Site of Westal - now Eagle Tower

Westal was the home to the Wilson family from 1874, when Ted was two, until the early 1930s. The house was one of three villas that were pulled down to make way for the 200-foot, thirty-storey Eagle Tower building.

Described at the time as a ‘superior villa’ and ‘desirable first-class detached family house’, you can still appreciate how Westal would have looked from the surrounding villas that survive. The house took its name, which means ‘west nook of land’, from a small region located on the western side of Cheltenham. It was at Westal that Ted’s parents noticed that he was ‘always drawing’, leading them to encourage his artistic talent. It was also here that he developed some of his interest in nature, not only housing his ever-increasing natural history collections, but also occasionally providing a temporary home for his pets, including a buzzard he once brought back from Norway.

Westal also became a focal point for visiting Antarctic explorers, including Captain Scott, whom Wilson’s father described as ‘clever, unassuming and amusing’ when he stayed at Westal in December 1904. It was also the location for an important meeting that Ted arranged with Ernest Shackleton following concerns that Shackleton’s proposed Nimrod expedition could interfere with Scott’s future expedition plans.

Retrace your steps, turning left back into Montpellier Spa Road. Then turn right into Bath Road.
Cross over and you’ll see Cheltenham College on your left, in front of which is the third of the interpretation panels.