| Blaise Hamlet | |
|---|---|
 Circular Cottage (left), with Sweetbriar Cottage immediately beyond | |
  Blaise Hamlet Location within Bristol | |
| OS grid reference | ST555785 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BRISTOL |
| Postcode district | BS10 |
| Dialling code | 0117 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Avon |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
Blaise Hamlet is a group of nine small cottages around a green in Henbury, now a district in the north of Bristol, England. All the cottages, and the sundial on the green are Grade I listed buildings. Along with Blaise Castle the Hamlet is listed, Grade II*, on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England.[1] Nikolaus Pevsner described Blaise Hamlet as "the ne plus ultra of picturesque layout and design".[2]
Blaise Hamlet was built around 1811 for retired employees of Quaker banker and philanthropist John Scandrett Harford, who owned Blaise Castle House.[3]
The hamlet was designed by John Nash, master of the Picturesque style. He had worked for Harford on other buildings. The hamlet is the first fully realised exemplar of the garden suburb and laid out the road map for virtually all garden suburbs that followed.[4] The cottages are all unique and include brick chimneys and dormer windows with some having thatched roofs.[5] They are examples of the Picturesque style, an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin.[6][7] An oval path links the cottages and encircles the village green with its sundial.[8] The cottage gardens are planted in a Victorian cottage garden style.[9]
Since 1943 the cottages have been owned by the National Trust.[3] They are still occupied and not open to the public, but the ensemble may be viewed from the green. Rose Cottage is let by the National Trust as a holiday cottage.
- ^ Historic England. "Blaise Castle and Hamlet (1001426)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- ^ Historic England. "Blaise Castle and Hamlet (1001426)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- ^ a b "The history of Blaise Hamlet". National Trust. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- ^ Stern, Robert A.M.; Fishman, David; Tilove, Jacob (2013). Paradise Planned: The Garden Suburb and the Modern City. The Monacelli Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-1580933261.
- ^ Wilson, Vicky. "Photograph of the Circular Cottage, Blaise Hamlet, Bristol 1973". Architecture.com. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- ^ Willes, Margaret (2014). The Gardens of the British Working Class. Yale University Press. p. 129. ISBN 9780300187847.
- ^ Southworth, Michael; Ben-Joseph, Eran (2013). Streets and the Shaping of Towns and Cities. Island Press. pp. 29–31. ISBN 9781610911092.
- ^ "Blaise Hamlet, Bristol, England - Description". Parks and Gardens UK. Parks and Gardens Data Services Ltd. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- ^ "Blaise Hamlet, Bristol, England - History". Parks and Gardens UK. Parks and Gardens Data Services Ltd. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.