11/05/2022
The name Widcombe is thought to derive from the Celtic meaning 'wide valley' and originally centred on Church Street which springs off from what is now Widcombe Hill. The church of St Thomas à Becket, originally built in the 12th Century and rebuilt in 1490, stood on the site of an Anglo-Saxon chapel and the nearby Widcombe Manor has much earlier origins than its present 18th Century façade would indicate.
The view we are primarily concerned with is this one of Claverton Street. The Georgian terraces of Widcombe Parade on the right, Claverton Buildings and Sussex Place were erected in the 1770's, though there were known to be earlier buildings along this stretch.
It is remarkable that the character of this street has remained almost unchanged in over a 100 years, in spite of damage during the 'Bath Blitz' of 1942 and subsequent large scale road schemes, most notable of which was the demolition of large quantities of housing and commercial properties between Claverton Street and the River Avon in the 1970s Rossiter Relief Road scheme.
The other significant development can be seen in front of St Matthews Church in the centre. The buildings in the 1905 shot are a long-standing collection of commercial buildings and yards which were demolished in 1970 to make way for Widcombe Social Club (formerly Widcombe Working Men's Club). These were in turn replaced in 2016 by the present buildings.
