Cheltenham Winter Garden
The flight of steps has been re-sited during changes to the landscape of Imperial Gardens, but it is, with a fragment of brick wall tucked away behind the Town Hall, all that remains of Cheltenham’s Winter Garden.
The Winter Garden opened in 1878. A local architect, J. T. Darby, designed it, and Central Iron Works at Lansdown provided the ironwork for the ambitious roof. The scheme also included gardens, tennis courts, and a bowling green. The continuing success of The Crystal Palace after its move to Sydenham inspired the construction of numerous winter gardens after 1870. Seaside and spa towns saw them as a way of extending their seasons into winter. Blackpool’s winter garden opened in the same year.
The Cheltenham plan was never a commercial success, and the owners sold it cheaply to the town council in 1895. From that point, the building is rarely mentioned – in the press or council discussions – without the epithet ‘white elephant’.
The building housed one of the country’s earliest roller-skating rinks. Other attractions included recitals, circuses, flower shows, exhibitions, and, from 1912, the Cinema de Luxe, ‘the most luxurious picture palace in the west of England’. Military band concerts on the outdoor bandstand were a regular summer attraction. During the First World War, H H Martyn and Co. made aeroplanes in the Winter Garden.
The abutting Town Hall opened in 1903, offering a better venue for musical and dramatic events. Maintenance costs were high as the enormous area of glass and metalwork aged. From the mid-1920s, the council searched for uses for the building or some modified version. A series of council committees suggested uses. In 1930, a £50,000 plan for a spa pumproom, a suite of medical baths, a lounge and a concert room was rejected, and the committee was asked to think again. By the mid-1930s, it was clear that the only sensible way forward was demolition and replacement. In 1935, a new building comprising a concert hall, sports area and art gallery was suggested. In early 1937, plans were said to be moving swiftly and that the new building would be ready in two years! Progress was halted by a critical report from the Ministry of Health, and the plan was abandoned as Europe moved towards war.
It was a slow death. In 1940, a plan to remove the dome and roof the remaining building with slate or asbestos was promoted if the building might be needed for war purposes or as a YMCA canteen, though the council refused to pay for any new roof. Demolition of the dome started but was delayed in April 1941 as the contractors went to new work arising from bomb damage. Indecision continued, and the issue was constantly referred to committees. All schemes were abandoned in mid-1942, and by October, most glass had been removed from the dome, though it did not finally disappear until February 1943. By August 1943, the site was cleared.
This was the culmination of almost fifty years of indecision. Various factors contributed to the delay. First, this period included two world wars and the Great Depression. Second, the decision-makers were never clear about whether they wished to retain or demolish the Winter Gardens. They were also unclear about the function of this or any replacement building. In the 1920s, there was a revival of interest in the town’s role as a spa resort, but there was also a desire for improved social and cultural facilities. To complicate matters further, from the turn of the century, the council were constantly aware of the need for a new home for the municipal offices.
The Winter Garden might have been a source of confusion and controversy in local government. However, press reports suggest that it was popular in the town and the cinema, concerts and stage productions were well attended.
