Description

CHELTENHAM

SO9321NE LANSDOWN CRESCENT
630-1/16/435 (South side)
12/03/55 Nos.13-47 (Consecutive)
and attached area railings
(Formerly Listed as:
LANSDOWN CRESCENT
(South side)
Nos.2-47 (Consecutive))

GV II*

Crescent of 35 terraced houses, now houses and flats and
attached area railings. Overall scheme by JB Papworth for
Pearson Thompson c1828; built 1831-38 by architects RW and C
Jearrad and completed by 1850. Ashlar over brick with slate
roof, ashlar end and party-wall stacks and iron balconies and
verandahs. Convex terrace plan with side hallways and service
ranges to rear.
EXTERIOR: 3 storeys on basement with attic, 3 windows per
house, with 1 set back at left. Ground floor has horizontal
rustication, second-floor sill band; frieze and cornice over
second floor; low parapet with copings over 3rd floor. 6/6
sashes throughout, taller to first floor. Basement has 8/8
sashes where original. Entrances: flights of steps to pairs of
porches mainly with Doric columns, architrave, frieze, cornice
and blocking course; within are 6-panel double doors with
overlights (some part-glazed). Entrance to left return a
panelled door in round-arched surround. Rear has mainly 6/6
and 8/8 sashes.
INTERIOR: not inspected.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: balconies have palmette and anthemion
motif balconies. Area railings have X-motif where original.
Nos 15, 31 and 34 have boot scrapers. Some balcony dividers
and ground-floor window boxes.
HISTORICAL NOTE: the present Lansdown Crescent was almost
certainly designed by the Jearrads but the overall design
derives from Papworth's 1825 'circular plot' of which only Nos
1 and 2 Lansdown Crescent (qv) had been built by 1829-30 when
Papworth ceased designing for Lansdown and Pearson Thompson
sold his interest to the Jearrad brothers. Merrett's Map of
1834 shows 18 houses and building continued until 1850. No.1
(qv) represents Papworth's design, rebuilt in replica, 1984.
Forms a continuous severe Greek Revival design with No.1 (qv)
and Nos 2-12 (qv) Lansdown Crescent (qv). The Crescent forms a
convex facade which cannot conveniently be seen from a
distance and consequently fails to give a true impression of

its simplicity and size.
The Lansdown Estate is a notable example of suburban town
planning.
(The Buildings of England: Verey D: Gloucestershire: The Vale
and The Forest of Dean: London: 1970-: 141-2; Chatwin A:
Cheltenham's Ornamental Ironwork: Cheltenham: 1975-1984:
44,69; Sampson A and Blake S: A Cheltenham Companion:
Cheltenham: 1993-: 69; Radford S: The Terraced Houses of
Cheltenham 1800-1850: 1992-: 74-83; Merrett HS: Plan of the
Town of Cheltenham: 1834-).

Listing NGR: SO9392621772

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17535485

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)