CHELTENHAM, Gloucestershire

Archives and Libraries

• Original source material relating to Cheltenham, and other parishes in Diocese of Gloucester may be found at the Gloucestershire Archives.

• Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum. Added 17 Apr 2006.

Bibliography

• Hart, Gwen - A History of Cheltenham. Leicester University Press, 1965. Hardback, 394p.
  Too old to have an ISBN!

  Chapters are on 1: The Beginnings; 2: The Medieval Owners of Cheltenham; 3: The Liberty of Cheltenham; 4: The effects of the Reformation in Cheltenham; 5: 'A Longe Towne havynge a Market'; 6: Cheltenham in the Reign of James I; 7: The Manor and Church in the time of Charles I; 8: Cheltenham during the Civil War; 9: The Commonwealth and After; 10: The Beginnings of the Spa; 11: Interlude: the Royal Visit; 12: The Growth of the Town after the Royal Visit; 13: The Spa in Time of War; 14: The Development of Regency Cheltenham; 15: 'The Merriest Sick Resort on Earth'; 16: The Stronghold of the Evangelicals; 17: The Changing Scene; 18: Party Politics and General Elections; 19: The Administration of the Vestry and the Commissioners, 1786-1821; 20: The Vestry, 1806-52, and the Reorganisation of Pate's Grammar School; 21: The Work of the Commissioners, 1821-39; 22: The Commissioners - an Unpopular Oligarchy, 1839-52; 23: The Decay of the Manor; 24: The Last Phase of the Commissioners' Power, and the Battle for Incorpration.

• Brooks, Robin - The Story of Cheltenham. Sutton Publishing, 2003. Paperback 242p. currently (2004) priced £16.99.
  • ISBN 0-7509-3213-9
  Chapters are on 1: Chintencha; 2: Spa-di-da - The Nineteenth Century; 3: The Anglo-Indians' Paradise - 1900-19; 4: Between the Wars - 1920-39; 5: Make Do and Mend - 1940-59; 6: Demolition Decades - 1960-79; 7: Catching Up with the Twentieth Century - 1980-99; 8: In Town Tonight.

• Blake, Steven - Cheltenham: A Pictorial History. Published by Phillimore, 1996. 180 photographs, with plenty of explanatory text. Hardback currently (2004) priced £13.99.
  • ISBN 0-85033-882-8

Church Records

• The parish registers for St Mary's Church (the only "old" church in the town) begin in 1558, whereas the others all begin in either the 19th or 20th centuries.

  All available registers will be found lodged at the Gloucestershire Archives Office.

Directories

• Transcription of section of Pigot's Directory of Gloucestershire, 1830 for Cheltenham and Neighbourhood, by Ted Wildy.

• Transcription of section of Slater's Commercial Trade Directory, 1858-9, by Phil Mustoe.

Gazetteers

• The transcription of the section for Cheltenham from the National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin Hinson.

Newspapers

• A list of Newspapers held at Cheltenham Library, supplied by Phil Mustoe.

Schools

• Pate's Grammar School, originally for boys only was founded in 1576 by Richard PATE, who was at one time Recorder of Gloucester. The school, and the almshouses he founded around the same time were situated in the High Street, on the opposite side of the road to St Mary's Church. The Almshouse building comprised a stone house with an attached chapel, a courtyard and a garden and orchard at the back, reaching as far as Albion Street. It was however demolished at the beginning of the 19th century, and new Almshouse building erected in Albion Street.

  The Almshouse building is still standing, and its date-stone of 1811 can still be seen quite clearly; however the school building in the town centre has now been demolished, and its site is occupied by the town centre branch of Tesco supermarket, and "Pates" has moved out of town. The school now occupies a complex next to the Gloucestershire College of Art in Albert Road, and admits pupils of both sexes. [Sources: A History of Cheltenham, cited above, and Cheltenham Archaeological Assessment (1998).

• Cheltenham College was founded in 1841. The Reverend Francis CLOSE, an incumbent of Cheltenham for 30 years (1826-56), was one of its founders. The need for a new school was felt because Pate's Grammar School had been in decline for some time. The Spa had many wealthy patrons, but had also attracted men who had served overseas, either in the Diplomatic Services, or in the Forces, and who had either been invalided, or retired and were looking for a "good but not expensive day school for their sons". Amongst its other founders were - George HARCOURT, Major-General SWINEY, Capt. IREDELL (Bombay Native Infantry) and Capt. Richard LITCHFIELD (Royal Artillery). [Source: A History of Cheltenham, cited above]

  The school opened originally in the central houses of Bayshill Terrace, but it soon outgrew its premises and the first block of the present building, on Bath Road, was opened in 1843. It was designed by a Bath architect, J.D. Wilson, in the Perpendicular style of architecture and externally, has more the appearance of a medieval church. Additions, including the building's first chapel, came ten years later, to designs by D.J. Humphris.

  The present College Chapel was built between 1892 and 1896 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the College's foundation. There is a memorial stone to the six hundred and seventy five former pupils ("Old Cheltonians") who gave their lives in the service of their Country in the WWI in the narthex, and the names of all who died are listed on memorial plaques within the Chapel. [Source: Stephen M. Friling]

• Cheltenham Ladies' College was founded 12 years after the Cheltenham College, in 1853, and by the same group of people. Miss Dorothea BEALE, one of the pioneers of public boarding-school education for girls was principal from 1858 to 1906 (that's a long time - 48 years!)

• Dean Close School was founded in 1886 by a group of Evangelical Churchmen as a memorial to the aformentioned Reverend Francis CLOSE, following his death. He became Dean of Carlisle after his ministry in Cheltenham (1856-1881), dying the following year in Penzance. He is buried in Carlisle. [Source: Alumni Cantabrigiensis]

CHELTENHAM PARISHES (with dates of earliest registers)