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Blaise Hamlet, Bristol
Architect: John Nash (1810-1811)
Record Print: J. Herner (1811)
Source: RIBA British Architectural Library Drawings & Archives Collection

Humble Blaise Hamlet is one of Britain’s most influential pieces of architecture. Built between 1810 and 1811, this group of cottages housed retired estate workers employed by J.S. Harford of Blaise Castle House.  John Nash (1752-1835), the most fashionable architect of the Regency period, designed all of the houses in Blaise Hamlet. They are regarded as the epitome of the Picturesque, which promoted relaxed informality and asymmetry. 

The hamlet surrounds a green that appears more like a lawn, with an off-centre stone sundial and pump. Each cottage is emphatically different from the others, in plan, details and materials. As brick was considered too smooth, the walls are of rubble. A variety of roofing materials were employed, including thatch, pantiles and stone tiles. Dovecotes, arched nooks for seating, porches and over-large brick chimneys feature, making these cottages appear pure whimsy

Nash was a great self-publicist and much of his work became well known through engravings, such as this. Despite being tucked away behind a gate and hedges, and consciously looking inwards, Blaise Hamlet thus became enormously influential in Britain and abroad. Its descendants, much inflated in size with drives and double garages, are still being built today. Which one seems most familiar?