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A Brief History of Cheltenham

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Cheltenham has been a health and holiday resort since the discovery of mineral springs there in 1716.

Regency houses, Georgian squares, parks, and gardens are all plentiful Cheltenham. The town has three famous schools for boys and one for girls as well as two teacher-training colleges. Cheltenham is also the site of an annual Festival of British Contemporary Music, a Festival of Literature, and several other cultural events.

Cheltenham is located on the edge of the Cotswolds and is generally regarded as respectable and wealthy. It has been a health and holiday spa town resort since the discovery of mineral springs there in 1716, although the local mineral water is no longer consumed, especially after the pipes connecting to the spring decayed in 2004. It is popular as a shopping centre (hence the introduction of allaboutCheltenham.com), and is home to the department store Cavendish House. It is particularly known for its private schools, Cheltenham College and Ladies' College. It is also home to the prestigious Pate's Grammar School.

Internationally, Cheltenham is probably best known for its horse racing. Cheltenham Racecourse, located on the outskirts of the town in the suburb of Prestbury, is the home of National Hunt, or jumps, racing in the UK. Meetings are hosted during the winter months (when the ground is soft enough for the horses to safely negotiate the fences) from November to April. The highlight of the season is the Cheltenham Gold Cup, which is normally held in the middle of March, during the Cheltenham Festival. This happy co-incidence (with St Patrick's Day) ensures that the town swells with an influx of Irish horseracing devotees.

The Town Hall, erected in 1902 to commemorate the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.	The Queens Hotel in Cheltenham, built in the mid-1830s in Regency style.
Probably the tallest mechanical clock in the world, in Regent Shopping Arcade. The distance from the duck to the fish is 45 feet.	"The Minotaur and the Hare" bronze on the pedestrianised part of the Promenade. Sculpted by Sophie Ryder in 1995
Statue of Edward Wilson in the town centre. Born Cheltenham 1872, died Antarctica 1912. The plinth reads: Edward Wilson of the British Antarctic Expedition reached the South Pole on January 17th 1912 and died with Captain Scott on the Great Ice Barrier in March 1912.