Numbers 1 To 19 And Attached Railings

Terrace of 19 houses and attached railings in Clarence Square, Cheltenham.

The terrace was built in two phases: Numbers 1 to 14 between 1834 and 1838, and Numbers 15 to 19 between 1847 and 1849. It forms part of the Pittville Estate, developed for Joseph Pitt from 1825 onwards, with the Square itself laid out in the late 1820s and named after the Duke of Clarence, who became William IV in 1830. The architect John Forbes designed the general layout of the estate.

The houses are constructed of stucco over brick, painted except for Number 19, with slate roofs and brick party-wall stacks. Iron first-floor balconies and railings are a distinctive feature. The terrace is principally three storeys with basements, although Numbers 9, 10 and 11 at the centre have four storeys.

The composition is articulated by a series of projecting sections. The central five houses (Numbers 8 to 12) break forward from the main frontage, and within these, the centre three project further still. These breakforwards are emphasised by Tuscan pilasters rising through the first and second floors, a continuous first-floor sill band, and a continuous frieze and cornice. Numbers 8 and 12 (the outer two of the centre group) have balustrades above; the remaining houses have a blocking course above the third floor or, in other sections, a frieze and cornice only.

The stucco detailing includes horizontal rustication to the ground floor, which is drawn into voussoirs over the windows. On Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11, the horizontal rustication defines a wide, shallow, cambered window recess.

The fenestration varies by floor. The first floor contains tall 6/6 sash windows (except Number 19, which has 20th-century French windows), all set in tooled architraves. There are 38 first-floor windows across the terrace, with two per house. The second floor has mainly 3/6, 6/6 and 8/8 sashes. The third floor contains 6/6 sashes. The basement level has 6/6, 8/8 and tripartite 8/8 windows between 2/2 sashes. The ground floor has 6/6 sashes with margin-light sashes to shallow recesses where original; otherwise sashes with cambered heads, mostly 6/6 with 2/2 side-lights.

The entrances comprise flights of roll-edged steps, located at the left on Numbers 1, 3, 8 and 9, and at the right for the remainder. Most doors are 4-panel with sidelights beneath overlights and cambered-arched lights, many featuring decorative glazing bars. Numbers 3, 4 and 5 have a web motif, while Numbers 5 and 6 display batwing and circle motifs. The rear elevations feature many 6/6, 6/6 with margin-lights, and 8/8 sashes. Most houses have a range to the rear.

The subsidiary ironwork features throughout include spearhead and lancet railings flanking the entrance steps. Number 10 has forecourt lancet railings with bars and dog-bars, and Number 17 has a balustrade with rod-and-circle motif. The continuous first-floor balconies have a scrolled lozenge motif, derived from L. N. Cottingham's design (plate 16). Numbers 17 and 19 have balusters with scroll borders cast by the Falkirk Iron Company. Number 18 has no balustrade. Number 14 features a ground-floor window box with scroll motif. Some houses retain boot-scrapers, and Number 4 has a window-guard at the rear.

Number 19 was inhabited by Charles Sturt, the Australian explorer, from 1863 to 1869.