Media Enquiries
Cheltenham Civic SocietyCheltenham Civic Society
DonateJoin us
  • Welcome
  • Heritage hub
  • Events
    • Civic Day
    • Heritage Open Days
  • Planning
    • Planning Forum
  • Campaigns
    • Successful Streets
  • About us
    • The Trustees
    • History
    • Join us
    • Corporate membership
  • News
    • Newsletters
  • Downloads
DonateJoin us

Circumspice 12: answer to mini-quiz item in the autumn edition of OurTown

Posted on 29 Aug at 11:17 am
An aerial view of Cheltenham gas works in 1938.

This building was a DW Sports shop and will soon be the JD Gyms building at the junction of Honeybourne Way and Gloucester Road. The circular footprint of the building was necessary because it was constructed on the very deep footings of a gasometer. The storage tanks of gasometers – or gasholders – floated on a brick-encased body of water that might be 10 meters deep.

A view of Cheltenham gas works from Gloucester Road – taken early last century.

Cheltenham Gas Works had been between Tewkesbury and Gloucester Roads since 1825. The gasworks expanded over the years, adding new buildings, retort houses and gasholders to meet the growing demand for gas. The Gloucester and Cheltenham Tramroad and, later, a branch from the main line brought coal from the docks and took away coke and tar. The gasworks were one of the most prominent features of the town’s landscape, visible from the air and from nearby hills.

The works were decommissioned in 1971, but the site wasn’t cleared until the early 1990s. The late nineteenth-century office building and much of the retaining wall were spared and are now Grade II listed. The site of our gasometer fell outside the land allocated for the Tesco supermarket and car park.

The loss of the nation’s gasometers has changed our townscapes. They had a dramatic presence despite their emptiness. But our view of gasometers has changed over the last twenty years, with a growing interest in repurposing – rather than demolishing – redundant industrial buildings. Gasometers on the Coal Drops Yard development at Kings Cross have become blocks of flats and an urban park. A similar plan is afoot in Bethnal Green. There are many similar schemes around the world. If our gasometer had survived, who knows, it might now encircle a high-tech hub.

The South London connection? The gasometers at The Oval are probably the most famous group of all, but even they have been under threat.

The circular gym building as it is today.
Previous Post
Civic Society supports the planning refusal to allow 131 Promenade to keep its tents

Civic Society supports the planning refusal to allow 131 Promenade to keep its tents

18 Aug at 3:52 pm

New ‘Uncivic’ award category included in the biennial 2023 Civic Awards – now open for nominations

16 Aug at 5:07 pm

Cambray Place – how long will it last?

26 Jul at 2:46 pm

40% more to see and visit in this year’s Heritage Open Days festival

21 Jul at 8:16 am

£450,000 fundraising campaign for Parmoor ‘Heritage Hub’ launched

18 Jul at 5:05 pm

Archives

Corporate Members

Savills
Cheltenham Ladies' College
Willans LLP Solicitors
Everyman Theatre Cheltenham
Crowe
Leckhampton Group logo
Cape Homes
County To County
Bence Builders Merchants
University of Gloucestershire

The Society welcomes new Corporate Members – see our Corporate Membership page

Cheltenham Civic Society is affiliated to Civic Voice, the national organisation for the civic movement in England.

Cheltenham Civic Society
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Achievements

  • The Gordon Lamp
  • The Holst Statue
  • The Montpellier Bandstand
  • The Battlefield Crosses

Archives

  • AGM and Trustees’ Minutes
  • Planning Forum Minutes
  • Newsletters
  • E-Bulletins

Plaques & Awards

  • Commemorative Plaques
  • Civic Awards
  • Civic Awards Nominations
  • Previous Awards

Parmoor | 26 Cambray Place | Cheltenham | GL50 1JN

© 2023 Cheltenham Civic Society | Affiliated to Civic Voice | Registered Charity No. 1166580

Policies

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. If you continue to use this site, you agree with it. Privacy Policy