Entrance To Fullwood (Cheltenham And Gloucester College Of Higher Education)

The entrance to Fullwood, part of the Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education, consists of quadrant walls, railings, gates, and gate piers, dating from around 1890 to 1900, with later additions and alterations. It was likely commissioned by Mrs. Macknight Crawford of Lauriston Castle. The structure features dwarf walls topped with heavy iron railings. The central gate piers are connected by 20th-century gates (not included in this listing), and the quadrant walls are topped with railings at the outer piers, extending into a further stretch of wall approximately 5 meters long with railings on the right return and an end right pier. The gate piers are made of panelled ashlar and have modillion capping, which includes copper monograms. The low walls have chamfered copings, while the railings feature heavy spearhead caps and a frieze with a circular motif, with bars in two heights.

Historically, this entrance marks the site of the former 'Gloucestershire Zoological, Botanical and Horticultural Gardens,' which occupied the center of The Park. The Park was laid out by 1833 by Thomas Billings as an oval tree-lined drive with a central park that briefly served as a zoological garden in the mid-19th century. In 1839, Samuel Daukes acquired the development and continued its construction. The Park is influenced by the design schemes of White and Nash for Regent's Park in London, created between 1809 and 1811. The monograms on the gate piers likely relate to the Carmelite order of nuns that occupied the adjacent house, Fullwood, around 1920. The estate was transferred to St Mary's Training College in 1931 and is now part of the Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education. This entrance is an important part of the streetscape, contributing to a significant group of piers in The Park.