Pittville History Works - Architectural Walking Tour

Stroll around the historic Pittville Estate and discover the many varied examples of Regency and Victorian architecture

Pittville History Works - Architectural Walking Tour

England GL52 2AY, United Kingdom

Created By: Pittville History Works

Tour Information

Conceived as a self-contained estate in the Regency style on Cheltenham’s northern border, Pittville is in reality a post-Regency, early Victorian development, and contains wonderful and varied examples of the wide variety of architectural styles fashionable during the early to mid 19th century.

Neoclassical, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival and Italianate styles feature in the design of many of the villas and terraces of the estate.

In terms of building materials, the most notable characteristic of Pittville houses of the 19th century is the widespread use of stucco.

Another feature is the use of decorative ironwork. Many properties have verandas and/or balconies as well as wrought-iron railings and gates.

On this walk you will find out more about the architectural styles used in Pittville and look at examples for yourself.

The walk takes about an hour to complete but you can shorten it by choosing the "Skip" option to select the next point of interest you'd like to go to. If you'd prefer to choose your own route, just select "Free Roam Mode" when you start the tour. Please note that you need to be within 50ft of each Point of Interest for the detailed information to open up. An audio version is available under Settings.

TO START THE WALK, PLEASE STAND OUTSIDE THE PITTVILLE GATES ON THE CORNER OF PRESTBURY ROAD AND CLARENCE ROAD AND SELECT "START TOUR". THE ROUTE BRINGS YOU BACK TO THE SAME POINT.

This walk is provided by Pittville History Works and created by Andrea Creedon. If you would like to find out more about the history of Pittville please go to our website pittvillehistory.org.uk


Tour Map

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What You'll See on the Tour

With your back to the gates you will see a pair of terraced Regency houses with unusual Gothic features.  Bilbrook House and 1 Clarence Road were built in 1832 and were designed by John Forbes and/or W. A. Watson, who were Joseph Pitt's of... Read more
Turn right and walk to the junction of Clarence Road and Evesham Road.  Here you will find a villa which is unusual in Pittville, as it features stucco in a natural colour, rather than painted white or another light colour.  The widesprea... Read more
Terrace of 17 houses designed by William Jay and completed in 1825.  The balconies feature decorative ironwork based on the popular “Heart & Honeysuckle” style which originally appeared on a London house designed by Robert Adam in ... Read more
Terrace of 5 houses completed in 1837, architect unknown.  A good example of the Neoclassical fashion for designing a row of townhouses to create the style of a single building – known as a Palace-Fronted Terrace.  The Greek Revival fea... Read more
Continue along Clarence Road and turn right into Clarence Square.  Terrace of 5 houses completed in 1835.  In the Georgian and Regency periods it was popular to have the main reception room on the first floor and many houses in Pittville ... Read more
A large semi-detached villa completed in 1838 which has some fine Neoclassical decorative detailing.  The corners are decorated with fluted pilasters with beautifully detailed capitals comprising Ionic scrolls, egg-and-dart edging and an a... Read more
A pair of semi-detached villas built by Solomon Sims and completed in 1836.  Unusually for Pittville, the villas are fronted with “ashlar” or finely dressed stone, rather than the cheaper stucco.  This treatment was reserved for the s... Read more
Another fine pair of semi-detached villas, completed in 1836.  The half-basement is more clearly visible than in many properties, resulting in a grand flight of steps to the front entrance.  In most developments at this time the basement ... Read more
Described as: 'the most beautiful wrought railings and panels in the town' by Chatwin. The panels contain double-headed anthemion with scroll borders.
A Tudor-Gothic terrace of 12 houses which was built over 14 years; no.1 was completed in 1846 and no. 12 in 1859.  Most of the houses were built by William Williams, James Williams and Elisha Williams.  This is another Palace-Fronted Terr... Read more
A very attractive Regency Villa completed in 1827.  The windows have a subtle suggestion of Gothic from the y-shaped glazing bars.
A much later Victorian Villa designed by John Middleton and completed in 1869.  In complete contrast to the surrounding stuccoed villas, Eastholme is built of red brick with purple brick banding and ashlar dressings around the windows and ... Read more
A pair of impressive semi-detached villas believed to have been built by Edward Billings and completed in 1838.  The very grand proportions have some delightful Neoclassical features.  In particular, the pairs of fluted Ionic columns on e... Read more
Built in 1835, Harwood House has a gracefully plain Regency frontage but a definite statement of a front entrance with steps up to a large covered portico.  The wide-panelled front door has sidelights and is flanked by two dramatic Ionic c... Read more
At the junction with Evesham Road you will see Evesham House, completed in 1833.  It’s neighbour, Little Evesham House was added as an extension to the original property in 1841.  The property was separated into a pair of semi-detached ... Read more
Continuing along Wellington Road you will pass a large villa built by John Gray and completed in 1832. It has a geometrically regular design marked off into six sections by undecorated pilasters and string courses.  Note the “bricked-in... Read more
Pittville Circus was not part of Pitt’s original estate but was designed and built by Edward Cope between 1850-70.  By this time Italianate styling was becoming popular due to the design of Osborne House, Queen Victoria’s home on the I... Read more
Another Edward Cope design in a Tudor-Gothic style.  The front entrance features repeated Gothic arches – in the shape of the fanlight, the y-shaped glazing bars, the panelled doors and the moulded stone frieze above.  Note also the dra... Read more
More Tudor-Gothic features, including decorative head stops on this attractive Gothic-influenced villa.  Looking up you will see the steeply pointed roof with decorative carved wooden bargeboards, in marked contrast to the concealed roof l... Read more
Another grand entrance in the Tudor-Gothic style.  Note also the rectangular drip moulds over the windows Continue round Pittville Circus to head back towards your starting point.
A pair of large semi-detached villas, one of which is now a hotel.  Completed by 1860, the villas display the shift to more Italianate styling during the middle Victorian period.  Of particular note are the “Venetian”-style windows wi... Read more
Noted in Pevsner and attributed to Edward Cope, Rothesay Mansions is a good demonstration of the competing influences in the early Victorian period.  It has an imposing façade combining a grand Neoclassical entrance and overall design wit... Read more
Perhaps the most surprising listed building in Pittville! You could easily walk past this stable tucked behind Southend House with the original coach house.  Note how the rear wall facing onto Albert Road has been designed to impress passe... Read more
Although Albert Road was part of John Forbes’s original plan for Pittville, many of the properties were built post-1860 and so are much more clearly Victorian in style.  Italianate features dominate as in no. 16, one of a handful built b... Read more
Another builder in the 1860s was Luke Baker who built several of the villas in Pittville Crescent.  No. 5, completed in 1866, has particularly finely decorated windows in the Italianate style. Return to continue along Albert Road.   ...
A slightly earlier property of Luke Baker’s, no. 28 has a stone balustrade and many fine and unusual stucco decorations including a Roman key-patterned frieze and unusual satyr heads over the ground floor windows. Continue along Albert Ro... Read more
Designed by Robert Stokes and completed in 1834, Lake House/Ravenhurst is a fine example of Neoclassical styling.  Although it doesn’t look like it, the property is actually two semi-detached villas, one of which is now divided into flat... Read more
Built by Edward Billings in 1840 and believed to have been designed by Pitt’s architect, John Forbes, Dorset Villa is the most flamboyant Greek Revival property in Pittville.  Its frontage represents a Greek Temple with a dramatic entabl... Read more
A surprising Gothic villa in the midst of all the Regency splendour of Pittville Lawn, Malden Court was designed by Rowland Paul & Sons and built by Henry Haines in 1838.  It has a steeply pitched roof with decoratively carved wooden b... Read more
A slightly earlier property completed by Henry Haines in 1835, Regency Lodge is a good example of Greek revival styling, as the side of the house has been kept window-free so as not to interrupt the temple façade that has been created. Not... Read more
One of two wonderful Palace-Fronted Neoclassical terraces designed by John Forbes to line Pittville Lawn.  Although the houses have been designed to look like one grand building they were actually all built by different builders.  The oth... Read more
Another grand villa with a particularly harmonious neoclassical frontage. Unusually in Pittville, it has used the most ornate classical order, with Corinthian capitals on both the main pillars and those supporting the entrance.  The ground... Read more
On this property, built by Thomas Cantell and completed in 1848, you can see the distinctive Regency form of a lower unit set back from the façade containing the front door.  This was designed to keep the entrance and passageway from inte... Read more
Before you return to your starting point at Pittville Gates, take a few moments to admire the wonderful decorative ironwork on this villa – both on the first-floor balcony where the anthemions and embellished rods design is derived from H... Read more

 

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