CHELTENHAM
Cheltenham stands close to the steep, north-west face of the Cotswold Hills, and until the springs were discovered in 1716 it was but a struggling hamlet. It is now an aggregation of imposing squares, crescents, promenades, and villas, interspersed with beautiful parks. As may be expected, there are few antiquities to be found in a town of such mushroom growth, the only exception being the Parish Church of St. Mary, standing just off the High Street. The prevailing style of the building is early Decorated, and it contains a piscina believed to be one of the largest and most perfect in England. To those interested in modern architecture the Church of St. Stephen may be mentioned, but All Saints', the parish church of Pittville, is the best modern expression of architectural ideals in Cheltenham, although the Roman Catholic Church of St. Gregory is a formidable rival. The public buildings are on a level with the importance of the town. The merits and uses of the chalybeate and other waters are easily discovered locally, and no one who remembers the oft-repeated epitaph of the individual who with three daughters 'died from drinking the Cheltenham waters' should be prejudiced against their good properties, which for certain ailments are not to be despised. Cheltenham is a famous educational centre for girls, and Gloucestershire, as a whole, has been in the van in educational matters from quite early times.
Cheltenham is the 'Coltham' in 'John Halifax, Gentleman,' where John and Phineas saw Mrs. Siddons act.
The road to Oxford from Cheltenham crosses the beautiful Cotswolds, climbing up to 800 feet at the Puesdown Inn. From this point there are wide expanses visible in nearly every direction; but such views do not give one the real charm of the Cotswolds. To become intimate with the exquisite valleys and secluded upland villages, one must be in a mood to potter and loiter, and be content to desert the car at intervals in order to plunge into some beautiful beech-wood, falling steeply down a declivity, and revealing glimpses between the tall smooth trunks of the Vale of Severn, or some sleepy hollow wherein a silver-grey village nestles. The beautiful architecture of the Cotswolds, in conjunction with its lovely scenery, is a joy to all who know these oolite hills. Cottages, farms, mills, and manor-houses, all with steep roofs of grey stone like the walls, stately gables, mullioned windows, and picturesque chimneys, are all one can desire.
Even if there is no time to wander from the direct road, one cannot avoid seeing an exceedingly pleasing little Cotswold town. This is
NORTHLEACH,
a place of some importance when the woollen industry of these hills was flourishing. There is a subtle charm in the greyness of the old houses, relieved by the dark green of yew and the lighter tones of deciduous trees and grass banks here and there. The quaint little shops add other touches of colour, and wherever one turns there are pictures of simple Cotswold life, not much altered by the rapid changes of recent years. The old fellow standing meditatively by the churchyard gate may talk of the great changes since his youth, when the cloth industry had not ebbed away from the hills, but to outward appearances Northleach is, one suspects, little altered since the days of our great-grandparents, if, indeed, anything has materially changed the town since the beautiful Perpendicular church was put up. The date of its building was about the year 1489, when Cotswold wool was one of the chief industries of England. One may admire the embattled spire and the graceful delicacy of the whole building, but it is by its porch that one remembers Northleach Church. It is illustrated here; but, good as the drawing is, it does not do justice to the wonderful beauty of that noble piece of Perpendicular craftsmanship surmounted by its parvise.
On the floor of the nave are a series of brasses to the memory of some of the most successful of the wool-merchants of the town. They belong to the fifteenth century, and are exceptionally fine examples of brasses of the period, giving the details of costume with the greatest faithfulness. It is pleasant to find that the wealthy men of the Cotswold wool industry seem to have devoted their surplus riches to such public works as schools, almshouses, and churches.
At Northleach the Roman Foss Way is crossed coming from Cirencester in a north-easterly direction.