Belgrave House with attached railings and pier

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SO9422SE 630-1/13/420

CHELTENHAM IMPERIAL SQUARE (North side) Belgrave House with attached railings and pier

12/03/55

GV II Boarding house, now restaurant with attached railings and pier. c1820-34. Stucco over brick with concealed roof with iron railings and window box; renewed ashlar pier.

PLAN: central hallway with curved rooms to right; irregular entrance facade.

EXTERIOR: three storeys, on basement, two first floor windows, with one-and-a-half storey outshut added to right. Stucco detailing includes paired Ionic pilasters to right end; first floor band; continuous crowning architrave with blocking course, raised to centre as feature with two stacks. Entrance: flight of horseshoe steps to off-centre left entrance in tetrastyle Ionic porch with entablature and solid balcony over; double six-panel doors, overlight has margin glazing with coloured glass; left return of porch has four/four sash. First floor has eight/eight sash above porch and six/six sash to right. Entrance to basement to left of porch. Right return has full-height bow with central break forward. Ground floor has tripartite 6/6 between two/two sash; six/six first-floor sash; eight/eight basement sash; all curved on section.

INTERIOR: retains many original features including plasterwork and joinery: ground floor has deep acanthus frieze with scroll motif to ceiling and central rose; egg-and-dart cornices; dogleg staircase with rod and bobbin balusters and wreathed handrail with embellished tread ends, to first floor the staircase has run-out handrail with lion's paw to foot; four-panel doors; hallway has Coalbrookdale tile floor.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: spearhead railings abut at right with gate to forecourt with renewed rusticated pier with pineapple finial to return. Further spearhead railings to sides of steps and panelled balustrade with lozenge scrolls. Ground floor window box to bow has scrolls.

HISTORICAL NOTE: villa shown on Merrett's Map of 1834, indicating that this was originally a single build with Nos 108-118 Promenade (qv) with which it forms a good group. Rowe in his Guide to Cheltenham (written in 1845 but published in 1850) refers to this building as Mesdames Haydon and Shaw's Boarding House', noting,the internal accommodations are on the best scale'.

Listing NGR: SO9472922147