Day 179 - It's the Pittsville

Cheltenham Town Hall

A Saturday morning, with brilliant sunshine and a bus ride to Cheltenham to visit with a PhD candidate, Andy. While we waited for the pub to open where we were to meet him, Ange and I took the opportunity to discover more of the town. Our previous visit to Cheltenham was also to meet with Andy and we spent most of that day in the Montpellier section, which is on the south side. This time we chose a location nearer to the centre of town. 

We may have mentioned this in the previous blog, but Cheltenham is famous for its Regency architecture of the Georgian period (18th and early 19th century). One of the sites we visited was the Town Hall. Purpose-built in 1903 to host the town's social events, the hall can hold 1,000 people and there is a central spa within it.  Cheltenham is known for its mineral water springs and the central spa is connected to all the pump rooms in that part of town.

Today the town is known more for its horse racing than as a place to go and soak. Having said that, our walk today took us past the Cheltenham Lido, where on this day lots of kids and some adults were swimming outside! On April 14th!

Back of the Swan

Pittville Pumphouse

After a delightful lunch in the back garden at the Swan Pub, Andy suggested that Ange and I walk to Pittville Park at the north end of town.  This park contains the famous Pittville Pumphouse, which was completed in 1830 as part of a larger development by Joseph Pitt, a lawyer and property developer who envisioned a grand community of large homes, with lakes and open green spaces. 

The pumphouse was seen as a part of the recreational benefits exclusively associated with living in Pitt's development.  He originally sought to build up to 600 homes, but in the end only about half were built.

Within the green space there are amusement rides and aviaries, but the pumphouse is the most significant feature of the development. It was the last spa to be built in the town and it was also the largest. But the novelty of what Pitt had built faded, and eventually he filed for bankruptcy.

In the early 20th century, the park and pumphouse were taken on by Cheltenham town council and maintained as a park. Today, some of the original homes remain, splendid in their grandeur, while others have long since fallen into decay and are now replaced by high rise multi-residential buildings. As for the pumphouse, it's no longer active as a spa, but it does continue to host special events and is used as a concert hall.

 Ale of the Day: Boondoggle, Ringwood Brewery, Ringwood, Hampshire