Details
CHELTENHAM
SO9421NW MONTPELLIER STREET
630-1/17/541 (West side)
12/03/55 Bayshill Lodge (1, 2 & 3), ballroom,
mews arch to NW & Nos.1-19 Rotunda
Terrace
(Formerly Listed as:
MONTPELLIER STREET
(West side)
Archway to Mews NW of Bayshill
Lodge, 1-3 Bayshill Lodge, 1-19
Rotunda Terrace)
GV II*
House, ballroom and mews arch with terrace of 19 shops, all
now shops, with attached railings to arch and ballroom.
1844-51; Nos 1-5 completed by 1847; with later additions and
alterations. Architects: SW Daukes and J Hamilton (of
Gloucester); builder of Nos 1-5 was William Swain. Ashlar over
brick with slate roof and iron railings attached to arch.
Development L-shaped on plan with bow to angle.
EXTERIOR: mews arch facing south abuts former ballroom, one
storey with attic and of 2 bays, and with an elliptical facade
which joins the 3-storey main block: the first part of this is
Bayshill Lodge, with 3-window front facing south, then the
south end of thee main terrace facade facing east onto
Montpellier Street has a 3-window bow facing south; main
terrace has 28 first-floor windows, arranged 3 (to
bow):1:1:3:1:3:3:3:1:3:1:3:1:1.
Arch has heavy, chamfered imposts and tooling to head with
keystone; stepped plinth; crowning frieze, stepped cornice and
surmounting shallow scroll and upshot.
Ballroom has horizontal rustication drawn into voussoirs over
windows; 1/1 round-arched sashes with guilloche moulding to
architraves and keystones to heads; central round-arched
entrance with C20 glazed doors and tall fanlight, keystone;
modillion frieze and cornice on paired acanthus console
brackets and low parapet. Mansard roof set back has 6/6
sashes.
Bayshill Lodge: central breakforward and range to right set
further back. 2 left First- and second-floor windows have
tooled architraves, those to second floor have sills on feet,
otherwise plain reveals and sills; first-floor band. First
floor has 2/2 sashes, second floor has 3/3 sashes. Frieze and
modillion cornice. Attic roof dormer has casements. Ground
floor has entrance at left, C20 glazed doors with
cambered-arched overlight. To right a further entrance has
8-fielded-panel door with overlight and pilasters, frieze and
cornice.
Shops: single-window ranges break forwards. Ashlar detailing
includes: ground-floor pilasters with horizontal rustication
to breakforwards (the cornices form part of the continuous
cornice), surmounted to first floor by rusticated pilasters.
Paired Doric pilasters to ground-floor shop fronts, continuous
frieze and cornice; band and continuous moulded sill band
which is stepped below windows, forming aprons. First-floor
windows have tooled architraves, frieze and pediments.
Second-floor windows have moulded band, and continuous moulded
cornice with blocking course. All continuous bands are ramped
downwards at intervals. First floor has tall, 2/2
horizontal-pane and 6/6 sashes in plain reveals; second floor
has 3/3 sashes. Several C19 shop fronts survive, including
No.7 with slender half-columnar modillions and 4-panel,
part-glazed door with overlight; Nos 10 and 12 have 2/2 sash
with margin-lights between Doric pilasters; Nos 13, 17 and 18
have central entrance with double doors between sash windows
(1/1 sashes), and to right a tall 2-panel door with
overlights. Nos 14 and 15 have 4-panel, part-glazed doors with
overlights.
Bow at angle has off-centre entrance, C20 part-glazed door;
retaining dentil frieze and divided overlight; otherwise glass
curved on section into entrance with slender cylindrical
mullions with shaped caps and bases, and glazed frieze with
stained glass.
Rear retains many 6/6 sashes.
INTERIOR: retain original plasterwork and joinery in many
cases; otherwise not inspected.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: spearhead railings abut Arch and
Ballroom.
HISTORICAL NOTE: forms part of the Bays Hill Estate and built
on the site of Grove House. Montpellier Street was formerly
known as Old Well Lane. It is reputed that Bayshill Lodge was
built as a private dwelling, with later ballroom added to
left, abutting Mews Arch.
Blake states that, 'Rotunda Terrace was built as part of a
concerted effort to create a purpose-built shopping area', of
which it is an outstanding example in a national context,
complimenting Nos 2-8 (qv).
No.6 Rotunda Terrace was listed on 31.7.70.
(Sampson A and Blake S: A Cheltenham Companion: Cheltenham:
1993-: 12; Blake S: 'The Building of the Montpellier Shops':
Cheltenham Local History Society Journal: 1984-).
Listing NGR: SO9435221866
