Description

CHELTENHAM

SO9421NE MONTPELLIER VILLAS 630-1/18/564 (East side) Nos.1, 2 AND 3 The Beehive Hotel with attached coach house

GV II

3 units originally (possibly an inn and 2 dwellings) with coach house, now inn with garages to rear. 1822 with later alterations including c1870-80. Stucco over brick with tall hipped slate roof over right 4-window range, otherwise concealed, and 5 tall end and front brick stacks. PLAN: 3-cell with narrow single-storey carriageway between 2nd and 3rd cells; originally to left the men's bar with mixed bar to centre and probably out-sales behind this (now all one room) reached by a through corridor, to the right of which was a dining area with staircase behind; to first floor are bedrooms at front with central corridor, room at left end, formerly with staircase leading to attic (now blocked off); to rear a large assembly room. EXTERIOR: 2 storeys, 5 first-floor windows. Stucco detailing includes crowning cornice and blocking course with copings; name panel to first floor has rectangular roll-moulded surround with raised segmental 'open pediment' over beehive, and with slogan, 'by industry we live'; to angles are masonic symbols. Ground floor has four 1/1 sashes to right; first floor has 6/6 sashes, all in plain reveals and with sills. To left a shop/pub front has central double part-glazed, 4-panel doors with overlight with oval pane; windows to either side have pierced decoration to corners of frames, frieze, cornice on corbel brackets with foliate decoration. Off-centre right entrance (to passage) has double, part-glazed doors with margin-lights. Rear: central section set back on iron column at ground floor forming wide porch; first floor has 4 tall 6/6 sashes. INTERIOR: front ground-floor room has 2 iron fireplaces with eared surrounds and foliage and fruit to frieze; bar (to left part) a quarter circle has wooden lower part with simple Gothic columns, behind bar a Gothic arcade with columns supporting arches and grapes in the spandrels. Room to rear has entrance onto passage, a part-glazed door with windows with glazing bars to either side, that to left curved on section. Straight-flight staircase has stick balusters and wreathed handrail. First-floor room to rear has gallery to south side with panelled balcony and narrow pillars above (now

partly boarded in) with narrow access staircase leading up, deep cornice and tooled architraves to windows. Cellars have barrel vaults in part and retain brick shelves; cellars extend under street at front. HISTORICAL NOTE: the earliest houses on the street are shown on Merrett's Map of 1834. The hotel was recorded as The Beehive in the 1850s census. It is reputed that wool auctions were held in the rear upper assembly room during the C19 and was apparently used for meetings of the Freemasons during the early part of the C20. Coach house at rear damaged by fire c1970. Montpellier Villas was originally known as Montpellier Retreat. (Blake S: 'The Unfortunate Mr Forbes': Cheltenham Local History Society Journal: 1989-: 7-27).



Listing NGR: SO9468521616

External Links

• Wikidata Q26667001

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Recommended Books

• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)
• 
  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)