Bayshill Lodge (1 2 And 3) Ballroom Mews Arch To North West And Numbers 1 To 19 Rotunda Terrace

House, ballroom and mews arch with terrace of 19 shops, all now converted to shops, with attached railings to arch and ballroom, located in Cheltenham.

Built between 1844 and 1851, with numbers 1–5 completed by 1847. Architects were SW Daukes and J Hamilton of Gloucester; William Swain was the builder of numbers 1–5. The development comprises ashlar over brick with slate roof and iron railings attached to the arch. The plan is L-shaped with a bow at the angle.

The mews arch faces south and abuts the former ballroom. It is one storey with an attic and comprises 2 bays, with an elliptical facade that joins the 3-storey main block. The first part of the main block is Bayshill Lodge, presenting a 3-window front facing south. The south end of the main terrace facade faces east onto Montpellier Street and has a 3-window bow facing south. The main terrace features 28 first-floor windows arranged 3 (to bow):1:1:3:1:3:3:3:1:3:1:3:1:1. The arch has heavy chamfered imposts and tooling to the head with keystone, stepped plinth, crowning frieze, stepped cornice and surmounting shallow scroll and upshot.

The ballroom features horizontal rustication drawn into voussoirs over windows, 1/1 round-arched sashes with guilloche moulding to architraves and keystones to heads. The central round-arched entrance has 20th-century glazed doors and a tall fanlight with keystone. A modillion frieze and cornice on paired acanthus console brackets and low parapet surmount the entrance. The mansard roof set back features 6/6 sashes.

Bayshill Lodge has a central breakforward with a range to the right set further back. The first- and second-floor windows have tooled architraves; second-floor windows have sills on feet, otherwise plain reveals and sills. A first-floor band runs across. First floor has 2/2 sashes; second floor has 3/3 sashes. A frieze and modillion cornice crown the facade. The attic roof dormer has casements. The ground floor has an entrance at left with 20th-century glazed doors with cambered-arched overlight, and a further entrance to the right with an 8-fielded-panel door with overlight and pilasters, frieze and cornice.

The shops are arranged in single-window ranges that break forwards. The ashlar detailing includes ground-floor pilasters with horizontal rustication to breakforwards, whose cornices form part of the continuous cornice, surmounted to the first floor by rusticated pilasters. Paired Doric pilasters flank ground-floor shop fronts, with continuous frieze and cornice. A band and continuous moulded sill band, which is stepped below windows forming aprons, runs across. First-floor windows have tooled architraves, frieze and pediments. Second-floor windows have a moulded band and continuous moulded cornice with blocking course. All continuous bands ramp downwards at intervals. First floor features tall 2/2 horizontal-pane and 6/6 sashes in plain reveals; second floor has 3/3 sashes. Several 19th-century shop fronts survive: No. 7 has slender half-columnar modillions and a 4-panel part-glazed door with overlight; Nos 10 and 12 have 2/2 sashes with margin-lights between Doric pilasters; Nos 13, 17 and 18 have central entrances with double doors between 1/1 sashes, and to the right a tall 2-panel door with overlights; Nos 14 and 15 have 4-panel part-glazed doors with overlights. The bow at the angle has an off-centre entrance with 20th-century part-glazed door retaining a dentil frieze and divided overlight. The glass curves on section into the entrance with slender cylindrical mullions with shaped caps and bases, and a glazed frieze with stained glass. The rear retains many 6/6 sashes.

The interior retains original plasterwork and joinery in many cases, but has not been fully inspected. Spearhead railings abut the arch and ballroom.

The building forms part of the Bayshill Estate and was built on the site of Grove House. Montpellier Street was formerly known as Old Well Lane. Bayshill Lodge is reputed to have been built as a private dwelling, with the ballroom later added to the left abutting the mews arch. Rotunda Terrace was built as part of a concerted effort to create a purpose-built shopping area and is an outstanding example in a national context. No. 6 Rotunda Terrace was listed separately on 31 July 1970.