The Corridor
LocationBath, Somerset, England
Coordinates51°22′56″N 2°21′33″W / 51.38222°N 2.35917°W / 51.38222; -2.35917
Built1825
ArchitectHenry Goodridge
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name1-11, The Corridor
Designated12 June 1950[1]
Reference no.1395345
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name11A and 12A, The Corridor
Designated12 June 1950[1]
Reference no.1395347
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name12-22, The Corridor
Designated12 June 1950[1]
Reference no.1395348
The Corridor, Bath is located in Somerset
The Corridor, Bath
Location of The Corridor in Somerset

The Corridor is one of the world's earliest retail arcades, designed by architect Henry Goodridge and built in 1825, in Bath, Somerset, England.

The fashion for arranging shops in arcades arose in Paris in the late 18th Century. The Corridor followed the trend set by London's Burlington Arcade.

Eastern entrance to The Corridor

The Grade II listed arcade has a glass roof. The High Street end has a Doric colonnade. Each end has marble columns.[1]

A musicians gallery, with a wrought iron balustrade and gilt lions heads and garlands, is in the centre of the arcade.[2]

Number 7 was the photographic studio of William Friese-Greene.[2]

Bombing

On 9 December 1974, a telephone warning alerted police in Bath that a bomb was shortly to explode in the Corridor. The subsequent blast at 9.10pm from a 5 lb bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army[3][4] caused huge damage and forced the Corridor to undergo a major renovation programme. No one was hurt in the blast.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "The Corridor". Images of England. English Heritage. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
  2. ^ a b Haddon, John (1982). Portrait of Bath. London: Robert Hale Ltd. p. 57. ISBN 0-7091-9883-3.
  3. ^ Britten, Elise (15 December 2019). "Looking back on the day an IRA bomb exploded in Bath city centre". SomersetLive. Reach. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  4. ^ "The Corridor in Bath". Archived from the original on 14 December 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  5. ^ Wainwright, Martin (1981). The Bath Blitz (Second ed.). Bath: Kingston Press. p. 81. ISBN 0955055202.
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