garage behind the Circus. It is so rare to have this in central Bath and really makes all the difference. We have found city living both an exhilarating and civilised experience here in the Circus. Quite apart from the knock-out beauty of this area, the quality of life is great with excellent neighbourhood restaurants such as the Circus on Brock Street, or our favourite the Acorn in North Parade Passage. The Beckford Bottle Shop is a recent brilliant addition to local life, as Toppings continues to be for booklovers and foodies alike with their ‘talk and taste’ evenings. There are music, literature and arts festivals and when it gets a bit hectic there’s Simona at Yoga Bodhi to calm it all right down! We love the ‘Carols in the Circus’ when everyone puts a candle in their window and joins in the middle of the Circus to drink mulled wine and sing their hearts out with the Salvation Army brass band. This apartment has ticked all the boxes for us: it is in the best location in Bath, there is a garden and a garage, it is safe, comfortable and elegant – we have been very lucky to live here.”