Cheltenham is prime example of the most beautiful towns in England for viewing the Regency period design of architecture. It’s quite surprising to think that this town’s roots were as a few fields owned by Cirencester Abbey and then a village attached to a manor house as many settlements were in the Medieval period. This is one of the reasons why property is so sought after in this area. If you are searching on the internet and typing in Sell my property online in Cheltenham, save yourself some time and go straight to https://www.ocheltenham.co.uk who will be able to help you with anything you need.
There were two events that catapulted this village into the place it is today. The first was the discovery of spa water and the second was the visit of George the third (whose reputed madness was turned into a film) to sample them. This royal endorsement brought a lot of upper-class visitors to the growing village and they needed and expected to be housed in the smartest accommodation. They in turn brought money and the locals were soon able to make a profit and began to build that accommodation and their own house in the regency style.
The town is one of the few unspoilt regency architectural examples with much of Richard Adams work left on show and proudly maintained by the current inhabitants. The style itself lasted well beyond the reign of George the Third and fourth as it was very popular and made a big distinction between those who had money and those that did not. The style of regency is based very much of the tall towering three story town house with the use of Greek and Roman classical design influencing styles where fluted columns and Porticos adorn every entrance and window frame. Inside the home there is also a distinct style to be seen. Walls were covered in striped wall paper as opposed to paint. Silhouettes were also used of the family for posterity. To get an impression of the way this all looked was then a trip to the Holst Museum in Cheltenham. Just a walk up the street of Clarence road where it is located plus the surrounding streets leading up to Pittville park will show you a plethora of examples of the design.
This design has no set doctrine. In fact, it’s rather a simple side of techniques and guidelines. The idea of strict rigidity is ignored although there are some definite things to include if you were ever to compile a spotter’s guide. As we have discussed column and isosceles triangular porticos are a must but there should be a straight up flat frontage usually with a façade to define where the floors are from the outside. To define the front garden area, you need to look for some wrought iron black railings. These would have been specially designed and commissioned plus hands made by an artisan iron worker in the past but usually now have a more uniform style when used for modern buildings. It’s fair to say that the Regency style is still with us to this day especially in this picturesque town where it was never forgot.
