Numbers 1 To 9 And Attached Area Railings

Numbers 1 to 9 form a terrace of nine houses with attached area railings, built between 1839 and 1846 by William Swain. The houses are constructed of ashlar facing brick, with a concealed double-pitch roof and iron window guards, verandahs, and railings. They are planned on a double-depth layout, incorporating side stairhalls and service ranges to the rear.

The houses are three storeys high with a basement, each fronting with three first-floor windows. Number 1 breaks forward, featuring four three-quarter Corinthian columns spanning the first and second floors, with a further breakforward at Number 6. A crowning architrave, frieze, and dentil cornice top the facade. The ground floor exhibits horizontal rustication, drawing the brickwork into voussoirs over round-arched openings. Original windows are predominantly 6/6 sashes, taller on the first floor, with ground-floor windows mostly being 3/6 and 2/2 sashes, often incorporating radial glazing to the heads. Flights of five steps, with roll edges where original, lead to round-arched entrances featuring 2- and 4-long-fielded-panel doors with side-lights and fanlights, some with radial glazing bars. The left-hand return displays a four-window range of mainly blind openings, while the basement windows are 8/8 and 6/6 sashes. The rear elevation retains numerous 6/6 and 8/8 sashes.

Internally, the houses retain original joinery, including panelled reveals and window shutters. Most also have dogleg staircases with wreathed handrails and stick balusters. Sir Arthur T Harris, Marshall of the RAF and Chief Bomber Command during the Second World War, was born at Number 3 in 1892. The first-floor window guards of Number 1 incorporate an anthemion motif, derived from a design by Henry Shaw. The verandah balustrades feature a double-heart-and-anthemion motif, sourced from the Carron Company – representing some of the latest examples in Cheltenham – with embellished lozenge detailing to the uprights and an openwork frieze. The area railings are mainly from the Carron Company with a heart-and-anthemion design, although those on the left side have flattened spearheads instead. The terrace sits on rising ground with a prominent position and a fine view, close to the Montpellier Spa, the hub of social activity in the 1840s. The two end houses (Number 10, excluded from this listing) were converted into flats circa the 1980s to create a symmetrical appearance.