Faithfull House (Central And Southern Parts) And Attached Railings

CHELTENHAM

SO9421NE SUFFOLK SQUARE 630-1/18/876 (East side) 12/03/55 Faithfull House (central and southern parts) and attached railings (Formerly Listed as: SUFFOLK SQUARE (East side) Faithfull House (Northern portion)) (Formerly Listed as: SUFFOLK SQUARE (East side) Faithfull House (south))

GV II

Terrace of 4 houses, now residential home, and attached railings. c1840s. Probably by Edward Jenkins for developer James Fisher. Stucco over brick with slate roof, end and ridge stacks; iron area railings and balcony. EXTERIOR: 3 storeys on basement, 14 first-floor windows (arranged 1:6:1:6). The 6-window ranges break forwards and are articulated to either side of end windows by Doric pilasters through first and second floors surmounted by dentil entablature to each breakforward; third floor has Doric pilasters above main pilasters and entablature; continuous crowning blocking course and copings. Ground floor has rustication, drawn into voussoirs over openings. Ground floor has round-arched 2/2 sashes with roll-moulded surrounds and chamfered sills. Otherwise 2/2 horizontal-pane sashes, those to first and second floors of breakforwards have tooled architraves, those to ground floor with cornice, those to left part on consoles, otherwise floating. Basements have 6/6 sashes. Paired entrances: some now blocked and with sashes. To left: flight of 4 steps to 4-panel door with margin-lights and segmental-arched overlight (and to blocked entrance); entrances to right now under C20 porch, flight of roll-edged steps to 4-panel part-glazed door, 2 overlights. INTERIOR: some modification to interior but retaining many original features including plasterwork with egg-and-dart cornices, and modillion cornices, grape ceiling friezes; some fireplaces; original joinery includes 3 remaining narrow-open-well staircases with embellished rods and lion's paw newels. Otherwise not inspected. SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: breakforwards each have balconies with embellished Vitruvian scroll motif after LN Cottingham,

similar to those on Royal Parade, Bayshill Road (qv). Area railings have scrolled lozenge and stick motifs, some reset. HISTORICAL NOTE: Suffolk Square occupies land bought by the Earl of Suffolk from the de la Bere's, on which he built Suffolk House for his own residence; his daughter later sold much of the land, on which Suffolk Square now stands. The Square is shown as planned but not complete on the Post Office Map of 1820. Part of a distinguished group of buildings in Suffolk Square. Residential home includes Faithfull House (northern part) (qv). (Chatwin A: Cheltenham's Ornamental Ironwork: Cheltenham: 1975-1984: 46; Merrett HS: Plan of the Town of Cheltenham: 1834-; Blake S: Notes).

Listing NGR: SO9453121537