Cheltenham Town Hall is one of the most visited sites in Cheltenham and is within walking distance of many other attractions and the town centre. It regularly draws in visitors each year and many people look for property in the area too. If you are looking for a place to rent then take a look at http://www.meandyouestateagents.co.uk/ who are Letting Agents Cheltenham as they will be able to help you. Unlike many town halls it is a public venue rather than being the location in which the borough council operates from. In Cheltenham the council works from nearby municipal offices.
The Town Hall was built between 1902 and 1903 as a public assembly rooms where social gatherings and events could take place. This new building replaced the old Assembly Rooms which were located in the High Street, when this building was knocked down to make way for a bank to be built.
The site for the new building was chosen as a part of the Imperial Square constructions with the town hall being designed by Frederick Waller who was a Gloucester based architect and was built by Collins and Godfrey who were based in Cheltenham. The building and decorating costs totaled £45,000 which would have been an incredible amount of money back in the early part of the 20th Century. The building was formally opened by Sir Michael Beach who was an MP and an ex Chancellor of the Exchequer, on the 5th December 1903.
The main hall has a capacity of 1,000 people and measures around 28 metres by 16 metres. The corinthian columns and coved ceiling add some delicate but impressive decoration to the room and are spectacular to see. As well as the main hall there are a number of smaller rooms and immediately to the left of the entrance lobby the Central spa can be found. This gives waters from the pumps rooms across the whole of Cheltenham Spa.
Some of the decorative items were added after the main building works and these include the statues of Edward VII and George V that were added in 1916. These were both gifted to the town hall, one from Mr Whittaker and the other from the sculptors themselves – Messrs Boulton & Sons. The Organ was also a gift to the hall from Mr and Mrs Burrow. It was installed in 1928.
The town hall is a popular venue for people attending a variety of event such as wedding fairs, the Cheltenham Festival of Music and Dance along with a number of exhibitions, conferences and concerts and shows that are held at the venue each year. It is also one of the main location for the extremely popular Cheltenham Festival events.
Cheltenham beyond the Town Hall
The Town Hall is only one reason people come to Cheltenham. The town is known for its festivals, including music, jazz, science and literature events, and for the famous jump-racing festival at the racecourse, when visitors pour in from far and wide. Theatres and other venues host comedy, pantomime and dance, and the shopping streets, restaurants, pubs and bars keep it busy well into the evening.
Its history explains much of its character. Cheltenham began as a small Anglo-Saxon settlement around a church and remained modest for centuries, until the discovery of mineral springs turned it into a fashionable spa town. Visitors came to drink the waters for their supposed health benefits, which was far easier than travelling to the coast for sea air. The elegant Regency terraces, squares and gardens built for those visitors still give the town centre its distinctive look, and they remain one of its main attractions.
How Cheltenham grew into a spa town
It is hard to imagine now, but Cheltenham began as a tiny village in Saxon times. The Domesday Book of 1086 records a population of no more than two hundred people. Through the Middle Ages it stayed a small agricultural town, holding an annual fair that drew traders to buy local produce.
Everything changed early in the 18th century, when a spring was discovered just south of the town. Its waters were believed to cure all manner of illness. The spring’s owner, Henry Skillicorne, deepened it, planted a line of trees leading to the well and built the Assembly Rooms, where balls were held. More wells followed, and through the 18th and 19th centuries the town boomed.
Many of the buildings you pass on the way to the Town Hall date from this era. Visitors can still see the Pitville Pump Room, where the water once flowed from the springs, although it is no longer possible to drink it. Today the town is also known for its jump racing and its literature, jazz and science festivals.