[1] Opinion is divided as to whether John Wood the Elder designed the "Town House",[3][4] however the ostentatious decoration is not a style he uses elsewhere in Bath.

[7] John Wood the Elder, in his 1742 writing in his Essay towards the future of Bath he says:[8] While Mr. Allen was making the Addition to the North Part of his House in Lilliput Alley he new fronted and raised the old Building a full Story higher; it consists of a Basement Story sustaining a double Story under the Crowning; and this is surmounted by an Attick, which created a sixth Rate House, and a Sample for the greatest Magnificence that was ever proposed by me for our City Houses.Because of the modern use of "magnificent" it is often thought that in this passage Wood is referring to the Town House.

A closer examination of Wood's words and the number of floors in the Town House reveal that he was not referring to this building.

[citation needed] A drawing by Henry Venn Lansdown in 1855[9] shows a "North Wing" – a mirror image of the original house in Lilliput alley.

[10] The survey of old Bath has found that Ralph Allen may have tried to buy, but never owned the land to the North of the Town House.