Cheltenham (or Cheltenham Spa) is a spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, England, near Gloucester and Cirencester. The town has a population of 110,013 (2001 census) and the people of the town are known as "Cheltonians". The town motto is: Salubritas et Eruditio ("Health and Education").

The town is located on the edge of the Cotswolds and has an image nationally of being 'respectable' and wealthy or, simply, posh. Cheltenham has been a health and holiday spa town resort since the discovery of mineral springs there in 1716. The town is famous for its Regency architecture and is said to be "the most complete regency town in England". The small River Chelt flows under and through the town.

Cheltenham is well known for being the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horseracing, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Cheltenham Town football club and Cheltenham Ladies' College. The town hosts several festivals of culture, principally the annual Cheltenham Festival of Literature.

On April 1, 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the existing borough of Cheltenham was merged with Charlton Kings urban district to form the modern non-metropolitan district of Cheltenham. Four parishes - Swindon, Up Hatherley, Leckhampton and Prestbury - were added to the borough of Cheltenham from the borough of Tewkesbury in 1991 <ref>The Gloucestershire (District Boundaries) Order 1991</ref>.

1 Outline
2 Notable Cheltonians
3 Gallery
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Outline

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[edit] Education

In accordance with the "Eruditio" part of its motto, Cheltenham is a major centre for education, including Cheltenham Ladies' College, Pate's Grammar School, St. Edward's School, Dean Close School, Cheltenham College, and the main campuses of the University of Gloucestershire.

[edit] Festivals

Cheltenham holds music, jazz, folk, literary and science festivals every year, most significantly the Cheltenham Music Festival, founded in 1945 and now in its sixth decade. Events take place at the Town Hall, the Everyman Theatre, and the Pittville Pump Room. Additionally, Greenbelt, a Christian arts and music festival, is held at Cheltenham Racecourse.

[edit] Sport

Internationally, Cheltenham is well known for its horse racing. Cheltenham Racecourse, located 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 local football team is Cheltenham Town F.C., who have recently enjoyed moderate success in the football league, gaining promotion to League One.

There are several well known amateur rugby clubs including Cheltenham RFC, Cheltenham North RFC, Old Patesians RFC, and Cheltenham Saracens RFC.

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[edit] Shopping and nightlife

Cheltenham is a popular regional shopping centre, home to several department stores, including Cavendish House, part of the House of Fraser chain, and arcades including the Regent Arcade and the Beechwood Arcade. The old Flowers brewery site has recently been converted into a leisure quarter, "The Brewery", with gym, multiplex cinema, bingo and numerous restaurants and bars. Although not noted nationally for its nightlife, the town also serves as a regional nightlife centre, attracting up to 30,000 people at the weekends (council figures). When the new licensing laws were introduced, The Times ran an article that stated Cheltenham had more late licensed venues per capita, than anywhere else in the country.

[edit] Major employers

Cheltenham has a number of light industries, including food processing, aerospace, electronics and tourism. The British government's electronic surveillance operation GCHQ, renowned for its "doughnut-shape" building, is located in Cheltenham. Cheltenham is also home to Chelsea Building Society, Endsleigh Insurance, UCAS (Universities & Colleges Admissions Service), Kohler Mira, Cheltenham and Gloucester, Zurich Financial Services, and the UK headquarters of Kraft Foods.

[edit] Railway

Cheltenham Spa railway station is located on the main Bristol-Birmingham line, giving connections to Gloucester, Bristol, Swindon, London Paddington, Plymouth and the South West, Birmingham, Derby, the North West, the North East and Scotland.

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The Cheltenham Spa Express, once known as the "Cheltenham Flyer", is a named passenger train, connecting Cheltenham with London.

In addition, a restored station at Cheltenham racecourse is the south terminus for the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway preserved railway.

[edit] Churches

St Mary's Church - the original church of the town and the only surviving mediaeval building.
St Matthew's Church - now a combined parish with St Mary's.
All Saints' Church - This is not only a church with a very fine musical tradition - Solemn High Mass on Sundays - but also one of the most elaborate and beautiful in the whole of the British Isles.^{[citation needed]} Gustav Holst was a Chorister at All Saints; his father, Adolph von Holst, was Organist and Master of the Choristers. Like Christ Church (below), it is a must for church-crawlers.
Christ Church
St Paul's Church
St Luke's Church
Trinity Church - one of the largest Anglican churches outside London.
St Mark's - now the West Cheltenham Team Ministry

[edit] Twin Towns

Cheltenham is twinned with the following towns:

The town also has 'Friendship' status with:

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[edit] Districts of Cheltenham

The districts of Cheltenham include Benhall, Charlton Kings, Fairview, Hesters Way, Leckhampton, Montpellier, Pittville, Prestbury, The Reddings, Rowanfield, St Marks, St Paul's, Swindon Village, Up Hatherley, Whaddon and Wymans Brook.

[edit] Notable Cheltonians

Notable people from Cheltenham include:

Duncan Gordon Boyes, VC
Dorothea Beale, former headmistress of Cheltenham Ladies' College
Jaz Coleman, lead singer of Killing Joke
Sir George Dowty, founder of Dowty Rotol
Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards, Olympic ski-jumper
James Elroy Flecker, poet
Arthur 'Bomber' Harris, commander of Bomber Command
Robert Hardy, actor
Gustav Holst, composer
Charles Irving, MP during the 1980s
Martin Jarvis, actor
Edward Jenner, the inventor of vaccination
Brian Jones, one of the Rolling Stones
Nigel Jones, Baron Jones of Cheltenham, and former MP for Cheltenham
John Nevil Maskelyne, magician and inventor of the pay toilet
William Murray, creator of the Ladybird Books Key Words Reading Scheme
Richard O'Brien, of the Rocky Horror Show
Richard Pate, founder of Pate's Grammar School
Zara Phillips, British royal, equestrian medal winner
Ralph Richardson, actor
John Simpson, lexicographer
Kate Thornton, journalist and television presenter
Transit Cop, Indie band
Edward Adrian Wilson, explorer who joined Scott on his ill-fated Antarctic Expedition

[edit] Gallery

The Minotaur and the Hare” bronze on the Promenade. Sculpted by Sophie Ryder in 1995.

Cheltenham, looking north west from Leckhampton Hill

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Following the Cotswold Way
Towards Bath	Towards Chipping Campden
16km (10 miles) to Leckhampton, from White's Barn	13.5km (8 miles) to Winchcombe, from White's Barn

Districts of South West England	Image:Flag of England.svg
Bath and North East Somerset \| Bournemouth \| Bristol \| Caradon \| Carrick \| Cheltenham \| Christchurch \| Cotswold \| East Devon \| East Dorset \| Exeter \| Forest of Dean \| Gloucester \| Isles of Scilly \| Kennet \| Kerrier \| Mendip \| Mid Devon \| North Cornwall \| North Devon \| North Dorset \| North Somerset \| North Wiltshire \| Penwith \| Plymouth \| Poole \| Purbeck \| Restormel \| Salisbury \| Sedgemoor \| South Gloucestershire \| South Hams \| South Somerset \| Stroud \| Swindon \| Taunton Deane \| Teignbridge \| Tewkesbury \| Torbay \| Torridge \| West Devon \| West Dorset \| West Somerset \| West Wiltshire \| Weymouth and Portland
Counties with multiple districts: Cornwall - Devon - Dorset - Gloucestershire - Somerset - Wiltshire