Kelly's Directory of Gloucestershire, 1914

Cheltenham is a fashionable inland watering place, municipal and parliamentary borough, market and union town, head of a petty sessional division and of a county court district, having bankruptcy jurisdiction, and has a district registry of the High Court of Justice and a station of the county police; it is 94 miles by road from the metropolis, 109 by the Great Western railway via Oxford and 121 via Swindon. The Great Western rail¬way has three stations here, that in St. James' square, which is the principal station, being near the centre of the town, -which is 9 miles east-north-east from Gloucester by road and 71 by- rail, 9 south from Tewkesbury, 1,5 west from Stow-on-the-Wold, 13 north¬east from Stroud by road and 19 by rail, and 22 south from Worcester, in the Northern division of the county, hundred of Cheltenham, rural deanery of Cheltenham, and archdeaconry and diocese of Gloucester. The Mid¬land Railway Company has two stations here, one in the Queen's road (Lansdown), about xi miles from the centre of High street, and another in the Tewkesbury road, about half a mile from the former, but used principally for coals and goods. The Banbury and Cheltenham Direct railway, via Chipping Norton junc¬tion, completed in 1886, is about 35 miles in length; it connects two of the principal sections of the Great Western railway and unites London and the Midland and Eastern counties by a shorter and more direct route with Cheltenham and the West of England. The Cheltenham and Honeybourne branch, opened in x906, is about 21 miles in length, and connects Cheltenham and South Wales with Birmingham and Wolverhampton. A new station on this line, called Malvern Road, was opened in 1908, and a halt was also opened the same year in High street. The Midland and South Western Junction railway affords direct communication with the South Western counties, via Andoversford and Cirencester.

The Cheltenham and District Light Railway, completed in 1901, by a company, is on the overhead electric trolley system, and runs from Gloucester Road (near the Lansdown station of the Midland railway) to Cleeve Hill, Prestbury, Charlton Kings and Leckhampton, pass¬ing through some of the chief thoroughfares of the town.

The town was unrepresented until the passing of the Reform Act, 1832 (2 and 3 Wm. IV. c. 45), under which enactment it became entitled to one member; under the "Boundary Act, 1868," a portion of the parish of Leckhampton was included in the parliamentary borough, and by the "Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885" (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23), so much of the parish of Charlton Kings as lies to the north of the Cheltenham and Banbury railway was added. The borough was again extended, Nov. 9, 1893, by further additions from the parishes of Leckhampton and Charlton Kings. Until 1876 the town had been governed by thirty com-missioners appointed under the "Cheltenham Improve¬ment Act, 1852"; but under the Royal Charter of In¬corporation, obtained in September, 1876, the borough has now a corporation, consisting of a mayor, six alder¬men and 18 councillors; the municipal borough is divided into six wards, and is co-extensive with the parish.

The town derives its name from the small river Chelt, which rises at Dowdeswell in the vicinity, and, in its course to the Severn, runs through the town, which is beautifully situated on an extensive plain, sheltered on the north and east by the Cotswold Hills, and consists of numerous fine streets, the principal of which, High. street, is more than IA miles in length, and contains many handsome modern buildings, interspersed with houses of more ancient date. The streets and build¬ings are spacious and elegant, and the Promenade, lead¬ing from the High street to Montpellier, is the most fashionable thoroughfare in the town; it extends for more than a quarter of a mile in a straight line and has a splendid avenue of fine spreading trees, with shops and terraces on either side. The waterworks for the supply of water for domestic purposes, situated on the slopes of the Cotswolds, in the Dowdeswell valley, afford upwards of 1,000,000 gallons a day, and in addition a supply, of unlimited quantity and high quality, is ob¬tained from the Severn at Tewkesbury. The town is partly lighted by electricity from works, erected in 1894, in the Arle road, the property of the corporation. Gas is supplied by a company established in 1819, from works in the Gloucester road. Extensive schemes of street improvement have been carried out in recent years by the corporation, who have also acquired the Pittville Spa and Gardens, and the Montpellier Spa, gardens and mineral wells.

Extensive works are now (1913) in course of con¬struction for the disposal of the town sewage by filtration at an estimated cost of £4o,000.

Pittville park, formally opened 25 April, 1894, includes the Pittville gardens and a lake, rowing course and recreation ground at Marle hill; the property comprises 15 acres, purchased at a cost of £2,354, but the total outlay, including excavation, bridges, boat-house and boats, was about £6,000; the length of the lake is 1,65o feet, and of the boating course 4,400 feet; the maximum width is 455 feet, and there is a total water area of 2 1/2 acres,; the boat-house is of wood, in the style of a Swiss chalet : on the south side of the lake is an island, and at another point a waterfall, and there is now a numerous flock of water-fowl, and the lake has also been stocked with fish: the park is agreeably diversified with clumps of trees, evergreens, and flower¬ing shrubs, and has been profusely planted -with hardy flowers, so as to make it a wild garden on an extensive scale.

The fountain on the Promenade, inaugurated on Monday, Oct. 30, 1893, is a graceful work in the Italian style, and includes a group in Portland stone, representing Neptune drawn by sea-horses. The South African War Memorial, also on the Promenade, was unveiled in 1907 and includes the figure of a soldier in bronze.

Naunton Park, situated to the south-east of the town, and opened in 1894, comprises about 8 acres and is laid out as a recreation ground. There is also a recreation ground in Whaddon lane.

Cheltenham has acquired its present important posi¬tion from the celebrity of the mineral springs with 'which its soil is so abundantly charged : the waters, which are more or less saline, were accidently dis-covered in the year 1716, and their medicinal virtues gradually becoming known, his Majesty George III. visited the place in 1788, an event which at once led to the establishment of the spas : the original Old Wells were established about 1738, Montpellier spa in 1818, and the Pittville spa, with its gardens and lake, in 1830.

The latter was purchased by the corporation in 1889 and has saline springs surrounded by beautiful gardens and grounds, with walks and drives planted with trees six miles in extent. The gardens were enlarged in 1901 by the corporation to the extent of 3 1/2 acres; and new recreation grounds close by were presented to the town in 1888 by J. T. Agg-Gardner esq. M.P. for the borough, J.P. The Pump room occupies an elevated position in the principal garden, and is a substantial building in the Grecian style, in imitation of a temple at Athens, designed by the late Mr. Forbes, architect; it is 92 feet long by 43 feet, surrounded by a colonnade 13 feet wide, the roof of which is supported by fluted columns 22 feet high. Upon the façade stand three figures representing AEsculapius, Hygeia and Hippocrates. The main building is roofed with a splendid dome 70 feet high, round the interior of which is a spacious gallery, while outside is a protected gallery from which magnificent views of the gardens and lake and of the town and neighbourhood are obtained. The cost of laying out this estate is said to have amounted to nearly half a million sterling.

The wells of the Pittville Spa are three in number, all characterised by containing relatively large quantities of carbonic acid, partially combined and free. In 1847, an analysis was made by Messrs. Abel and Rowney upon water drawn from the main well, go feet deep, and situated under the pump room, and a comparison of this analysis with that made by Professor T. E. Thorpe, of the Royal College of Science, South Kensington, in 1893, upon water taken from the Pittville wells, Nos. 1 and 3, shows that the waters have experienced no sen¬sible alteration in composition during the last 5o years. The following statement of the amounts of the principal constituents, expressed to the nearest grain per gallon, as deduced from the two analyses, brings out this result very clearly.

Pittville well No. 2 Professor Thorpe finds to be less rich in saline constituents than Nos. 1 and 3, and though bearing a general resemblance to these, it has a relatively larger content of sodium sulphate, viz. 148 grains per gallon, and a proportionately lower amount of sodium chloride, viz., about 311 grains per gallon. He further states that Pittville well No. 1 contains about 662 grains per gallon of saline matter, and No. 2 about 644 grains, by far the largest constituent in each case being common salt; both contain notable quantities of bromides and iodides, but the amount of lithia in either is so minute that it can only be detected by the spectroscope: these wells also contain a certain proportion of ferrous carbonate, but not sufficient, in his opinion, to allow them to be regarded as chalybeate. Professor Thorpe also reported to the Town Council on the Chadnor Villa well, the Cottage well in Christ Church road, and the Lansdown well. The water of the first two of these is magnesia saline; the Chadnor Villa well contains per gallon about 313 grains of saline matter, 118 grains being magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts), and 61 grains sodium sulphate (Glauber's salts); of sodium chloride and of bromides and iodides there is very little, and only minute quantities of ferrous carbonate and lithia. The Cottage well is reported to contain about 390 grains of saline matter per gallon, about one-third consisting of Epsom salts, and rather more than Glauber's salts, together with gypsum, chalk and common salt; only Glauber's salts ; the amount of iron, lithia, and of bromides and iodides was exceedingly small. From these results, it clearly appears that none of the Cheltenham springs can be regarded as chalybeate.

Extensive works are now (1913) in course of con¬struction for the disposal of the town sewage by filtration at an estimated cost of £4o,000.

The parish church of St. Mary is a cruciform building of stone, in the Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, clerestoried nave, aisles, transepts, north porch and a central tower with octagonal spire, containing a clock and a fine peal of 12 bells; in 1912 the spire was restored and the bells re-hung at a cost of £1,200, when two new bells were given by Alderman Winterbotham J.P.: on the east side of the north transept is a handsome circular window 45 feet in circumference, divided by radiating mullious into 33 compartments the original canopied piscina, considered one of the largest and most perfect of its kind in England, is of Decorated character, and forms a square recess, flanked by buttresses, with an arch on the east and north sides: in the north porch, removed from the chancel, are brasses with effigies to Sir William Greville kt. Justice of the Common Pleas, 1513, his wife, three sons and eight daughters: there is also a mural monument to the wife of John English D.D. 1643, and a tablet to various members of the De la Here family, 1783-1810: in the chancel is a monument of alabaster and marble to the Rev. Edward Walker D.C.L. perpetual curate from 1857, and first rector of this church, who died in 1872, and there is also a large and fine brass to the Very Rev. Francis Close D.D. rector here, 1826-56, and dean of Carlisle, 1856-82. The stained east window was erected in 1880 at the cost of the Freemasons of Cheltenham: there are memorial windows to Daniel James Humphris, the Welch family of Ade, and several others, the three larger ones at the west end being of a most elaborate and costly character, one being the gift of the parishioners, another the gift of the Baron de Ferrieres and the third that of W. H. Gwinnett esq. J.P. in memory of his parents: the south transept retains a piscina and aumbry: in the church-yard are two stone coffins. The church was restored in 1877 under the direction of the late Mr. Ewan Christian, of Whitehall place, and reseated in 1878 at a cost of 14,700: the vestry to the north of the chancel and a porch to the south aisle were added in 1893: there are 600 sittings. The register commences with the year 1558. The living is a rectory, with St. Matthew's annexed, net yearly value £360 without residence, in the gift of Simeon's trustees, and held since 1907 by the Rev. Francis L'Estrange-Fawcett M.A. of St. Mary Hall, Oxford, hon. canon of Gloucester, rural dean of Cheltenham, and surrogate ; the endowment is £104 yearly, and the remaining income arises from fees, Easter offerings and the pew rents of St. Matthew's, The population in 1911 was 8,927, including 136 in the Church of England Training College for Women.

St. Matthew's church, in Clarence street, a chapel of ease to the parish church, erected in 1878-9, from designs by Mr. Ewan Christian, architect, at a cost of about £25,000, and consecrated by the bishop of the diocese April 17th, 1879, is an edifice of local stone, with Bath stone dressings, in the Gothic style of the 13th century, consisting of apsidal chancel with aisles, clerestoried nave, aisles, transepts, north porch and a tower with spire at the north-west angle : the reredos is panelled and adorned with marble and mosaic 'work, with the Tables of Commandments in lead letters: the pulpit is of stone, with alabaster and marble mosaic inlays, bordered with boldly carved foliage: the font, of Caen stone, was the gift of J. Middleton esq. : there are sittings for upwards of 1,400 persons, of which 500 are free.

Holy Trinity is an ecclesiastical parish, formed in 1898; the church, in Portland street, erected in 1823, at a cost of £10,000, and designed by the late Mr. Underwood, architect, is a building of stone in the Gothic style, consisting of nave, aisles, and a western tower with eight pinnacles and containing one bell: there are many tablets : the church was reseated in 1877 and affords 810 sittings. The register dates from the year 1821. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value, derived from pew rents and endowment, £360, in the gift of Simeon's trustees, and held since 1912 by the Rev. Edward McLaren Marsden M.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge. There are also a Mission Hall, erected in 1880, and an infants' school, built in 1893. The boys' and girls' school was renovated and almost rebuilt in 1908. The population in 1911 was 2,735.

St. James' church, in Suffolk square, erected by subscription, and consecrated 6th October 1830, is a building of stone, in the Late Perpendicular style, consisting only of nave with apse, and a western turret containing one small bell: the church was internally restored in 1876-82, at a cost of £4,464, and affords 1000 sittings. The register dates from the year 1876. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £350, in the gift of the rector of Cheltenham, and held since 1912 by the Rev. Herbert Carnegie Knox M.A. of Balliol College, Oxford.

Christ Church is an ecclesiastical parish, formed in 1865; the church, in Lansdown terrace, erected in 1840, from the designs of Mr. Jerrard, architect, of Cheltenham, and re-consecrated in 1888 by the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, is a structure of freestone, in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, clerestoried nave of eight bays, transepts, north and south porches and an embattled western tower, 174 feet in height, with four pinnacles and containing a clock and one bell: in 1893 the dome and walls of the apse were painted in fresco by Mr. W. B. Richmond R.A., F.S.A. and Mr. T. Eadie Reid: a reredos has also been erected and the walls lined with jasper and marble from designs by Mr. H. A. Prothero, architect, of Cheltenham; the church was restored internally in 1887-97, at a cost of £8,000 and affords 1,354 sittings, of which about 450 are free. The register dates from the year 1865. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value variable, derived from pew rents, in the gift of Simeon's trustees, and held since 1901 by the Rev. Alfred Peachey Cox M.A. of Oxford University. The population in 1911 was 3,454.

St. John's is an ecclesiastical parish, formed in 1866; the church, in Berkeley street, erected in 1829, is a building of stone, in the Gothic style, consisting of apsidal chancel, added in 1867, nave, aisles and an incomplete tower, containing a clock and one bell : the church was reseated in 1857, and has sittings for about 950 persons, of which 300 are free. The register dates from the year 1868, the building having previously been merely a proprietary chapel. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £325, arising almost entirely from pew rents, in the gift of Simeon's trustees, and held since 1907 by the Rev. William Fairlie Clarke M.A. of St. John's College, Cambridge. The area of the ecclesiastical parish is 400 acres; the population in 1911 was 3,418.

St. Luke's is an ecclesiastical parish, formed in 1855; the church, situated in the College road, is an edifice of stone, in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, enlarged in 1866, clerestoried nave of ten bays, aisles, transepts, south porch and a western tower with spire containing a clock and 1 bell: the east window and two others in the chancel are stained: there is a beautifully carved stone reredos and an oak screen between the chancel and choir vestry : the chancel was restored in 1889-91, at a cost of £2,000, defrayed by the late T. W. Potter esq. of East Court: the church affords 1,100 sittings. The register dates from the year 1854. The living is a vicarage, gross yearly value from endowment £63, with pew rents and Easter offerings, amounting together to about £300, and residence, in the gift of the rector of Cheltenham, and held since 1903 by the Rev. Hubert Evan Noott M.A. of Cambridge University. Emmanuel mission church, in Exmouth street, is a building of iron seating 960 persons. The area is 448 acres; the population in 1911 was 6,375, including 135 in the General Hospital.

St. Mark's is an ecclesiastical parish, formed in 1860: the church, situated in the Gloucester road, and consecrated in 1862, is a building of stone, in the Gothic style, from designs by the late John Middleton, architect, of Cheltenham, consisting of chancel, clerestories/ nave of six bays, aisles, transepts, south porch and a western tower, with spire 150 feet high, and containing a clock and 5 bells: there are four stained windows in the chancel: the church was enlarged in 1888, at a cost of £1,862, and affords 840 sittings, of which about 300 are free. The register dates from the year 1862. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £216, in the gift of trustees, and held since 1903 by the Rev. Charles Neill M.B., M.A. of Gains College, Cambridge. The area is 1,930 acres; the population in 1911 a as 3,202, including 242 in the Dean Close Memorial School.

St. Paul's is an ecclesiastical parish, formed in 1846; the church, in St. Paul's road, erected in 1831, is an edifice of brick, with stone front, in the Classic style, designed by Mr Forbes, the architect of Pittville Spa, and consists of chancel, nave, aisles, west porch and a low western tower containing one bell : it was reseated in 1862, and has 1,400 sittings, of which 600 are free. The register dates from the year 1830. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £220, with residence, in the gift of the rector of Cheltenham, and held since 1903 by the Rev. Thomas Henry Cave-Moyle M.A. of Lincoln College, Oxford, and chaplain of Cheltenham Union Workhouse. The Vicarage house was purchased and redecorated in 1893, at a cost of about £1,200. The population in 1911 was 6,623, including 472 in the Cheltenham Union Workhouse, and 144 in the Church of England Training College for Men.

St. Peter's is an ecclesiastical parish, formed in 1845; the church, in the Tewkesbury road, erected in 1848 at a cost of about £5,000, from designs by the late Mr. Samuel Whitfield Dawkes, architect, and consecrated March 23, 1849, is a building of stone, in a modern adaptation of the Norman style, consisting of apsidal chancel, nave, transepts, north porch and a round central tower, go feet high, rising from an octagonal lower stage, and finished with a conical roof and vane: at the north-west angle of the nave is a square turret containing a bell: the font is, in form, a copy of that in Lincoln Cathedral, and consists of a square bowl resting on a central pier, with four shafts at the angles : the church was restored in 1912 at a cost of £500 : there are 750 sittings. The register dates from the year 1849. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £300, in the gift of five trustees, and held since 1909 by the Rev. William. Heaton Renshaw M.A. of Durham University. The population in 1911 was 4,137.

SS. Philip and James' is an ecclesiastical parish formed May 14, 1869: the church, in the Park district, included in the borough of Cheltenham in 1893, is an edifice in the Late Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, clerestoried nave of five bays, aisles, south-west porch and a western tower containing a clock and one bell : there are sittings for 900 persons, one-third of which are free. The register dates from the year 1841. The living is a vicarage, without endowment, the income being entirely derived from pew rents, net yearly value £400, in the gift of the Bishop of Gloucester, and held since 1912 by the Rev. Richard Arthur Hay Hay M.A. of Worcester College, Oxford. The area is 435 acres; the population in 1911 was 2,599.

St. Stephen's is an ecclesiastical parish, formed in 1884 from that of Christ Church : the church, in St. Stephen's road, consecrated in December, 1883, is a building in the Early English style, erected at a cost of £12,000 from designs by Messrs. Middleton and Son, of Cheltenham, and consists of chancel, clerestoried nave of six bays, aisles, transepts, north and south porches and an incomplete tower at the north-west angle, containing one bell : the reredos is of Caen stone, with diapered compartments, surmounted by angelic figures : the pulpit is of Caen stone, Cornish granite and alabaster : there are 65o sittings, of which 300 are free. The register dates from the year 1884. The living is a vicarage, with an endowment of £30, net yearly value £375, in the gift of the Bishop of Gloucester, and held since 1890 by the Rev. Edward Linck Jennings M.A. of Worcester College. Oxford, and hon. canon of Gloucester. The population in 1911 was 1,351.

All Saints, PITTVILLE, is an ecclesiastical parish, formed in 1869: the church, near to Pittville circus, is an edifice of stone, in the Early French Gothic style, from designs by the late Mr. John Middleton, and consists. of chancel, with aisles, clerestoried nave of five bays, aisles, transepts, south porch and an incomplete tower at the south-west angle, with a clock and r bell: the pulpit and reredos are of alabaster and freestone: nearly the whole of the windows are stained, and represent iD an elaborate scheme figures of the saints of the Old Testament, and pious men of various ages in the Christian church : a rood screen of iron resting on a wall of alabaster was erected in 1893 from designs by Mr. H. A. Prothero, architect, of Cheltenham, and a side chapel has been added, and the west end of the church decorated with frescoes by Sir William B. Richmond K.C.B., A. R. A. : in 1909 a decorated canopy was placed above the altar : there are 850 sittings, of which 450 are free. The register dates from the year 1868. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £440, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Gloucester, and held since 1911 by the Rev. Philip Marmaduke Cramer Johnstone M.A. of Keble College, Oxford. The population in 1911 was 3,819.

Cheltenham is included within the Catholic diocese of Clifton. The Catholic church in St. James's square, dedicated to St. Gregory, and consecrated November 6, 1877, is an edifice of stone, in the Early Decorated style, from designs by Mr. Hansom, architect, of Clifton, and consists of chancel, clerestoried nave, aisles, chapels, transepts, north and west porches and a tower, with rich parapet, and pinnacles 30 feet high, and a spire reaching a height of 202 feet : the Lady chapel is partitioned from the nave by an ornamental brass railing : the altar contains three sculptured panels, representing the Annunciation: the stone pulpit and the Stations of the Cross, 14 in number, are also exquisitely carved: between the double western doors stands a figure of St. Gregory, vested, and on either side are carved historical panels: all the windows are filled with stained glass. The Catholic Convent of St. Paul the Apostle is in St. Paul's road, and has a chapel in the Gothic style.

St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church of England, Fauconberg road, built in 1885, is an edifice of stone in the Early English style, and has a tower at the north-west angle, with spire: there are 520 sittings. The Scottish Presbyterian church, Selkirk parade, is a small iron building, erected in n884, and will seat 150 persons. The Catholic Apostolic church is in Grosvenor street, and has 70 sittings. Bethel chapel, St. James' square, built in 1820, has sittings for 650 persons. The Society of Friends' meeting room is in Portland street. The Congregational chapel, in Winchcombe street, erected in 1827, is a building of stone, in the Decorated style, and will seat 1,000 persons. The chapel of the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, in North place, erected in 1816, has 600 sittings. Ebenezer Primitive Methodist chapel, King street, built in 1840, will seat 300 persons. The United Methodist or Royal Well chapel, in St. George's road, will seat 600 persons. The Unitarian chapel, Royal Well place, erected in 1832, has 250 sittings. The Plymouth Brethren meet in the Regent hall, Regent street.

There are four Baptist chapels: Cambray chapel, built in 1855, is of brick, with stone front, and has 1,000 sittings ; Salem chapel, Clarence parade, is a building of stone, erected in 1844, and seating 1,300, Naunton Parade chapel, built in 1870, will seat 200 ; Gas Green Baptist chapel, Russell street, built in 1864, has 200 sittings. The Wesleyan chapels are : Great Norwood street, a building of stone, erected in 1845 and restored in 1889, with 650 sittings; St. George's Street, an edifice of brick with stone facings, built in 1839, and seating 900 persons; Swindon Road chapel, erected in 1842, with 150 sittings ; and Gloucester Road chapel, a structure of brick, erected in 1891, and affording 150 sittings. The Salvation Army Barracks are in Bath road, Upper Bath street and Granville street.

St. Mary's cemetery, formed in 1883, and entirely under the control of the authorities of the parish church, has one mortuary chapel, but is now available only to persons having vaults there which are not yet filled up. The new cemetery, in Cemetery road, at the foot of the Cotswold Hills, formed in 1864 at a cost of £11,000, and since enlarged, has two mortuary chapels; it is under the control of the Town Council.

Thursday is the market day. A cattle market on the Gloucester road was constructed by the Corporation, at a cost of upwards of £8,000; there is a weekly sale of fruit and vegetables. Fairs are held on the second Thursday in April, Aug. 5th, the second Thursday in September and the third Thursday in December, for cattle and cheese; there are also statute fairs on the first and second Thursdays after Michaelmas Day.

The Town Hall, in Imperial square, is a handsome building of stone in the Renaissance style, erected from designs by Mr. F. W. Waller, and completed in 1903 at a cost of £45,000. It contains a fine hall for concerts, balls &c. and is fitted with adjustable stage and orchestra; including galleries, the hall will seat 1,500 persons, in addition to the stage and orchestra, which hold about 450 persons. The floor is specially laid down for dancing. There are also supplementary rooms available for use in connection with the large hall or as separate spites, one of which seats 500 and the other 250. The Town Hall also contains a central spa. where the waters from the principal medicinal springs can he obtained.

The Victoria rooms, in High street, are used for dramatic and other public entertainments. The Rotunda, Montpellier, is licensed for dramatic entertainments, balls and concerts, and will seat 400 persons.

The Queen's Hotel, erected in 1837, at a cost of £40,000, from designs of the late Mr. Jerrard, architect, occupies an elevated position, commanding a full view of the promenade and Cotswold hills; the hotel comprises numerous suites of rooms and hall, reception and reading rooms. It is now the property of the Queen's Hotel Co. Limited. The principal commercial hotels are the "Royal," the "Plough," and the "Fleece."

The Cheltenham Theatre and Opera House, in Regent street, erected in 1891, at a cost of £11,000, is an edifice of brick and stone in the so-called Queen Anne style; the auditorium is planned to seat comfortably 1,400 persons. The stage has a depth of about 45 feet and a width of 70 feet (including the scene dock on either side), and is 45 feet high; the actual opening is about 24 feet wide and 30 feet high.

The Hippodrome, Albion street, a variety theatre with accommodation for 1,200 persons, was erected in 1913. The New Club (established 1872), on the Promenade, is a building of stone and contains well appointed rooms on the lines of the best London clubs. Secretary, Major H. Brooke Murray. The other clubs include the Conservative, Portland house, Albion street; the Promenade, 24 Promenade; the Union, in Cambray; the Liberal, in North place; the Constitutional, at Royal Well terrace, St. George's road, and. the Ladies', in St. George's road.

The Public Library, in Clarence street, immediately opposite St. Matthew's church, is a building in the Italian style with Elizabethan details, erected from designs by Knight and Chatters, architects, at a cost of £15,000, the foundation stone being laid on the 20th June, 1887. The building is 144 feet in length, and in the centre is a portico with Ionic columns and a pediment, tale tympanum being enriched with the-arms of the borough. The library contains 40,000 volumes, including lending and reference departments, and there is a spacious news room.

The Art Gallery and Museum are attached to the Public Library : the former was opened in Oct. 1899, and the Museum added in June, 1907. The Baron De Ferrieres presented forty-two representative pictures of the Dutch and Belgian Schools, together with £1,000, towards the cost of the building, and loan collections from the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, are on view : the gallery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. ; admission free.

The Territorial Force stationed in the town comprise the Cheltenham Troop of A Squadron (Royal Gloucester shire Hussars) Yeomanry, having a drill hall in North street, and the E and F Companies of the 5th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment, which also have their-quarters at the Drill hall in North street.

Charities :—Walwyn's, of £50, was left in 1627 by J_ Welwyn, of Swindon. The Poor's Grounds afford a yearly sum of £54 11s. 3d. which is distributed among the poor. Townsend's, of £15 yearly, for apprenticing a poor boy. Townsend's charity of £20 yearly, left in 1683 by George Townsend esq. of Wormington, is for Lady Capel's school. Stanshy's, of £29 yearly, left in 1704 by Rev. W. Stansby, of Badgworth, is for apprenticing. Capel's, of £15 yearly, left in 1719 by the Rt. Hon. Dorothy Lady Capel, is derived from the estate of Perry Court, near Faversham, Kent, and now applied to the support of the parish school. Urquhart's, left in 1850 by J. H. Urquhart, of Sevenoaks, Kent, and consisting of the interest of £1,000 in 3 1/2 per Cent. Reduced Bank Annuities, is distributed annually to the poor at Christmas. Ashmead's, of £86 4s. left in 1742 by John Ashmead, of Cheltenham, is distributed annually to the poor of Bethel Baptist chapel. Pate's, left in 1578 by Richard Pate, of Minsterworth, and Recorder of Gloucester in 1556, has now (1913) a gross income of upwards of £2,000, three-fourths of which sum is applied, under a scheme approved by an Order in Council in 1881, in maintaining the Cheltenham Grammar schools and certain almshouses in Albion street, the residue being applied to its own purposes by Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Under a scheme sealed by the Board of Education, 1910, a new governing body was formed for the administration of the foundation. The charity estate comprises some valuable portions of the town, besides houses in Gloucester, land at Swindon and a farm at the Leigh: the almshouses are for six inmates, born in the town, and over sixty years of age; each inmate has two rooms and 8s. a week. supplemented by other payments at fixed periods. The election of almspeople rests with the churchwardens of the parish church. The Septimus Redhead bequest of about £500 per annum is distributed to hospitals and institutions ; the Walker Memorial Fund provides annuities to ten indigent women. There are twelve cottage homes for aged people in Naunton Park, the gift of the late J. A. and Mrs. Hay.

The General Hospital, in Sandford road, established in 1839. is a noble edifice of stone, in the Classic style, erected at a cost of nearly £9,000, from designs of the late Mr. D. S. Humphris, architect, and a new wing was added in 1878 at a cost of £6,132: it is entirely supported by voluntary contributions and contains 114 beds; the number of in-patients admitted during the year 1912 was 1,426, and of out-patients, 8,206 an extension to the west wing was made in 1909 at a cost of £3,000. The Female Orphan Asylum was founded by Queen Charlotte in 1806, and is under the patronage of H.M. Queen Alexandra. The Delancey Hospital, Leckhampton, was founded by the late Miss Delancey, who bequeathed £5,000 for this purpose, but through some informality only £3,750 eventually became available : the late Rev. J. H. L. Gabell gave £1,000 towards the site and £5,365 for the buildings and furniture, and £1,000 Consols as an endowment fund. The Eye, Ear and Throat Free Hospital, North place, established in 1889, is for the gratuitous relief of really indigent persons suffering from diseases of the eye, ear and throat; it is managed by a committee of subscribers; it contains 13 beds, and treats about 450 in-patients and 2,000 out-patients annually ; there is a ward for paying patients desiring special hospital treatment. The Cobourg Society and Dispensary for Diseases of Women and Children was established in 1817. There are other minor charities and benevolent institutions in the town.

Fullwood Park is a fine mansion situated in its own grounds, which are beautifully laid out, and contain a piece of ornamental water; it is now used by the Ursuline Sisters as a ladies' college. ThirIestaine House, in the Bath road, the property and residence of Mrs. Fenwiek, daughter and heiress of the late Sir Thomas Phillipps bart. is a classic structure of the Ionic order, originally built by a Mr. Scott for his own residence, at a cost of £90,000; the two wings were added by Lord Northwick at a cost of £8,000 each, and the central portico is a copy of part of the temple of Ilissus at Athens. Sir Thomas Phillipps transferred here from his mansion at Middle Hill, Worcestershire, his extensive library and fine collection of pictures, comprising some hundreds of paintings; the collection now includes examples of the most eminent masters, about 40 paintings by John Glover, a fine collection of original drawings by the old masters, and paintings by Catlin, depicting the manners of the North American Indians. Among other objects of interest here are a splendid collection of illuminated MSS and various Babylonian curiosities, one of which is a cylinder giving an account of some of the acts of Nebuchadnezzar.