Description

CHELTENHAM

SO9422SE PROMENADE 630-1/13/754 (North West side) 12/03/55 Nos.121 AND 123 and attached railings

GV II*

Pair of semi-detached villas, now offices and attached railings. c1834-40 (shown as laid out on Merrett's Map of 1834). Possibly designed by John Forbes. Ashlar over brick with concealed roof and central and end brick and stucco stacks; iron balcony. EXTERIOR: 2 storeys with attic and basement, 8 first-floor windows arranged 1:1:4:1:1. Double depth plan with outer side hallways. End and central breakforwards, ends have Composite-type pilasters through ground and first floors surmounted by continuous entablature; central 6-window range has ground-floor horizontal rustication, drawn into voussoirs over central 4 windows and with first-floor band. Outer windows have tooled architraves, those to ground floor have cambered heads and cornices on console brackets, those to first floor are eared. Central 4 first-floor windows have tooled architraves and cornices, otherwise first-floor windows have panels over. Outer windows to ground floor are tripartite 6/6 between 2/2 sashes, those to first floor are 6/6 with margin-lights; otherwise 6/6 sashes, taller to ground floor, and those to centre, ground floor in wider elliptically-arched recesses. Attic has two tripartite windows with mainly 2/2 sashes and casements. Basement has 6/6 and 8/8 sashes. Outer entrances, double 4-panel doors with overlights with lozenge glazing bars and margin-lights within pilastered doorcases. Rear: 5 Doric pilasters through ground and first floors, to ends and between pairs of windows surmounted by continuous crowning entablature. 6/6 sashes, taller to ground floor; 3/3 sashes to attic. INTERIOR: retains original plasterwork including acanthus cornice and anthemion ceiling frieze to ground-floor front room, ceiling roses; dogleg staircase has iron balusters, alternately embellished and stick balusters. Some marble fireplaces. Original joinery includes 4-panel doors and panelled shutters to windows. SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: continuous balcony, probably by Marshalls, has embellished scrolled heart motif derived from LN Cottingham. Railings to sides of steps are alternately embellished and sticks. HISTORICAL NOTE: Forbes acquired the plot of No.129 Promenade

(qv) in 1833. The Promenade was laid out in 1818 as a tree-lined avenue to the Sherborne Spa (on the site of the Queen's Hotel (qv)) from the Colonnade on the High Street, by 1826 it was a carriage drive with spacious gravelled walk on each side. Buildings on the NW side were the first to be developed. Nos 121 and 123 form a distinguished group of semi-detached villas with Nos 125 and 127 (qv) and 129 and 131 (qv) Promenade, which with No.133 (qv) and The Queen's Hotel (qv) overlook Imperial Gardens. (The Buildings of England: Verey D: Gloucestershire: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: London: 1970-: 146; Williams GA: Guide Book to Cheltenham: 1824-: 29; Chatwin A: Cheltenham's Ornamental Ironwork: Cheltenham: 1975-1984: 29,40; Merrett HS: Plan of the Town of Cheltenham: 1834-; Blake S: 'The Unfortunate Mr Forbes': Cheltenham Local History Society Journal: 1989-: 7-27).



Listing NGR: SO9461222114

External Links

• Wikidata Q17535674

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  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
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  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)
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  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)