If your look for Houses for sale Cheltenham area then you are certainly choosing an area steeped in the Regency style. Check out this website http://www.completepropertygroup.co.uk/property-sales/ for sale details and then we can look at some of the most prominent examples of the style.
Regency style dates to the reign of “Gorgeous” George 4th. He was one of the worst kings the country has ever had to endure. He was Prince Regent, hence Regency style, which meant basically he reigned though the King was still alive. George the 3rd was quite bonkers for a time and the George the 4th had to step in. He was basically a playboy and took little interest in the role. He did though, when he was Regent and King, influence an interesting style of architecture. London, Bath and Brighton were some of the places to benefit but so was Cheltenham with the discovery and exploitation of an underground Spa in the town.
The style didn’t end in Cheltenham with the departure of the Prince Regent, the style lingered in the town well beyond. It basically follows a square shape with the emphasis heavily on the frontage. The wrought iron railings are also a feature with a small front garden that is little more than decorative. The thing that distinguishes the style is the way it borrows from the classic world. By that I mean that it uses lots of pillars and porticos. The fronts are usually, though not always, white and clean. Here is a list, though by no means definitive, of where you can find prime examples of the Regency style that Cheltenham is so famous for.
- Great Norwood Street – Built in 1830 these houses illustrate the design of the time and are a prime example of what to look for. Here we can see the sash windows, iron railings and the portico front door.
- Oxford Villas on London Road – These buildings have wrought iron verandas. Whilst they may not be able to support humans they can hold plants and trailing vines and creepers such as wisteria were popular.
- Royal Crescent – This is very reminiscent of the famous Crescent in Bath. The Crescent shape is synonymous with Regency style. Again, the railings are there and also some of the iron verandas.
- Gratton Street – These are not houses of the upper classes. They were more for the skilled working trades, not that anyone in that line of work could hope to afford one now. The style remains the same though, the Sash windows are in evidence and the plain frontage also appears.
- The Pump Room. Pittville Park – As this is where the fame of Cheltenham, and it’s rise starts, this is naturally the highlight of anyone searching for examples of Regency Cheltenham.
Remember to look up when in the town. Many examples have been removed by modern needs and techniques but the 1st and 2nd floors, such as at the bottom, thought of as the unfashionable end of the High street, shows.