Longford House

Longford House is a villa, built around 1833 and subsequently altered, now divided into two dwellings. It is located in The Park, Cheltenham. The exterior is stucco over brick, with a hipped slate roof and tall brick stacks topped with cornices. Constructed in an Italianate style, the plan features a double-depth layout with a central hallway and a service range to the rear.

The house is two storeys high with a basement and attic, and has five first-floor windows arranged in a 1:3:1 configuration. The central section is raised and incorporates a two-storey bow window. Stucco detailing includes pilasters rising through the ground and first floors, a decorative frieze and cornice. Ground floor windows have tooled architraves, friezes, and cornices, with console brackets supporting those on the ground floor; the first-floor windows have pierced balconies. The bow window on the ground floor has a curved section with double doors within paired pilasters and cornices. The windows generally have 4/4 sashes with margin-lights, with tripartite windows on the ground floor incorporating 6/6 sashes between 2/2 sashes. First-floor windows are 6/6 sashes, while the bow window first floor features three tripartite windows with 6/6 sashes between 2/2 sashes, and a canopy. The attic windows consist of narrow casements to the outer bays and a 3/6 sash in the centre. Basement windows are 4/4 sashes. The rear elevation mirrors the front, with a bow window on the ground floor containing a tripartite curved section window.

The interior retains numerous original features, including an iron open-well staircase with alternate stick and embellished balusters and a wreathed handrail on each floor. A hall arch has sunk panels, and the doors are largely panelled. One room has an embellished cornice with a grape-pattern ceiling frieze, while another has an egg-and-dart cornice and a deep frieze with a scroll motif. The first floor retains two fireplaces with a circle motif. A conservatory with a blind box is located at the front of the first-floor bow.

The Park's layout dates back to 1833, created by Thomas Billings, initially including a zoological garden. Samuel Daukes acquired the estate in 1839 and continued development, influenced by schemes for Regent’s Park in London. Longford House is considered one of the earliest villas constructed in The Park.