The town’s population grew very slowly, and as late as 1700 it comprised no more than 1,500 people. The houses stood along the present High Street and in a number of lanes and alleys leading into the fields. In 1801 census 3,076 and new houses were being built to accommodate the influx of wealthy visitors and residents. Many of the gardens and orchards adjoining the high street were built upon. In 1806 the Open Fields on the north side of the town were enclosed and made available for building, and soon the earliest streets in what were to become the artisan areas of Fairview, St. Paul’s and St. Peter’s had been established.

Cheltenham High Street, 1840

The construction of single houses and terraces, which had been a hallmark of Cheltenham’s building industry before 1820, gave way to the establishment of large-scale building estates, which included the fashionable Lansdown, Pittvile, Suffolk, Bayshill and Park estates. The artisan areas also grew apace, new streets being developed off London Road and along Bath Road. From 1868 onwards the town’s boundaries were gradually extended to include parts of the neighbouring parishes of Leckhampton and Charlton Kings.

After the First World War the development of new housing estates, such as St. Mark’s, St. Paul’s and St. Peter’s began. After the Second World War houses at Hester’s Way and Lynworth were added. At the end of the Second World War, Cheltenham’s population was around 60,000, now it is almost 110,000 reflecting both the natural growth of the town and the further expansion of its boundaries to include Charlton Kings in 1974 and Leckhampton, Prestbury, Up Hatherley, The Reddings and Swindon Village in April 1991.