Numbers 54 And 56 With Attached Walls And Piers And Attached Railings To Number 54

Numbers 54 and 56 are a pair of semi-detached villas built between 1838 and 1839 by builder Abraham Tyler, who constructed many houses in the Pittville area of Cheltenham. The villas are made of stucco over brick and feature a hipped slate roof with a brick and stucco party-wall stack, as well as an iron verandah.

The exterior consists of two storeys above a basement, with six first-floor windows. The first floor retains shutter latches and has been fitted with new Venetian shutters. Stucco detailing includes a band on the first floor that is supported by three Doric pilasters between the central windows. The windows are 6/6 sashes set in plain reveals with sills. Each villa has an entrance with a flight of steps leading to a 5-panel door, where the upper panels are raised and fielded, and the lower panels are flush, accompanied by side-lights and divided overlights. The eaves are wide, and at the rear, No. 56 has a three-storey, single-bay range.

The continuous verandah features an X-and-circle motif on the uprights and an openwork frieze. The ground floor window boxes have an X-motif, and the area railings to the left also feature an X-motif along with arrowhead boundary railings topped with urn finials. The walls, approximately 2 meters high, extend to the end of each house and have shared piers that connect to Nos. 52 and 58.

These villas were built as part of the development of the area initiated by Joseph Pitt between 1835 and 1842, with the overall layout designed by architect John Forbes. They are shown on Merrett's 1834 Map and are part of a group of semi-detached villas that includes Nos. 34-60 on Prestbury Road.