Blaise Hamlet Explained

Static Image:	File:Circular Cottage at Blaize Hamlet Bristol England arp.jpg
Static Image Caption:	Circular Cottage (left), with Sweetbriar Cottage immediately beyond
Country:	England
Official Name:	Blaise Hamlet
Coordinates:	51.5072°N -2.6356°W
Map Type:	Bristol
Unitary England:	Bristol
Region:	South West England
Constituency Westminster:	Bristol North West
Post Town:	BRISTOL
Postcode District:	BS10
Postcode Area:	BS
Dial Code:	0117
Os Grid Reference:	ST555785

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. Nikolaus Pevsner described Blaise Hamlet as "the ne plus ultra of picturesque layout and design".

Blaise Hamlet was built around 1811 for retired employees of Quaker banker and philanthropist John Scandrett Harford, who owned Blaise Castle House.^[1]

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.^[2] The cottages are all unique and include brick chimneys and dormer windows with some having thatched roofs.^[3] They are examples of the Picturesque style, an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin.^{[4] [5]} An oval path links the cottages and encircles the village green with its sundial.^[6] The cottage gardens are planted in a Victorian cottage garden style.^[7]

Since 1943 the cottages have been owned by the National Trust.^[1] 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.

Buildings

Building	House number	Grade	Photo	Reference
Circular Cottage	8	I
Dial Cottage	7	I
Diamond Cottage	2	I
Double Cottage	4 and 5	I
Dutch Cottage	3	I
Oak Cottage	1	I
Rose Cottage	6	I
Sweetbriar Cottage	9	I
Vine Cottage	10	I

See also

• Storybook house

External links

• Blaise Hamlet information at the National Trust

Notes and References

1. Web site: The history of Blaise Hamlet. National Trust. 8 August 2016.
2. Book: Stern. Robert A.M.. Fishman. David. Tilove. Jacob. Paradise Planned: The Garden Suburb and the Modern City. 2013. The Monacelli Press. 978-1580933261. 23.
3. Web site: Wilson. Vicky. Photograph of the Circular Cottage, Blaise Hamlet, Bristol 1973. Architecture.com. 8 August 2016. 18 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160818233042/https://www.architecture.com/Explore/Revealingthecollections/CircularCottageBlaiseHamlet1973.aspx. dead.
4. Book: Willes. Margaret. The Gardens of the British Working Class. 2014. Yale University Press. 9780300187847. 129.
5. Book: Southworth. Michael. Ben-Joseph. Eran. Streets and the Shaping of Towns and Cities. 2013. Island Press. 9781610911092. 29–31.
6. Web site: Blaise Hamlet, Bristol, England - Description. Parks and Gardens UK. Parks and Gardens Data Services Ltd. 8 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160810205629/http://www.parksandgardens.org/places-and-people/site/444/description. 10 August 2016. dead.
7. Web site: Blaise Hamlet, Bristol, England - History. Parks and Gardens UK. Parks and Gardens Data Services Ltd. 8 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160810220217/http://www.parksandgardens.org/places-and-people/site/444/history. 10 August 2016. dead.