Details
CHELTENHAM
SO9422SW MALVERN ROAD
630-1/12/513 (East side)
12/03/55 Christ Church and adjacent Church
Hall
GV II*
Church and Church Hall. 1837-40 with later additions and
alterations. Architects: RW and C Jearrad. Builders: Thomas
Newton, Solomon Sims and Joseph Puzey. Apse added and interior
remodelled 1888-93 by JH Middleton, HA Prothero and Phillot
with 'Byzantine' wall decoration by Sir William Richmond and J
Eadie Reid. Stained glass by Lavers, Barrand and Westlake, and
Heaton, Butler and Bayne. Monuments mostly by Lewis of
Cheltenham. Restored by RW Paterson, 1956. Ashlar over brick
with slate roof.
PLAN: Regency Gothic in Early English style with a tall
Perpendicular-type West tower symmetrically placed in the
centre of an elaborately gabled west end with north and south
porches, aisled nave, a single preaching box with north and
south transepts and apsidal sanctuary; Classicized interior
and Byzantine-style decorations to apse. Church Hall attached
to south.
EXTERIOR: west end: chamfered plinth, buttresses; stepped
gabled buttresses to ends and centre with pinnacles, both
porches and centre are gabled; outer entrances, pointed
doorways have paired plank doors with pilaster between and
cusped heads with quatrefoil to apex, 2 orders of roll-moulded
arches and hoodmould; central stepped 3-lancet-light window
with pilasters between and hollow-chamfer to head; above a
clock to gable. Tower enriched with carved decoration, band,
two 2-light belfry openings with Perpendicular-type tracery
above, pierced parapet; octagonal turrets surmounted by
finials with pinnacles. Aisles have tall 2-light lancet
windows.
Church Hall is single-storey with gable-facing to slightly
projecting central gable in 3-bay facade. Hood moulds over
chamfered lancets, except stepped 3-light Early English window
to centre, with moulded architraves and stylised Gothic
carving to capitals set on engaged shafts. Plain but similar
3-light window to rear.
INTERIOR: has 1837-40 gallery to 3 sides, 2 unclad iron
stanchions with 'Gothic' capitals survive in their original
form at the west end, those to both sides are Doric, with
plinths (the iron stanchions are within); box pews remain to
upper stage. Otherwise virtually all 1888-9, with exception of
1865 font. Apse has 2 arches with pilasters with arabesque
ornament, tempera frescoes with Christ, the Apostles, St
Michael and St George to the dome and the Annunciation,
Visitation, Nativity and Presentation to the walls and
Resurrection to the reredos. Flat ceiling with oak panels on
paired colonnette corbels to transepts. Porches each have
open-well staircase with alternate stick and ornate balusters
and wreathed handrail; north porch has further spiral
staircase. Ornate screen to choir. Coloured marble pulpit.
Many wall tablets to members of the military who had served in
India and the East India Company who retired to Cheltenham,
including James Webster (d.1858) of Hatherley Court, Hatherley
Road (qv) also Richard Crosier Sherwood (d.1850) of Suffolk
Lawn.
Interior of Church Hall not inspected.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: ashlar wall with pointed arch attached to
Church Hall on south.
HISTORICAL NOTE: built as a proprietary chapel to accommodate
about 2,000 in anticipation of the expansion of the Lansdown
Estate. The architects, RW and C Jearrad were building the
Queen's Hotel, Promenade (qv) concurrently. The distinctive
and unusual proportions have attracted the attention of many
architectural writers: Sir John Betjeman wrote that this is,
'one of the most successful buildings in Cheltenham
externally.'
(Sampson A and Blake S: A Cheltenham Companion: Cheltenham:
1993-: 28,69; Blake S: Cheltenham's Churches and Chapels AD
773-1883: Cheltenham: 1979-: 28-29; Rowe G: Illustrated
Cheltenham Guide 1850: Cheltenham: 1845-1969: 32; Whiting R:
Christ Church, Cheltenham 1840-1990: 1990-; The Buildings of
England: Verey D: Gloucestershire: The Vale and The Forest of
Dean: London: 1970-: 127-28; Sladen T: Notes: 1995-).
Listing NGR: SO9399922266
