Oriel Lodge

CHELTENHAM

SO9422SE ORIEL ROAD 630-1/13/602 (South side) 05/05/72 Oriel Lodge

GV II

Villa, now office. c1820-25 with later additions and alterations, including c1970s attic storey and range to rear. Architect: Edward Jenkins, the architect of St James's Church (qv), for Charles Timins, a retired E India Co sea captain. Stucco over brick with concealed roof and iron balcony. Picturesque Tudor Gothic style. Double depth plan with central hall and service range to rear. EXTERIOR: 2 storeys with attics (and with basements to returns), 3 first-floor windows. Ornamental crenellated front, with corner 'turrets' on octagonal 'buttresses' and gabled central breakforward with pinnacles with finials. Central tierceron vaulted porch has 3 columnettes and roll-moulding to head to 4-centre-arched opening, hollow-chamfered hoodmould with face stops; to sides of porch are 4-pane lights in pointed surrounds with cusped glazing bars to head and roll-moulded surrounds; 5 roll-edged steps to 4-centre-arched opening has 2 orders of arches on pilasters and hoodmould with headstops, within are part-glazed double doors with upper cusped lights and lower linenfold panels with quatrefoils, in architrave with fluted mock column clusters. Moulded first-floor band. Above porch a crenellated oriel window with 1:2:1 mullioned lights with multi-pane casements with pointed-arched glazing bars to heads and quatrefoils to aprons. Outer windows have 3-light mullion and transoms to ground floor and are 2-light mullion windows to first floor: multi-pane casements with pointed-arched glazing bars to heads, all in plain reveals and with hoodmoulds, those to ground floor with decorative aprons. Quatrefoil decoration to gable. Left return: 2 windows deep, similar fenestration with 2-light timber mullion and transom windows and hoodmoulds. Right return: 3 windows deep. 2 tall 2-light mullion and transom windows to ground floor and 2 to first floor; then similar 3-storey fenestration. INTERIOR: hallway has rib-vaulted ceiling on column clusters, central rose. Original joinery includes part-glazed doors with cusped lights and traceried panels below; windows have reeded architraves and fleurons to angles; panelled shutters with quatrefoil motifs. Open newel staircase has turned balusters and carved newel posts. Plasterwork remains, including to ground floor front rooms with acanthus cornice and scroll

ceiling frieze. SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: right return has balcony with embellished rods and quatrefoil panels. HISTORICAL NOTE: Probably Cheltenham's earliest 'Gothic' villa (with Priory Lawn, Priory Place (qv)). Shown on 1825 map. The demolished Cambray Spa, originally sited opposite, was designed in similar style. (The Buildings of England: Verey D: Gloucestershire: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: London: 1970-: 144; Sampson A and Blake S: A Cheltenham Companion: Cheltenham: 1993-: 90; Little B: Cheltenham: London: 1952-: 46).

Listing NGR: SO9493021992