The Stranger's Guide through Cheltenham; containing an account of its mineral waters ... Also, notices of the principal objects of curiosity in the surrounding country

Introduction

OF MUCH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND ILLUSTRATED WITH N'UMKROUS SitljogwpIjiS, JfHnpjJ, antJ tSHoofc (fiigrnbtngs. BV HENRY DAVIES. CHELTENHAM H. DAVIES. MONTPELLIER LIBRARY. G. A. WILLIAMS, 3. LEE. 1. LOVESY, S. ALDER; ANH LONGMAN Sc Co., LONDON.

Preface

. The very favourable reception which the former Editions of the Stranger's Guide through Chel tenham experienced, has encouraged its Author to undertake the enlarged and Pictorial Edition now presented to the public, in order more fully to ex hibit "The Town in its Past and Present State," than appeared necessary to be done, or was com patable with the plan of a mere Hand-Book for Visitors; — hence the publication of the following Work, upon which much pains and considerable cost have been bestowed, with a view to render it in some degree worthy the locality which it under takes to describe, and the patronage to which it aspires. It may be proper here to state that it formed no part of the original design of the present Volume to furnish a History of Cheltenham, in the proper ac ceptation of that term. But, seeing that greater interest naturally attaches to scenes and circum-

PREFACE.

. VI stances with which the story of the past has become associated, a brief review of the leading events connected with the Rise and Progress of the Town has been introduced ; and, in order more fully to exhibit these events in their order of succession, a Chronological arrangement interspersed with historical and anecdotal notices will be found ap pended to the Work. For himself the Author claims no merit beyond that of endeavouring, in a plain and familiar style, to call attention to the various Institutions and ob jects of local interest with which the place abounds, uniformly preferring accuracy of detail to beauty of composition. As its publisher, however, he feels warranted in expressing his conviction that the Volume here submitted to public criticism, will be found, as a work of art, superior to any publica tion of its kind that has ever issued from the Chel tenham press.

Montpellier Library, June 1, 1843. ILLUSTRATIONS. No Lithographs and Engravings. Page. 1. The Royal Old Well Walk Frontispiece 2. Plan of the Town of Cheltenham 1 3. Geological Section of surrounding Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 4. Pittville Pump Room 75 5. Fountain in Montpellier Gardens 95 8. Thirlestane House and Picture Gallery .. .. 110 Female Orphan Asylum .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 148 8. The Promenade 180 9. Lansdown Villas and Terrace 190 10. Proprietary College 195 Engraved by Page No. Wood Engravings. 1 1 . Church-Mead and the Great House Sly 7 12. The Old Wells and Cheltenham, in 1748, from a Drawing by Lady — Somerset . . . . . . . . Do. . . . . . . 8 13. Bays Hill Lodge Do 12 14. Royal Commemoration Medal, 1758 .. .. Do 13 15. The Old Sherborne Spa Do 17 16. The Crescent, in 1812 Jackson .. .. 18 17.

Old Bridge over the Chelt Do 27 18. Old Well Walk, from Grove Cottage .. .. Jewitt .. .. 48 19. Old Well Pump Room, in 1812 Jackson .. .. 51 20. The Centenary Fete, 1838 Sly 52 21. Montpelliei Pump Room Branston .. .. 55 22. Ditto ditto in 1809 Jackson .. .. 57 23. The Pumper's Cottage Si.y .. .. 58 24. Montpellier Pump Room in 1817 .. .. Jackson .. .. 69 25. Interior of the Rotunda Branston .. .. 60 26. Cambray Spa Pump Room Hart . . . . 73 27. Literary and Philosophical Institution Williams .. .. ILLUSTRATIONS CONTINUED. Engraved by Page No. Wood Engravings. 28. St. Mary's Church, from a drawing by Prout . . Sly . . . . 122 29. Reliquary in ditto Jewitt .. .. 124 30. Entrance of the New Burial Ground .. .. Do. .. .. 127 31. Trinity Church Hughes .. .. 128 32. St. John's Church Hart .. .. 130 33.

St. James's Church s. .. Sly .. .. 131 34. Christ Church Do. .. .. 134 35. St. Philip's Church Do. .. .. 136 36. Wesley Chapel Jewitt .. .. 139 37. The Market Arcade Do. .. .. 161 38. Railway Station Branston .. .. 164 39. Interior of ditto Do. .. .. 165 40. Promenade Villas Jewitt .. .. 181 41. The Promenade Drive, from the Queen's Hotel .. Branston .. .. 183 42. Mawe's Museum Hart .. .. 184 43. Suffolk Lawn Jewitt .. .. 186 44. Group of American Poplars Branston .. .. 188 45. Entrance of Park Gardens Do. .. ..192 46. Tudor Lodge— the Park Jewitt . . . . 193 47. Thirlestane House from the Road Branston .. .. 194 48. The Plough Hotel Sly .. .. v^ | | 1 1 1 I I II 1 1 I I I I III I I 1 1 I I I 1 1 I I II I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1 I I I I I i I I i M I I i I ll I i t ( 1 1 I I I 1 1 I I I I ■ 1 1 > 1 1 I 1 1 l | | | | l I I I I I 1 1 I I I I I I 1 1 I I I II I I I M I 1 I I 1 1 I t I I I I I I I I I H I I I I 1 1 I M I I I I I 1 1 M I I I I 1 I I I I 1 M I 1 I M I I II 1 I | ) I I I I I 1 1 1 1 1 I I I I II | | I I I II I I I I I I I I I I I I I M I I U 1 1 U I I I I I I t I 1 I M I I I I I 1 1 I I 11 I I I I I I 1 I 1 1 I I I I 1 1 I 1( 1 s3? r /,, 1. 1* TOlfN OF C^J£LTO>JAjVJ 1848 RIFIRXHCI I x'.

Chapter I. Political And Parochial History

Cheltenham — Notices of its early History — Ancient and present Manor — Discovery of Mineral Waters — Rise and progress of tlie Town — Bays Hill Lodge — The Town in 1780 — First Local Acts of Parliament — Visit of King George the Third — Montpellier and Suffolk Properties — Chalybeate Spas — Present State — Political Privileges — Population — Rates, Assessments, fye. Cheltenham has, since the commencement of the present century, attained to so great a celebrity, and has become, consequently, a place of so much importance, even in a national point of view, that the " tales " of its " early ages " have frequently formed the subjects of ingenious speculation and learned enquiry. Hence the attention of the antiquary has been repeatedly directed to the investi gation of its history, and divers pens have been employed in tracing its rise and progress from a state of comparative insignificance up to that of one of the most flourishing and populous boroughs in the kingdom.

The same laudable curiosity which prompts the " learned author" to inquire into events remote and well nigh forgotten, characterizes (though, happily, in a less intense degree) every educated B s~ and intelligent person; and the pleasures which are derived from extending the sphere of knowledge, and acquiring fresh information, prove an ample reward for the labours undergone in qualifying the mind for their adequate enjoy ment. When, therefore, a stranger visits any particular place, with the local history of which he is unacquainted, he naturally becomes desirous of knowing something about it; and should he chance to observe any building differing in appearance from those by which it is surrounded, such, for instance, as a church, a pump-room, or the ruin of an ancient castle, he feels anxious to gain more information concerning them than it is possible for him to attain by merely gazing at their outer walls.

He enquires into the purposes for which they were originally erected, by whom, and the mutations which in the lapse of ages they may have, peradventure, undergone. If he be of a poetical temperament, these enquiries have a more than ordinary interest to him; for he would fain identify his own with the feelings and emotions of other days, and recal the dreams of by-gone generations. Or, on the other hand, should our stranger be a votary of pleasure, desiring rather to mingle in the gaieties of the living, than to share in imagination the " sports and pastimes " of the dead, he is no less anxious to learn how these his desires may be most easily gratified, and where he is to seek those amuse ments which are congenial to his habits and inclinations. Hence, he feels the want of a Guide who shall conduct him to the various places which merit his particular attention, and afford all necessary information for his intro duction into new scenes of life and action.

The aim of the following pages, therefore, will be to supply, so far as " Cheltenham and its environs " are concerned, this desideratum, by pointing out those objects which seem best calculated to excite a stranger's interest, and thereby contribute to his gratification. But, before we proceed to develop this portion of our plan, it will, doubtless, be expected that we should give some sketch, however brief, of the early history of the Town and Manor, which we will, therefore, in as few words as possible, endeavour to do. Utter obscurity rests upon the " infant days " of our now highly favoured town, and no trace of its " birth and parentage" can be discovered through the darkness and gloom of the past. But little, save vague and unsatisfac tory conjecture, exists with respect to the derivation of its name, a subject upon which, as antiquaries are by no means agreed, we deem it quite unnecessary to trouble the reader at any length.

Atkyns affirms it to have been derived from that of the brook Chill, but of this word he does not give the etymology. Rudder is of opinion that " Cheltenham" comes from the Saxon Chylt, clay, and Ham, a house, or village; and other writers have imagined other derivations — but happily the question is one of no very great importance. From the military and other remains which are still in existence on the surrounding heights, and from the coins, &c, which, at various times, have been discovered in the immediate neighbourhood, it may be very reasonably inferred that the scite was well known to the Romans, whose stations at Corinium, the present Cirencester, and Glevum or Gloucester, were connected together by the great Roman road, which passed within a few miles of the place. Nor is it probable that the early inhabitants of Britain had neglected to take advantage of a spot so perfectly well-adapted for permanent location as that which the situation of Cheltenham presented.

But as no mention of it is made in any ofthe old Roman or British Itineraries, we must be content to b remain in entire ignorance of its very existence for the first thousand years of the Christian era ! The earliest authentic notice* we meet with of the town and manor of Cheltenham, is in the Domesday Book, where it is called Chinteneham, and is recorded to have belonged, in former times, to Edward the Confessor ; to whom it paid nine pounds five shillings in money, and " three thousand loaves for the dogs ! " At this time the manor contained only about 850 acres, while at present it embraces the whole of the township, consisting of nearly 1 200 acres, beside the hamlets of Arle, Alstone, and Westal, Naunton and Sandford, together with the adjoining parishes of Charlton, Leckhampton, and Swin don.

After the conquest it became the property of the Norman William, in whose reign the payments in money and kind were increased to £20, twenty cows, and twenty hogs, with 16s. in lieu of the "3000 loaves for the dogs." The successors of the Conqueror, though they repeatedly disposed of it to their followers, appear still to have retained the rights of seigniory in their own hands. During the unsettled and turbulent reigns of the middle ages, the place is frequently mentioned as being in the possession of sundry barons and bishops, who either by the exchange of other property, or else by specific grants, obtained it from the crown. In 1252, Henry III. conveyed it to the priory of Fescamp, in Normandy, in lieu of lands which were assigned him in Winchester and Rye; — and * Tanner, in his Notitia Monastica, mentions the existence of a monastry in Cheltenham, as early as 803; in which year Denebert, Bishop of Worcester, claimed from it and Beckford, as their diocesan, a certain feast or annual payment, which the Bishop of Hereford (who, it would seem, in former times, possessed the monastry) refused to grant.

It was, however, arranged that the Bishop of Worcester should receive the feast from the monasteries of Cheltenham and Beckford alternately.— See Moreau's Cheltenham Guide. from this period till the time of the gallant " Harry of Monmouth," it remained in possession of the church. In his reign, the Parliament having passed an Act de claring the property of all alien monasteries to be vested in the crown, Henry became seised of the manor and hundred of Cheltenham, which, however, he did not long retain in his own hands, but granted it to the nunnery of Sion, in Middlesex, in whose safe keeping it remained until the spirit of the reformation, and the caprice of Henry VIII. uniting to produce the dissolution of all monastic institutions in this country, caused it again, and finally, to revert to the crown.

That the town of Chel tenham, during the period which has just passed under review, possessed rights and privileges which it now no longer enjoys, is sufficiently manifest from the fact of Queen Elizabeth excusing William Norwood, who then held the manor, from the trouble and expense of sending two members to Parliament, as had been the practice in former times. In 1618, Charles Prince of Wales sold the manor of Cheltenham for the sum of twelve hundred pounds, to John Dutton, Esq., of Sherborne, in whose descendants all manorial rights have ever since been vested.* At the time this Prince disposed of his interests in Cheltenham to the ancestor of the present Lord Sherborne, the town itself must have been a place of some importance, since, in the reign of Charles the Second (A.D. 1666) its popu lation amounted to fifteen hundred souls; a number by no means inconsiderable, when we take into account the sanguinary character of the civil wars which had inter vened and resulted in the interregnum; for there is no reason to imagine that Cheltenham escaped its ruinous and * The covenants of this sale were not ratified until 1628, 3rd of Charles I. depopulating effects; especially as we find it at one period garrisoned by a royalist cavalry brigade, under the com mand of Lords Chandos and Grandison, who were, how ever, obliged to evacuate the place on the approach of the Earl of Essex with the parliamentary forces, which took possession of, and encamped in the town on its march to Gloucester, at that time besieged by the army of the king.

During the first half of the eighteenth century the town would seem to have made but little if any' progress — the population remaining stationary, or very nearly so. Even the discovery of its mineral springs, which took place in 1716, produced, for the first twenty-five years, no appreciable increase in the number of its inhabitants. The publication of several works on the medical properties of the Waters, particularly the treatise of Dr. Short, in 1740, appears, however, to have tended materially to bring the place into note, to which the chemical investigations of Senckenberg and Mortimer, published in the Philosophical transactions of the following year, still further contributed. The attention of the medical profession being, by these means, called to the importance of the Cheltenham Waters, they were soon extensively recommended for the cure of numerous disorders, and the place consequently, became much resorted to by invalids; for whose accommodation many additions and improvements were annually made.

Among these were the erection of several lodging houses, the conversion of the meadows around the Spa into walks and pleasure grounds, and the planting of the famous avenue of Elms in 1739. About the same time a Lady Stapleton had built for her private residence, a spacious mansion, a short distance west of the church, overlooking, in the direction of the Wells, the meadow, then called Church-mead, and through which, in after time, two gravelled footpaths conducted — the one to the bridge, at the lower end of St. George's Place, & the other to the entrance of the Old Well Walk, which was entered over a slight CHURCH-MEAD AND THE GREAT HOUSE. drawbridge here thrown across the Chelt. This mansion, then called the " Great House," was, after her ladyship's death, converted into a boarding house, which for many years was the scene of the principal amusements then in fashion — dancing, card, and tea-drinking parties assembling there every evening in the week, Mondays excepted.* This was, of course, previous to the establishment of any Assembly Rooms in the town ; for on the appointment of a Master of the Ceremonies, and the introduction of regular Public Balls, the dancing and card parties of the Great House were necessarily merged into the latter.

It con tinued, however, to be used as a Boarding House down to 1838 — its proximity to the Spas, and, at the same time, its contiguity to the Church and the High Street, render ing it, during the season, much frequented for a period of full half a century. But in the year last named, the original Boarding House, together with the Clarence Hotel, an important adjunct to that building, were, on the opening of the Queen's Hotel, obliged to be closed — Mr. * The Cheltenham Guide of 1741, p. 31. Liddell, the then tenant of the former, becoming lessee of the latter; and concentrating there the business and con nections of both establishments. A curious old sketch, taken by one of the Ladies Somer set of that day, from the south window of Lady Stapleton's residence, in the year 1748, and still in the possession of W. N. Skillicorne, Esq., conveys a graphic view of the Old Well walk, shortly after its formation, with the Pump Room and premises then in existence, as well as of fields and meadows now covered over with buildings of surpass ing splendour; and showing also, in the distance, the spire and Court House of Leckhampton, with the Painswick hills rising immediately in front — the entrance into Church meadow being seen in the left-hand corner of the fora ground.

According to this drawing it would seem that CHELTENHAM— OLD WELLS, 1748. not more than four houses of any description were then scattered over a tract of country which subsequently became the scites of the Crescent, the Promenades, the extensive districts of the Montpellier, Suffolk, Bays Hill and Lansdown estates, with their populous surrounding neighbourhoods. A few detached cottages rose slowly into existence to the south of the church, but no building of any magnitude was erected after that of Lady Stapleton's, until 1781, when Bays Hill Lodge was built for the Earl of Faulconberg, on the brow of the hill, two fields west of the Spa. A circumstance of some moment, as indicating the rising importance of the town, particularly in the estima tion of the fashionable world, now took place: this was none other than the appointment of a Master of the Ceremonies.

The gentleman chosen to this office was Simon Moreau, Esq., of Bath, who, in the summer of 1780, was installed first M.C. of Cheltenham — the number of visitors being, in that year, 374. This number continued annually increasing, and at the close of the next decade the visitors are reported to have amounted to 1100. The first " Cheltenham Quide, or Useful Companion in a Journey of Health and Pleasure," was published in London in 1781;* and this describes the town as consisting, at that time, of " one regular, spacious and handsome street, about a mile in length " — the houses being .. chiefly of brick." This " handsome street " was, however, " en cumbered with certain old coarse buildings, supported on stone pillars, called the Corn Market and Butter Cross," and " another below them which neither had nor merited a name.

A little farther down was a kind of cage or prison, built of stone, and not unsuitably decorated with the inscription in front — Do well, and fear not." To this * In this same year there was also published, in London, a small volume, entitled " The Cheltenham Guide, or Memoirs ofthe _J— __— _.— _.. Family continued in a Series of Poetical Epistles; by Anstey, the author ofthe famous New Bath Guide ; but possessing no particular merit. description the writer adds — " It is hoped that objects so very unsightly will soon be removed, and the necessary accommodations for marketting, &c, placed on some more retired and convenient spot." A hope (as will be seen) which was shortly realized. Down to this period of its history there was no direct communication between Cheltenham and Lodon, but " a stage coach holding six," and " a diligence carrying three passengers," which travelled between the metropolis and Gloucester, halted to change horses at Frogmill, whence passengers to Cheltenham were " accommodated with good post chaises at a small expense."

The London post ar rived and departed thrice a-week, and there was one " cross-post " to Gloucester, which came and went a like number of times. Such were its means of communication and intercommunication in 1781. We have next to notice the introduction of a measure productive of the most beneficial results, and which con ferred upon Cheltenham a political importance hitherto unenjoyed. This was the passing, in 1786, of an Act of Parliament for the paving, lighting, and internal government of the town, and the appointment of Commissioners for carrying the same into effect. The authorities thus constituted immediately commenced the work of improvement. In the July of this year the " old market house " and " Butter Cross " were, by their direction, taken down, and the materials sold for the sum of £64 19s.; and in lieu thereof a new market house was (Sept. 27) ordered to be erected on the site of the " old Blind House and Pri son."

The first foot-pavement was, in the following month, directed to be put down, A\ feet wide " in Chel tenham Street;" and on the 16th of January, 1787, an order was given for putting up one hundred and twenty lamps, at twenty-five yards apart, which were to be lighted in the autumn and winter months only. The contract for this first fighting of our town provided that the lamps should burn till midnight; but " when the moon rises at ten o'clock or before then, the lamps are to burn bright only one hour after the moon rises." Such a regulation cannot but raise a smile when viewed in contrast with the splendid manner of lighting the High Street of Chel tenham in the present day, when, instead of one hundred and twenty flittering oil lamps burning till midnight, and for a few months only, there are upwards of one hundred gas lamps constantly burning from dusk till dawn the whole year through.

The Commissioners of Paving and Lighting undertook many other improvements, proceeding steadily in the administration of their duties, bringing the internal economy of the town under a better system of regulation than it had previously known, and preparing it for that exaltation to which it was rapidly hastening. The year immediately preceding (1785) that in which the first Commissioners' Act was obtained, an Act had been passed for amending the Turnpike roads passing out of Cheltenham to Gloucester, Burford, Cirencester, Bath, and other places with which lines of communication had, at various times and under different circumstances, been opened.* These legislative enactments for the improvement of the town and its approaches, was, doubtless, pro ductive of the most beneficial results, and contributed to increase the number of its annual visitors, which are stated, in 1 784, to have considerably exceeded a thousand.

But the event which, of all others, contributed most to the advancement of Cheltenham, was the visit of his Majesty King George the Third, in the summer of 1788, * Moreau's Tour to the Royal Spa at Cheltenham. Edit. 1797, p. 38. accompanied by his Queen and other members of the Royal Family. His Majesty having been advised by his physi cians to drink the Spa Waters, did so for the space of a month, namely, from the 14th of July to the 16th of Aug.; during which time the Royal Family resided at Bays Hill Lodge, the seat of Earl Faulcon berg, to which very con siderable additions were made with a view to their better accommodation. During his stay in Chel tenham the King passed much time in public, fre- BAYS HILL LODGE. quently joining in the promenades — for there were musical promenades in those days, — visiting most of the places of amusement or celebrity in the town and neighbourhood, and receiving addresses from various corporate bodies.

While resident at Bays Hill Lodge, his Majesty directed a well to be sunk in the grounds about a hundred yards distant from the house, there being a scarcity of water for the domestic purposes of his establishment. But having gone down between fifty and sixty feet into the blue clay, instead of a fresh water spring a strong saline one was the result; and the supply from this, which was called the King's Well, proved, for many years, much more abundant than that obtained from any ofthe other wells on the Bays Hill estate. This supply, however, after a time, gradually failed, and the King's Well was, in consequence, finally closed about the year 1812. The accidental discovery of this new well was, at the particular period of its occurrence, of considerable importance, there having been, for some time, an insufficiency of mineral water for the constantly increasing number of drinkers — the supply of the Old Wells being frequently exhausted at a very early hour in the morning.

In order to economise the supply as much as possible, the King issued his royal command that the Wells should be shut altogether on Sundays, during the period of his stay in the place.* The manifest improvement which his Majesty's health underwent, and the presence of the court for so long a time, could not fail giving a fresh impulse to the prosperity of our rising watering place, which these fortunate events may be considered to have now fully and fairly established. The Spa at which his Majesty drank the Waters with such beneficial results, was henceforth distinguished as the Royal Wells: and in commemoration of this auspicious visit, S. Moreau, Esq., the M.C, had a suitable medal struck, having, on one side, a figure of Hygeia, holding a profile of his Majesty, and on GEORGE III. COMMKMORATIOV MEDAL the reverse a representation of the building covering the Well, each surrounded by an appropriate inscription.

From the year of King George's visit to the close of the eighteenth century no event of moment occurred. The town kept steadily advancing in public estimation, and the number of visitors, most of whom came to drink the Waters, had, from 374 in 1780, increased to nearly two thousand in 1 800. The season, as it is termed, lasted four months, from the 1st of June to the 30th of September; and during its continuance the lodging houses throughout * Fothergill on the Cheltenham Waters. Edition 1788, p. 99, the town were charged double what they were in the spring and autumn.* It is amusing enough to contrast the state of certain local matters at the period now under notice, with their improved condition in the present day. In those good old times the mail, which left London at half past six, p.m., arrived in Cheltenham about eleven the fol lowing morning; and the letters were delivered at the office-window about twelve o'clock.

The return mail left at a quarter past four — the letter-box closing as half-past three. Now, the mail which leaves London at nine, p.m., arrives in Cheltenham at three a.m. — not leaving, on its return, until eleven at night. In the year 1800 the cele brated Dr. Jenner was the only resident physician in the town — though during the season other members of the faculty came over from Bath: — five surgeons and apothe caries, and one chemist and druggist, completed the " medical staff." In 1842 there were, according to the Directory for that year, twenty physicians and thirty surgeons, and between thirty and forty chemists and druggists. The public entertainments of the epoch, which we have just reviewed, consisted of balls, card parties, and theatrical representations; all of which, though of nightly occur rence, would seem to have been liberally supported.