Cirencester: the Development and Buildings of a Cotswold Town 9780904531121, 9781407317410

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Cirencester: the Development and Buildings of a Cotswold Town Richard Reece &

Christopher Catling

British Archaeological Reports I 2 1 975

British Archaeological Reports r22

Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 78P, England GENERAL EDITORS

A.C.C. Brodribb; M.A. Mrs. Y.M. Hands

A.R. Hands, B.Sc., M.A., D.Phil. D.R. Walker, B.A. ADVISORY EDITORS

Neil Cossons, M.A., F.S.A., F.M.A. C.B. Burgess, M.A. Professor B.W. Cunliffe, M.A., Ph.D., F.S.A. Sonia Chadwick Hawkes, B.A., M.A., F.S.A. Professor G.D.B. Jones, M.A., D.Phil., F.S.A. Frances Lynch, M.A., F.S.A. P.A. Mellars, M.A., Ph.D. P.A. Rahtz, M.A. , F.S.A.

B.A.R. 12, 1975; "Cirencester: Buildings of a Cotswold Town". Christopher Catling, 1975.

the Development and © Richard Reece and

The authors’ moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780904531121 paperback ISBN 9781407317410 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780904531121 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com

PREFACE T his r eport i s t he r esult o f a s urvey which we carried out f or f ive weeks i n August a nd S eptember, 1 974. Before we a ctually s tarted work we h ad f ound t he r elevant maps a nd o btained c opies o f t hem, a nd we b oth had t he a dvantage o f l iving i n C irencester. Apart f rom t his a ll t he work o f t he s urvey was carried o ut by two p eople working a f ull e ight h our d ay, s ix d ays a week f or e xactly f ive weeks. F inancial h elp f or materials, c opies o f maps, t ravel, a nd e xpenses d uring a nd a fter t he a ctual work came f rom t he R ussell T rust, t he Bristol a nd G loucestershire Archaeological S ociety a nd t he C irencester Archaeological a nd H istorical S ociety. The t otal budget was £ 305. M ark W ebber a nd M ike W eir g ave u s h elp over o btaining maps, a nd t he G loucestershire C ounty R ecord O ffice a nd t he B ingham Public L ibrary g ave us much h elp a nd a ccess t o books a nd r ecords. A s s oon a s work o n t he manuscript was c omplete L ynda G reenwood r educed a variety o f i llegible n otes t o a n orderly t ypescript a nd Bob Downey prepared a ll our d rawings f or publication. Our photog raphs were h anded o ver t o J ulian Munby a nd Hugh T oller who p roduced t he prints, a nd J ulian Munby mounted t he p lates. Peter Dorrell a nd G eoffrey D enford r educed t he d rawings t o t he c orrect s ize, a nd David W ilkinson produced t he d rawing o f 5 1 C oxwell S treet f or t he f rontispiece. The project h as n ot b een r ationalised a s part o f a g radiloquent d esign, or u ndertaken a s a s ection o f a nationwide s urvey. I t i s n othing t o d o w ith a ny l earned s ociety or s tatutory b ody. When we were l ooking a t t he buildings, o ne by o ne, we were m istaken e ither f or s anitary i nspectors, l ighting e ngineers, o r i nvestigators o f a R oyal C ommission o n H istorical M onuments. I t i s sad t hat n o o ne a ssumed what was i n f act t he c ase, t hat we were d oing t he s urvey b ecause we wanted t o. This has a ll b een b etter s aid b efore by S amuel Rudder i n t he preface t o t he s econd e dition o f h is H istory o f C irencester ( Cirencester 1 800) a nd we l et h im s peak f or u s: I n a multifarious u ndertaking, embracing s o many s ubjects, p erfection i s n ot t o b e e xpected; but w e c an t ruly s ay, t hat n othing i s w ilfully m isrep resented; a nd i f a t a ny t ime we s hould be f ound t ripping, t he candid r eader w ill be m indful t hat t o e rr i s t he c ommon f ailing o f human nature, f rom which n o mortal i s e xempt. There s eems t o b e n o g reat o ccasion t o d eclare our m otives t o publication; but s ince o thers have d one s o we have n o o bjection t o f ollow t heir e xample. Let i t s uffice, t hen, t o s ay t hat having c ollected materials, a nd a rranged t hem i n s ome o rder f or o ur own amusement, we f eel a c ertain g ratification i n c ommunicating t o o thers t he i nformation which has

g iven u s s ome p leasure i n c ollecting; a nd t hat g ratification w ill b e f urther h eightened, i n p roportion a s t he r eader may b e r ationally e ntert ained, a nd a s o ur e ndeavours may f ind a f avourable r eception. J anuary 1 6th, 1 800" T o a ll o ur f riends a nd c olleagues, named a nd u n-named who h ave h elped u s s o w illingly a nd s peedily we g ive o ur b est t hanks, a nd h ope t hat t hey f ind i t w orthwhile.

C irencester,

November

1 974.

CONTENTS Page 1

I ntroduction The Early Background Post-Medieval

C irencester

The G rowth o f

t he modern

Past, The

The

present,

a nd

f uture

3 1 5 t own

2 0 2 8

S urvey Aims

3 5

Definitions

3 5

S ources

3 5

Methods

3 8

Summary

3 9

Buildings Medieval

4 2

S tyle

I

4 2

S tyle

I I

4 5

S tyle

I II

4 5

S tyle

IV

4 7

S tyle V

4 9

S tyle V I

5 1

S tyle V II

5 4

S tyle V III

5 7

S tyle

5 8

I X

S tyle X

6 1

I ndex of Buildings

6 5

Plates

7 9

L IST O F

I LLUSTRATIONS Page

F IGURES F rontispiece

f acing p .

1

1 .

C irencester:

t he s ite a nd Roman Roads

4

2 .

C irencester:

C orinium,

7

3 .

C irencester:

t he m ediaeval Parish

4 .

C irencester:

f rom Roman t o mediaeval

5 .

C irencester

i n t he

1 5th c entury

1 2

6 .

C irencester

i n t he

1 7th c entury

1 8

7 .

C irencester

i n t he

1 8th c entury

2 1

8 .

C irencester

i n t he early

9 .

C irencester:

t he g rowth o f

1 0.

C irencester:

D iagram o f building f eatures

6 4

1 1.

C irencester:

s treet p lan

6 6

t he Roman plan

1 0 t own

1 9th c entury

1 1

2 2

t he modern t own

2 4

PLATES I -IX

a fter p .

7 8

I NTRODUCTION This i s a d etailed s tudy o f o ne a spect o f t he g rowth , and d evelopment o f a small modern market t own. This market t own, C irencester, i s n ow a c ommunity o f s ome t en t o twenty , thousand p eople d epending where y ou d raw t he b oundaries, a nd which v illages y ou take a s f orming a part of t he whole. I t l ies i n a s outh e ast c orner o f G loucestershire o n t he d ip s lope o f t he C otswold h ills w ith t he c ounty boundary with W iltshire a f ew m iles t o t he s outh a nd e ast. R oman C irencester, C orinium Dobunnorum, was a v ery much more i mportant t own r anking a lways a s a C ivitas capital, a nd, a t t imes a s t he c apital o f a R oman Province. S econd o nly i n d efended a rea t o L ondon i t bears c omparison w ith a ny o ther c ity i n R oman B ritain a nd, i n t he f ourth c entury, has f ew c ompetitors i n s ize a nd s ophistication n orth o f t he A lps. The t itle C ivitas c apital i s i nteresting f or i t c ompares well w ith t he position o f C irencester i n postRoman t imes. • A t t he R oman c onquest t he c ountry was d ivided u p i nto t ribal g roupings f or e ase of g overnment, t ax c ollection, a nd g eneral c ontrol. T he t ribe i n t his part o f t he c ountry, the Dobunni, h ad a c entre a t Bagendon; t he R oman r e-organis ation moved t his c entre t o C irencester. A l arge t own was marked o ut t o a ct a s t he c entre of a t ribal a rea whose extent i s n ot k nown i n d etail but which s eems t o s tretch west, o ver t he S evern i nto the F orest o f Dean a nd Herefords hire, n orth i nto Worcestershire, east i nto Oxfordshire a nd B erkshire, a nd s outh i nto W iltshire a nd t owards Bath. This was t he C ivitas o f t he Dobunni a nd Corinium was i ts c entre. A fter t he e nd o f t he Roman a dministration we know l ittle of t he s tatus o f t he t own. I t i s r ecorded f airly early i n t he Saxon p eriod a s a V illa Regalis, o r R oyal Manor o r t own, but i t c ould n ot c ompete w ith t he c ounty t own a t G loucester, t he s eat o f t he B ishopric a t W orcester, or t he g rowing t owns o f Oxford a nd Bristol. C irencester had dwarfed a ll t hese t owns i n t he Roman period; i n t he early middle a ges e ach o ne o f t hese t owns had i ts own s phere o f i nfluence s o t hat t he medieval C ivitas, o r a rea of c ontrol of C irencester was much smaller t han t he Roman C ivitas. A t Domesday s urvey C irencester was t he o nly market i n t his C otswold a rea, a nd t he e stablishment o f a r e-endowed a nd l ater m itred Abbey e nsured t hat t he t own k ept pace with t he r ing o f c ompetitors g rouped a round i t. B y t he e nd of t he s ixteenth c entury t he t own was a f lourishing market t own i n t he modern s ense, o f l ittle i nterest t o a ny but i ts i nhabitants. They, i n t urn, t ook l ittle part or i nterest i n the w ider e vents e lsewhere, a nd i t i s i n t his a tmosphere t hat t he t own h as emerged a s capital o f t he Cotswolds. F or t he t ourist t he t own i s a p icturesque c entre o f a p ictures-

1

que a rea. F or t he i nhabitants o f t he modern C ivitas i t i s a p lace t o v isit o nce o r twice a week, by i rregular bus s ervice, t o s hop, t o pay b ills, t o f ind s ervices a nd a dvice, t o work, o r t o g o t o s chool. I t i s a gainst t his background t hat o ur s urvey of s tanding buildings must be s een. The s urvey i s material i n t hat i t c oncentrates o n physical e vidence i n t he f ield. Much more c ould have b een d one w ith h istorical s ources s uch a s t he c artularies of t he Abbey a nd smaller d ocuments s uch a s t he Lady Chapel Register o f 1 460. These have, f or t he moment, b een l eft o n o ne s ide; t hey a re r elatively s afe a nd a vailable f or f uture s tudy. This a lso a pplies to t he g reat mass o f l egal material i n t he C ounty R ecord Office. A s f ar a s possible we have kept t o c ommonly a ccepted t erms when d escribing buildings, a nd f or t his, a s f or s o many o ther t hings, Mr. Verey's Buildings o f G loucestershire has been i nvaluable. Only i n o ne c ase h ave we knowingly i nvented a n ew t erm - t he C ecily H ill l intel. This i s s horthand f or a f lat l intel which f orms t he h ead o f a r ectangular w indow o r d oor, made u p o f s tone v oussoirs whose upper a nd l ower e nds f orm t wo parallel l ines, but whose upper e nds, a s i n a ll voussoirs, a re t hicker t han t heir l ower e nds. A s t he e arliest d ated e xample o ccurs a t 1 1-15 C ecily H ill, a nd t hat r oad s hows many o ther examples o f such l intels, we have s upplied a s hort name f or a c ommon f eature which has o therwise f ound o nly l ong d escriptive t itles.

the

A c ritical a nd s elect b ibliography w ill b e s ec tion o n ' Sources' pp 3 5 t o 3 8 .

2

f ound

i n

THE EARLY BACKGROUND - FROM FOUNDATION TO THE R EFORMATION The s tudy o f C irencester, a t a ny s tage i n i ts d evelopment, n eeds a n u nderstanding of t he phases which have g one before. There i s o nly o ne point a t which we may be r easonably c ertain t hat t here i s n o earlier phase, a nd t hat i s t he R oman f ort which kept a watchful e ye o n t he Dobunni a t Bagendon, a nd i ts s uccessor, t he C ivitas capital, C orinium Dobunnorum ( 1). S ometime s hortly a fter t he b irth o f Christ t he Dobunni s eem t o h ave made a s ettlement a t Bagendon which g rew i nto a t ribal c apital c onsisting o f a n a rea o f a cres d efended b y man-made d itches a nd natural swamps, r ivers a nd woodl and. A t t he R oman c onquest o f AD 4 3 a part o f a t ribe r ecorded a s B odunni s ent a s urrender t o t he Roman f orces a nd i t s eems l ikely t hat t hese people were i n f act t he Dobunni o f Bagendon ( 2). I f t his i s t rue i t means t hat when t he R oman f orces moved swiftly t hrough t he s outh a nd e ast o f B ritain s ubduing t he t ribes who c aused t rouble, a nd e nsuring t he c o-operation o f t he l ess warlike, a small f ort a t t he p oint a t which t he Whiteway f orded t he r iver Churn was a ll t hat was n eeded t o s ecure t he t ribal t erritory while t he a rmies marched o n, n orth a nd west. S omewhere a round AD 7 5 t he f ort was f orgotten, t he B ritons were e ncouraged t o become Romanized, a nd t he a rchaeological r ecord j oins t he Roman h istorian Tacitus ( 3) who t ells u s t hat o ne o f t he s pearheads o f Romanization was t he l aying o ut o f t owns a nd t he p lanning o f t he g reat public buildings s uch a s t he c entral basilica w ith i ts a ttendant F orum t o s erve a s c ivic c entre a nd s hopping prec inct. The e rection o f s uch a l arge building a nd c ourtyard a utomatically d etermined t he l ayout o f t he r est o f t he t own, f or t he f orum-basilica unit was u sually o ne s quare, o r i nsula, o f a c hess board p lan. Once t he s treets had been l ined up on the s ides o f t he r ectangular market p lace f our main l ines i n t he t own were s et, a nd o ther s treets a nd building b locks t ended t o f ollow both d imensions a nd a lignments. F ig . l a s uggests t hat t he f ort was f ounded where t he meandering r iver C hurn c ut the Whiteway. Neither t he c ourse o f t he r iver n or t he a ge o f t he Whiteway a re k nown, but t he r iver presumably f lowed d own t he l owest part o f t he valley, t he path o f l east r esistance, a nd t he Whiteway i s one n on-Roman ( that i s, n on-geometrically a ligned) t rackway which i s n eeded by v illas, s ettlements, a nd l ater d evelopments t o b e a t l east Roman i n date, a nd probably earlier. F ig. l b s uggests t he a lignments o f t he r oads i n t he R oman period. While t here i s l ittle d oubt a bout t heir paths a s t hey a pproach t he t own s ite, we know v ery l ittle o f t heir c ourse a s t hey a ctually j oin t he t own. The Whiteway i s s hown i n i ts presumed e arly c ourse before i t was d iverted by t he Abbey a nd t he l ater Abbey

3

B - B agendon

a b

E r rmn S t ree t

F ig .1

C i rences te r : t he s i te a nd R oman r oads

C

E state, t he Canal a nd t he Railway. The F osseway makes s everal c hanges o f d irection a s i t a pproaches t he t own s ite f rom t he n orth-east; t he f inal a lignment t akes i t t o a j unction w ith A keman S treet a nd t hence i t f orms what has b een taken t o b e a R oman b y-pass l eading t o E rmin S treet a t Preston t oll-bar. I f the f inal r e-alignment i s i gnored, a s i n t he d otted l ine, the a pproaching r oad c an be made t o a im s atisfactorily f or t he Verulamium g ate o f t he t own. No a lignment o f Akeman S treet makes v ery g ood s ense a s i t c omes i n f rom t he east, a nd t his point t ogether w ith t he f act t hat t his i s t he o nly Roman r oad t o b e s everely d islocated i n i ts path o ut o f t he t own i n l ater t imes, m ight s uggest t hat t his i s a l ater, s ubsidiary R oman r oad o f l imited u se. The a lignment o f Ermin S treet, a pproaching f rom t he s outh-east, c arries o n i nside t he l ater t own b oundary f or a s hort way a nd t his a lignment s eems t o b e a ncient. I t s eems v ery r easonable t o s uggest t hat i t i s o nly i nside t he walls t hat t he Roman r oad bent t o c onform t o t he s treet g rid. The Whiteway, l eaving t he t own a lmost d ue s outh, has perhaps n ot s o f ar b een g iven i ts due, f or e ven B eecham ( 4) i n pointing t he s trange a lignment o f a possible " postern" g ate n ear the a mphit heatre, d oes n ot c onnect i t with t he Whiteway. This k ink i n t he t own wall, t hrough which t he Roman s treet a ligned on t he modern L ewis L ane i s a ssumed t o have e xtended t o t he amphitheatre, h as b een r emoved f rom r ecent p lans o f the R oman t own. I t i s d ue f or r einstatement a fter the o bservation o f r ecent t renching which a gain p icked up s olid R oman walling a nd possible g ateway o n j ust t his s kew a ngle which s eems t o make s o l ittle s ense. Here perhaps we have a C orinian e xample o f early building, e .g. the s ite o f a g ate, being s et on a n a lignment, t he Whiteway, which was l ater t o b ecome f ar l ess i mportant a s n ew patterns o f m ovement g rew up. S o f ar we h ave l ooked a t t he r oads f rom n orth t o s outh moving c lockwise r ound t he t own; t he s econd half of t he r oad s ystem poses more p roblems, n ot because we have c onflicting k nowledge, but t oo l ittle knowledge. The main a ncient r oute l eaving t he t own t o t he s outh-west i s t he Fosseway o n i ts way t o Bath. F rom i ts present j unction w ith t he S troud Road a nd Chesterton Lane, t o i ts d islocat ion a t Jacament's B ottom t here i s n o r eason t o d oubt t he c ourse o f t he R oman r oad. Presumably medieval T etbury exerted a g reater a ttraction than a d irect r oute t o Bath s o t hat t here i s l ittle problem i n e xplaining t he l arge break i n use o f t he F osseway b etween C irencester a nd Bath. Nearer t o t he t own t he l ack o f k nowledge becomes l imiting f or n ot o nly i s t here a c omplete a bsence o f a ny r eal e vidence f or a g ate a t t he s outh-west e nd o f Castle S treet, but t here i s n o s ure e vidence t hat a ny r oad ran i nto t he t own h ere. E vidence f rom e xcavations n ear t he a mphitheatre a nd o bservations made when t he new h ospital a t The Querns was being c onstructed s trongly s uggest t hat t he main r oad m ight s wing a cross f rom t he t op o f t he T etbury R oad h ill t o e nter a t t he Whiteway gate. A path n o d oubt l ed

5

d irectly d own t he h ill s outh o f t he Mansion.

t o

a small postern

g ate

t o

t he

The l aying out o f t he park i n t he e arly 1 8th c entury c losed two r oads which presumably s tarted f rom C ecily H ill. On t he plan o f 1 793 Cecily H ill i s marked ' from Hampton'. This must r epresent t he r oad c rossing t he p resent park, j oining a t s ome point w ith t he p resent S troud R oad, a nd c ontinuing over t he c ommon t o M inchinhampton. The o ther r oad f rom C ecily H ill i s g enerally h eld t o h ave l ed f rom t he Barton t o t he Ewe Pens a nd t hence t o Park C orner a nd B isley. The n ew S troud Road o pened by L ord B athurst skirts the D eerpark a nd Oakley W ood a nd i n d oing s o emphasises t he Tetbury R oad e xit f rom t he t own; t he r oute t o B isley a nd S apperton h ad t o g o t hrough S tratton a nd Daglingworth. F inally E rmin S treet g oes o ut t o G loucester a lmost o n i ts o riginal a lignment f rom t he Church t ower, where i t was r ecently c hecked i n a small exploratory e xcavation, o ver a m inor d islocation a t t he Gloucester S treet bridge, u p a s pur o f h igh l and, t o pass o ver t he s carp t o t he n earby C olonia. This d iverse i nformation c an be f orced i nto a s ingle s tatement i n f ig. l c which, i t must b e r emembered, c ontains much t hat i s uncertain i f n ot t endentious. The Town F ig. l c s hows o ne t hing both c learly a nd w ithout a ny d oubt; t he r oads c oming i nto t he t own, o r l eading o ut, g ive v ery l ittle h elp i n e stablishing t he Roman s treet p lan. This s trongly s uggests t hat t he p lanning o f t he t own was a r easonably l ate f eature o nly put i nto practice when t he s urrounding r oads, a nd perhaps s ome o f t he g ates, were f irmly e stablished. This f its i n w ith what we k now o f t he c hronology o f t he t own, t he f ort, t he d efences a nd t he gates. The r oad s ystem c onnecting t he m ilitary, a nd presumably c ivil, a dministration i n o r n ear t he f ort w ith t he l andowners a nd v illagers s cattered r ound t he t erritory o f t he Dobunni, g rew up i n t he t hirty y ears b etween t he c onquest a nd t he a rmy e vacuation. Beyond t he p urely l ocal h orizon s ome r oads must have b een o f o fficial c onstruction t o j oin the Dobunni t o n eighbouring s ettlements l ike t he camp, a nd l ater C olonia, a t G loucester, t hrough t he capital o f t he A trebates a t S ilchester, t o L ondon, t hrough Oxfords hire t o Verulamium, a nd up t he F osseway e ventually t o L incoln. We s uggest t hat t he Whiteway n eeds more prominence i n t he e arly p eriod t han has f ormerly b een a llowed t o i t, e ven t o t he e xtent o f a llowing i t a major g ateway t o t he t own. But t he a lignments o f t he r oads c an have g iven l ittle h elp t o t he p lanners f or t here i s s carcely a n ear r ight a ngle b etween a ny two a pproaching r oads. A t s ome t ime a fter t he a bandonment o f t he f ort a b ounda ry was d rawn, a nd whatever t he r easons f or t aking t he l ine t hat t hey d id, t he point n eeds t o b e made t hat t he p lanners e nclosed a n a rea f ar l arger t han t hey c ould r easonably

6

5 ; •

d r 5

2 2 §

3 I

•2 «

\

\

0 0

-

F ig . 2

C irences te r : C o r in ium , t he R oman p l an

e xpect t o b e b uilt up i n t he f orseeable f uture. Only, i n f act, i n t he f ourth c entury when t he t owns o f R oman B ritain s eem t o have h ad a g reat r evival d oes t he a rea i nside the walls o f C orinium b ecome u niformly populated. Even t hen, t here a re a reas n ear t he walls where l ittle buildi ng t ook p lace. The a rea o f 2 40 a cres i nside t he walls i s t aken t o make C orinium t he s econd l argest t own o f R oman B ritain. This i s t rue i f what i s b eing c ounted i s d efended a rea. But i f we t ake i nto a ccount t he number o f b uildings, t he population a nd t he a rea built up, t hen places l ike t he C oloniae o f L incoln a nd G loucester, a nd the smaller t own o f W inchester, a ll w ith e xtensive s uburbs, t hen t he C ivitas c apital of Corinium which n ever f ills i ts l imits, a nd c ertainly n ever e xceeds t hem, l ooks rather undeveloped. Many a ttempts have b een made t o produce a s treet plan o f C orinium, n otably by Beecham ( 5) a nd Wacher ( 6). Wacher's p lan, b rought u p t o date periodically by MacWhirr ( 7), must f orm t he basis f or a ny f uture d iscussions but a s y et i t i s o nly a n i nterim s tatement, s o t hat t he variations f rom i t s hown i n f ig. 2 m ight b e a llowed a s a lternatives f or d iscussion until t he f ull e vidence, a nd t he f inal p lan, a re brought t ogether. A s t he p lan o f Corinium, h owever i mportant t o t he l ater p lan o f C irencester, i s o nly a small part o f t his s tudy i t i s unnecessary t o a rgue out d etails, but basically f ig . 2 r epresents a c ompromise b etween Wacher's r ectangular extrapolation o f h is a rchaeological e vidence, a nd t he i ntuitive a pproach o f Beecham . Thus a g ateway i s s hown a t t he Saxon Arch a nd a t C ecily H ill, a nd t he London Road gate a nd t he Querns H ill gate a re s hown j oined b y a s traight l ine. Hatched l ines which purport t o s how Roman o ccupation m ight well s how more r eliably a reas which have been e xcavated, but t here i s l ittle e vidence f or unoccupied a reas f or t he v ery o bvious r eason t hat t rial t renches which have r evealed nothing h ave n ever b een developed i nto f ull e xcavations. T he g eneral p icture i s one o f a t hriving but l ightly built up t own whose populat ion would p robably be between t hree a nd n ine t housand people ( 8), the smaller f igure p erhaps b eing more l ikely. This w ould c ompare well w ith t he more d ensely packed three t o f our thousand i nhabitants o f t he s maller 1 6th a nd 1 7th c entury t own ( 9). The early l imits o f t he t own were marked a t s ome t ime i n t he l ater s econd o r early t hird c entury by a wall, a nd t o t his, bastions were a dded i n t he l ater f ourth c entury. Presumably s uch a d efence work was i ntended f or u se, a nd t he provision o f bastions, whatever t hey were f or, s uggests c ontinued i nterest i n t he wall i n a l ate period. S uch l ength o f walling c ould presumably n ever have been d efended over i ts whole e xtent b ut must h ave b een i ntended t o ward off a raid, r ather t han a s eige, w ith a s mall f orce g uarding gateways a nd t owers. A s mall f orce would n eed t o be e xperienced t o b e o f a ny use s o t hat we a lmost

8

c ertainly have t o t hink o f a well t rained h ome g uard, or a small g arrison o f r egular s oldiers, i n l ater C orinium. M oney f lows i nto t he t own i n undiminished b ulk, t o j udge f rom t he c oins f ound, u p until t he t ime a round AD 4 02 when t he mints o f Gaul c eased production o f c opper coins. One r eason f or t his c ontinued s upply o f c oin may well have b een t roops n eeding r egular wages a nd small c hange; t he wages w ould have b een g old, t he small c hange, c opper. A bout t he e nd o f C orinium we know v ery l ittle. The f orum c ontained v ery l ittle d ebris when e xcavated, a nd t he a bsence o f l ate c oins l ed Wacher t o s uggest that t he f orum was k ept c lean until n o c oins were a vailable t o be l ost ( 10). T his s eems a perfectly a cceptable i dea, a nd, i f c orrect, i t would e xtend t he l ife o f t he c entral meeting p lace o f t he t own up t o a bout AD 4 20. No s ite y et e xcavated has p roduced a ny e vidence o f d estruction; t he r ule s eems t o b e g entle d ecay w ith t he r uins o ften s howing r ubble a reas a nd patches, l ike pathways a nd f armyards. As t he provincial a dministration g round t o a halt e arly i n t he f ifth c entury, a nd t he t ribal a dministration b ecame v ery much s impler i n t hat t here was n ow n o Empire with whom t o c onnect, a nd n o I mperial t axes o r l evies t o be met, t he population o f C orinium must have declined. The o ne c lass o f c itizen who had n o r eason t o move was t he f armer who a ttended t o h is f ields a nd a nimals a round t he t own f rom a t own h ouse i ndistinguishable f rom a c ountry f arm ( 11), a nd i t may b e t hat t he population o f f ifth c entury Corinium was n o more t han a c ollection o f f arming f amilies. The c hurch no d oubt c ontinued, a t itular c hief o r k ing c ontinued, but f ew buildings n eeded t o be kept up f or h uman o ccupation. As t he f arms were d ivided up, o r j oined t ogether, were r uined, o r r ebuilt i n a d ifferent s pot, t he pattern o f t he Roman t own was a lmost e rased a nd C irencester b egan. F ig. 3 s hows t he m ed ieval borough which s ucceeded t he R oman t own w ith a r ing o f t ythings a round i t. I f a s et o f unsupported a ssertions may be a dmitted h ere t hen we c an h int t hat f uture w ork w ill a rgue i n d etail a c ase f or t aking t he b orough a s t he r emains o f t he property o f t he d escendant o f t he h ead o f the Roman C ivitas, a nd t he t hree s urrounding t ythings a s h eirs t o t hree o r f our l ate R oman f armsteads based i n o r near the l ate R oman t own. Barton Tything i s t herefore s uggested a s t he d escendant o f t he f arm o f t he Barton R oman Villa ( 12), C hesterton Tything i s c ontrolled b y t he manor a nd a f arm, t he manor perhaps d escending f rom a Roman t own h ouse, a nd two halves o f S perringate T ything, d ivided by t he F osse Way, c entre o n t he G olden Farm, n ow i n Beeches R oad, a nd Whiteway f arm. F ig. 3 i ncludes f our s ites i n S perringate Tything which may b e r elevant t o t his t heory: i ) a n e arly I ron Age f arms tead, a s y et o nly k nown f rom a erial photographs a nd t rial t renches, i i) a n e arly R oman f armstead d iscovered during t he c onstruction o f t he r ing-road i n 1 974, i ii) t he B eeches R oad R oman f armhouse ( 13) a nd i v) t he present

9

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C irences te r i n t he 1 5 th C .

G olden Farm ( see Beeches Road i n l ist a nd plate I I). A s et o f t hree outline d iagrams g iven i n f ig . 4 puts t hese s uggestions i n v isual f orm . F ig. 5 c oncentrates o n t he medieval borough a nd s hows t he boundary e stablished i n 1 404 ( 14). When t he b orough b oundary i s c ompared w ith t he boundary f ormed b y t he R oman wall i t i s easily s een t hat a s trong s hift has taken p lace t o t he n orth west. Two i nstitutions which l ie i n t he borough, but not i n t he R oman t own a re t he c hurches o f S t. Cecilia a nd S t. L awrence. Both t hese c hurches were i n d ecline by t he Reformation when they were t hought s carcely worth n otice ( 15). I t i s f or t his r eason t hat t hey will be f ound on f ig . 4a marked a s l ate Roman c emetery c hurches. S uch s uggestions may s eem o f t he h ighest unreliability, but a late R oman o rigin i s far s impler a s a n e xplanation f or t hese c hurches than a ny s uggestion based o n e vents i n t he e arly S axon period, c ompletely d evoid o f h istorical r eferences a nd parallels. One s uggestion f or t he n orth-west shift may t herefore be s tated a s a r eligious s hift. Once t he c entre o f g ravity has moved north, t he r oads, i n a l ightly populated s ettlement o f s hack smallholdings make d irect f or t heir object, t he c entre o f a ctivity. The new c hurch was p laced near t he main north-west t o s outh-east r oad o f Ermin S treet w ith s cant r egard f or t he buildings which preceded i t. Foundation t renches w ere d ug i nto t he r emains o f R oman buildings, a nd t hese were f illed w ith building s tone, much c arved d ecoration, a nd a rchitectural moulding t o f orm a f irm basis f or t he walls o f t he c hurch ( 16). Whenever t his o peration t ook p lace, whether under S t. W ilfred during h is y ears o f e xile i n the s eventh c entury, o r under S t. A ldwyn i n the n inth, R oman buildings were being d emolished a nd c leared away a t a c onsiderable rate, a nd i f t he process c ontinued f or a ny l ength o f t ime the Roman t own would s oon h ave presented a uniform f lat v ista. By t he mid t welfth c entury a s ilver penny o f J ohn i n a r obbing t rench s hows t hat t he builders o f t he Abbey were having t o d ig below g round l evel f or t heir s tone, a n unnecessary l abour i n t he presence o f e xtensive ruins ( 17). The main n orth-east t o s outh-west r oad s eems t o have c ontinued t hrough t he t own f rom o ne gate t o a nother, but most o f t he o ther s treets came f rom a Roman gate d irect t o t he c entre; one r oad f rom the Whiteway a nd t he S pittlegate was l ater d iverted by t he Abbey, one f rom Cecily H ill became Park S treet a nd B lack Jack S treet, Castle S treet continued the Tetbury Road i nto t he c entre, a nd Chipping S treet ( Dyer S treet) l ed t raffic f rom t he London R oad gate d irect t o t he Market place. I n s pite o f t he c ontinuance o f E rmin S treet s outh-east f rom t he n ew c hurch t he R oman r oad f rom t he s outh-east g ate t o Chesterton Manor g radually e xtended on a n on-Roman l ine t owards t he Market p lace t o f orm t he present C ricklade S treet. The o ld l ine l ingered o n t o be s hown by K ip a s a t rackway, a nd t o g ive part o f t he boundary b etween 1 3

S perringate a nd Chesterton

t ythings.

W ith t he f oundation o f t he A bbey a n ew parish c hurch had t o b e built f or t he t own, a nd the c hurch o f S t. J ohn r ose v ery n ear t o t he l ine o f E rmin S treet. The Abbey k ept t ravellers away f rom their d omain a nd t he open s pace t o t he north-east o f t he t own, s till e njoyed t oday, was marked out. The parish c hurch p rospered, was e xtended, a nd f inally c ut E rmin S treet b y u sing i t a s f oundation f or i ts t ower: c onsequently t he s outh-east portion o f t he Roman l ine d eclined t o K ip's t rackway a nd t he modern property b oundaries, a nd t he W est Market P lace was f ormed. Oakley C ottage, l ater A llen Bathurst's n ew park h emmed i n t he t own t o t he west, a nd t he A bbey E state t o t he east; G loucester S treet was a lready s pread well o ut t o t he n orth-west, s o t hat when t he t own came t o g row expansion had t o be t o t he s outh-east. B y a bout 1 921 t he t own h ad j ust a bout r egained i ts R oman s hape a nd s ize; i t i s w ith t he b uildings o f t he post-medieval t own a nd i ts e xpansion t hat t he r est o f t his s tudy i s c oncerned. References 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 1 0. 1 1. 1 2. 1 3. 1 4. 1 5. 1 6. 1 7.

J .S. Wacher, Ant.J., 1 962, X LII, 1 -14. E . M. C lifford, Bagendon - a B elgic Oppidum, Cambridge, 1 961, 5 6-74. Tacitus, Agricola, 2 1. B eecham, H istory of C irencester, 1 886, 2 49. B eecham, H istory o f C irencester, 1 886, f acing 2 50. J .S. Wacher, A nt. J., 1 963, X LIII, 1 7. A .D. MacWhirr, Ant.J., 1 969, XLIX, 2 23. S .S. F rere, B ritannia ( 2nd e d.), L ondon 1 974, 2 96-7. B eecham, H istory o f C irencester, 1 886, 1 94. J .S. Wacher, Ant.J., 1 964, X LIV, 1 4. C urrent Archaeology, 4 2, 2 16-9. B uckman a nd Newmarch, R emains o f Roman Art, London, 1 850, 3 2-4. C urrent Archaeology, 4 2, 2 16-9. B eecham, H istory o f C irencester, 1 886, 1 55-7. B eecham, H istory o f C irencester, 1 886, 9 0-1. P .D.C. B rown a nd A . D. MacWhirr, Ant.J., 1 967, XLVII, 1 95-7. R . R eece, Trans. Bristol a nd G los. A rch. S oc., 7 5, 1 956, 2 03-4.

1 4

POST-MEDIEVAL C IRENCESTER Whether t he r eformation, i ncluding t he d issolution o f t he monasteries, made a g reat d ifference t o the l ife of the man i n t he s treet o f C irencester may be d oubted. The R oyal C ommissioners a rrived a t t he Abbey a t n oon o n December 1 9th, 1 539 ( 1), a nd by the e nd o f t he week matters had b een s ettled, s o f ar a s we know amicably, pensions had b een d ispensed, a nd R oger Basing, o ne o f t he k ing 's w ine merchants had b een made r esponsible f or t he s afe keeping o f t he a ssets, a nd was e ventually c harged w ith t he d emolition o f t he Abbey a nd i ts buildings. The d emolition c lause i ncluded i n t he l ease o f t he s ite t o Basing on May 1 1th, 1 540 i s part o f t he u sual l anguage o f s uch l eases, a nd, p rovided t he k ing r eceived t he l ead f rom the r oof, t he bells, a nd t he s maller valuables t here i s n o n eed t o a ssume that t he buildings were d emolished s peedily. I n t his c ase, however, most o f the s tone s eems t o have been bought by two l ocal p eople, R obert S trange a nd S ir Anthony Hungerford, a nd s ince t hey c omplained t o t he Court o f Augmentations that t hey were being o bstructed i n t heir d emolition a nd s tone c arrying, things must have moved f airly quickly ( 1). The r emoval o f S t. Mary's Abbey made l ittle d ifference t o t he g rowth o f the t own, f or t he l ands passed t o R ichard Master who built the f irst Abbey House a l ittle t o t he west o f t he f ormer c loisters, a nd t he walls o f t he Abbey Estate b locked g rowth t o the n orth-east j ust a s e ffectively a s t he monastic c ommunity had d one. This was, w ith h inds ight, n o bad t hing, f or i t e xplains the l arge open a rea, n ow b elonging t o t he t own, which r eaches t o w ithin yards of t he Market Place. I t m ight have b een a l ittle l ess e xpensive i f t he t own had had t he f orethought t o a cquire t he l and i n 1 539 f or Dr. Master only paid £ 59.16s.3d. f or h is whole e state ( 1). T he l ater 1 6th c entury s eems t o have marked a c hange f rom e xtensive use o f t imber t o a g reater use o f s tone, i f t he s urviving buildings a re a r epresentative s ample o f what was built before 1 600. The physical s tructure o f t he A bbey c ontributed l ittle o r n othing t o t he n ew s tone buildings f or not o nly was t he s tone s old t o be c arted away, but i n t erms o f r e-usable material i t would have built v ery l ittle. This c hange t o s tone i s e ither a l ocal f ashion, o r may be a r eflection o f t he opening up o f q uarries o n Abbey l and which was p reviously i naccessible. Apart f rom M onmouth H ouse, Thomas S treet, a nd s ome o f t he t imber f ramed buildings we know very l ittle o f t he a spect o f t he t own t hrough t he e arly 1 7th c entury, a nd i t i s not until t he dated buildings o f C oxwell S treet a nd G loucester S treet begin t o a ppear l ater i n t he c entury that we catch g limpses o f t he post-medieval t own. Prints s howing Butter R ow a nd S hoe Lane, t he narrow s treets r emoved f rom t he c entre o f t he Market Place i n 1 826, s how a preponderance o f h alf-timbered buildings, a nd t hose buildings which a re r ecognisably o f s tone usually belong t o t he s tyles o f t he 1 670's a nd l ater ( 2). 1 5

The e arliest v iew o f the t own i s t hat by J . K ip, a Dutchman who was c ommissioned by S ir R obert A tkyns t o provide i llustrations f or h is monumental work " The Ancient a nd Present S tate o f G loucestershire". These c opper p lates were mainly of c ountry homes, s ometimes with a small t own or v illage i n t he d istance, but v iews o f C irencester a nd G loucester a re published e ntire. The i nclusion o f t he County t own with i ts cathedral i s easily understood, but i t i s l ess obvious why K ip c hose t o d raw t he whole o f C irencester rather t han j ust t he house o f Allen Bathurst, whose s eat t he c aption proclaims t his t o be. I t i s important t o s uggest h is r easons because t here a re c ertain major i naccuracies i n t he d rawing which may b e e xplained i f we can understand K ip's a rtistic a pproach t o t he t own. The two g reat Estates o f the Abbey a nd Oakley had f orced t he t own t o g row i nto two t riangles t heir a pexes meeting a t t he Parish Church. This pattern may have a ppealed t o t he d raughtsman, a nd having d ecided t o put part o f t he t own i nto h is p icture, i t c ertainly provided a c hallenge. Unless he was g oing t o be c ompletely i naccurate i t i s d ifficult t o s ee how h e c ould have a voided portraying part o f t he t own f or t he f ront of Oakley G rove f aces t he t own, a nd a ny u se o f K ip's f avourite perspective would i nevitably l ead t o h ouses i n t he f oreground. The n ext d ecision was the e xact l ine which t he v iew was t o t ake; i t must n either obscure Oakley G rove, nor r elegate i t t o a position o f s econdary i mportance. Chief among d ifficult f eatures was t he parish c hurch which, i f made t he f ocal point o f t he p icture, would t otally obscure t he h ouse. The c hurch must be s et t o one s ide, a nd h e t herefore had the c hoice o f v iews o f t he t own t o t he n orth o r s outh o f the c hurch. I f h e had c hosen a v iew t o t he n orth o f t he c hurch t he major building would have been t he Abbey House i n the c entre o f t he p icture, a nd t his was a lready t o a ppear i n a s eparate engraving. The s outh v iew was theref ore c hosen w ith t he a dvantage o f r elegating t he Abbey House t o a l ess imposing position a nd a llowing t he Market Place, s uitably a djusted, t o f orm a n i mpressive a pproach s traight t hrough t he t own t o t he c hosen building. This perhaps g ives s ome o f the r easoning behind t he c omposition o f the p icture which s hows t he Bathurst h ome a s a n i mposing building a t t he h ead o f a prosperous market t own, t he w ings of t he Jacobean mansion s pread out t o embrace t he t own. Having a lready a djusted r eality t o make h is p icture i t might b e t hought t hat a ll K ip's o ther i naccuracies s tem f rom t he s ame point. This s carcely explains t he c hief b lunder by which t he t ower of t he Parish Church h as been p laced a bove t he m iddle o f t he nave i nstead o f i n i ts c orrect position a t t he west e nd. This p rovides a s tructure o f very o dd a ppearance p ossibly unparalleled a nywhere i n f act; t he t ower o f Fairford c hurch l ies a t t he e ast e nd o f t he nave providing t he t raditional c rossi ng i nto t he c hoir, but i t i s not e ven t his t hat K ip has s hown, f or t here i s unmistakable nave r oof between t he t ower a nd t he c hoir. 1 6

Mention o f t he t ower a llows a s peculation f or t he o ne p lace w here a n a ccurate perspective d rawing o f t he c hurch c ould n ot be d one i s t he t op o f t he t ower i tself. I t i s p resumably f rom t here t hat K ip must have made outline s ketches l ater t o be t urned i nto a f inished d rawing, a nd i f h is v iew o f t he c hurch was f rom i ts t ower, a nd f rom t he g round l evel o f the Market P lace where i t was c ompletely s urrounded by h ouses, t hen h is mistake m ight be more e asily c ondoned. One v ery odd f act i s t he s imilarity b etween K ip a nd t he d raughtsman of t he 1 793 map, who i n n early e very o ther d etail i s e xcellent; both omit t he Parish C hurch p orch. The l eft f oreground o f t he p icture makes K ip's o ther mistake v ery o bvious f or h e has made t he t riangle f ormed by L ewis Lane, C ricklade S treet a nd Dyer S treet i nto a l arge s quare. T o f ill t his l arge, partly n on-existent s pace K ip h as p rovided a r ectangular f ormal g arden i n t he f oreground a nd has t hen s paced o ut t he middle d istance. This means t hat h e h as made a pathway which c rosses t his b lock s tand o ut more c learly t han i t o therwise would. I f t he p erspective i s c orrected t he path would r un f rom the K ing 's H ead t o a point o n L ewis Lane s omewhere j ust west o f Tower S treet a nd i t s eems l ikely t hat t he path r epres ents t he l ine o f Ermin S treet which K ip s aw i n i ts l ast period o f use. Later d rawings a nd maps s how t his o nly a s a r ough path, a nd l ater a property b oundary. The r e-arrangement o f Castle S treet, S ilver S treet, Park L ane, a nd S heep S treet a re best e xplained a s a rtistic c onvention. S heep S treet had t o g o s o t hat the Bathurst h ouse c ould b e s hown a t t he h ead o f a s traightened out Market P lace, Castle S treet a nd S ilver S treet. Castle S treet t hen b ends r ound t o t he l eft t o meet Querns Lane a t t he f oot o f Tetbury H ill. A s w ith L ewis Lane, which K ip r an o ut o f h is p icture unnecessarily, S heep S treet p robably c ontained f ew i mposing buildings s o t hat t here was l ittle n eed t o p resent t hem a ccurately. W ith t hese points i n m ind K ip's d rawing s eems t o b e a r easonably a ccurate r epresentation o f C irencester a t the b eginning o f t he 1 8th c entury. The major buildings a re g iven i ndividual t reatment which i n s ome c ases can be c hecked a gainst surviving f acades, t hough s maller buildi ngs a re mainly i n s tylised f orm. G loucester H ouse, Dyer S treet a ppears a s a n i mposing h ouse a nd g arden, t he Ram I nn w ith i ts c ourtyard i s i n t he c orrect p lace a t the h ead o f t he Market P lace, a nd Monmouth House, Thomas S treet s hows a plain f acade w ith f ew a nd small w indows which a ccords well w ith what s urvives. I nns i n t he Market P lace a nd Dyer S treet a re marked i n t heir c orrect positions by c onventional i nn-signs o n p oles a nd t he waterc ourses a nd b ridges p rovide f ew d ifficulties. F rom t he d rawing i t h as been p ossible t o p repare a map o f t he t own a s i t was i n 1 712 w ith s urviving b uildings marked i n d etail a nd t he o ther b uildings b locked i n a nd s tippled ( fig. 6 ). 1 7

F ig . 6

C irences te r i n t he

1 7 th C .

I n t erms o f g rowth a nd t own planning t here i s l ittle c hange between t he K ip p late a nd t he map o f 1 793. The main c hanges a ffected i ndividual buildings, the f irst being t he Mansion i tself which l ost t he f orm s hown by K ip w ithin f our y ears o f t he publication o f t he v iew . I t r eceived a s olid, r ather uninspiring c lassical f acade which h as s ince b een m ore o r l ess h idden by l ater a ttempts t o i mprove i t. The r ebuilding o f t he Abbey House a fter a f ire c .1780, i n s o u ninspired a f orm t hat n o-one was a ble t o g ive g ood r eason why i t s hould not be d emolished i n 1 963, r obbed t he t own o f i ts o nly o ther major l ate 1 6th c entury building. F ew , i f a ny, major buildings o f c lassical i nfluence o r f ull c lassical s tyle l ie o n f reshly d eveloped g rouni t hey a re a lmost a ll r eplacements f or e arlier buildings. Thus they l ie i n Dyer S treet, Dollar S treet, t he Market Place, Thomas S treet a nd t he s outhern part o f G loucester S treet, but l ess i n t he n ortherapart o f G loucester S treet, Cricklade S treet, a nd t he e xtremities o f Dyer S treet a nd Castle S treet, a ll o f which, by t hen, were perhaps t he poorer parts o f t he t own. One c ul-de-sac which became e xtremely f ashionable a t t his t ime was Cecily H ill which was e ventually r obbed o f i ts path out o f the t own t o M inchinhampton a nd B isley by t he f ormation o f t he Park a nd t he building o f t he n ew S troud R oad. H ere i n t he 1 8th c entury a f ull range o f d eveloping building s tyles occurred s o t hat we c an t race t he change f rom t he C irencester s tyle o f Coxwell S treet i nto t he c lassical i nfluence o f the o lder part o f 5 a nd t he magnificent f acades o f 3 2 a nd 4 0-42. G othic t racery i n t he brick b ow a ddition t o 3 a nd i n part o f a w ing o f 4 0 point t o a wareness o f the G othic r evival, t he u se o f C ecily H ill l intels i s dated on 1 1-15, a nd i n 1 9 we have e ither t he f irst s tirrings o f C otswold r evival w ith mullions a nd d rip-moulds i n a c lassical f acade, o r e lse g enuine s urvival o f a v ery pleasing k ind. The 1 8th c entury i s one o f c onsolidation, r eplacement i n n ew s tyles, a nd a g ood s olid v ernacular s tyle i n s tone, rather t han o ne o f g rowth; t o i t we owe s ome o f t he f inest buildings, a nd a lso s ome o f t he v ery s imple buildings whose s urvival provides a n a rchitectural l ight a nd s hade a nd a p leasing background t o l ater d evelopments.

References 1 .

2 .

A ll r eferences t o t he o riginal d ocuments q uoted f or t he t ime o f t he Dissolution o f t he Monasteries w ill be f ound i n R . R eece, T rans. Bristol a nd G los. Arch. S oc., 8 1, 1 962, 1 98-202. Prints i n t he B ingham Public L ibrary, C irencester.

1 9

THE GROWTH OF THE MODERN TOWN A ll s tatements i n t his s ection, o ther t han o bservations made during t he s urvey, a re d ue t o t he e xcellent d ocumentat ion i n Beecham, A H istory o f C irencester ( Cirencester, 1 886), t o which page numbers r efer. Our s urvey o f buildings s tops i n 1 921 a nd t he outline c ommentary o n t he t own a s a unit must s top t here a lso. Though i t may s eem a rbitrary n ot t o f ollow t he t own t hrough t o t he c hanges a ttendant o n t he r ing-road c urrently under c onstruction t here a re two g ood r easons f or s uch omission. F irstly t he d evelopment o f the t own s ince 1 920 has b een v ery d ifferent f rom t hat which h as happened s ince t he f oundat ion o f t he Roman c ivitas capital f or b etween c .AD 7 5 a nd 1 920 n early a ll g rowth, s hrinkage, o r c hange was t he r esult o f i ndividual owners o f l and a nd buildings, o r, a t most, a c onsortium o f i ndividuals. I n AD 7 5 we have t o p resume t hat Roman provincial a uthority a cted on behalf o f t he n atives a nd o rdered t he d evelopment o f t he t own; t here may e ven have b een a s how o f d emocracy, a nd a t rained p lanning a dviser may have b een s econded f rom t he a rmy t o a ssist t he a rdo o r c ouncil o f t he t ribal a rea ( civitas) i n l aying out i ts c apital t own. I n t he 2 0th c entury a gain p lanning a uthorities a nd c ouncils r ule a nd C irencester n o l onger g rows, but i s d eveloped ( note t he passive voice). Thus i t i s f air t o i nsist t hat the g rowth o f C irencester c eased a round 1 920 when d evelopment t ook o ver. This l eads t o t he s econd r eason f or n ot t racing c hange i n t he t own b eyond 1 921: t he d evelopment i s i n m id-course. I n a f ew y ears' t ime w ith a c ompleted r ing-road a nd c oncomitant b uilding s chemes, t he d evelopment o f C irencester f rom 1 921 o nwards will be i n a r esting s tage a nd c an be a ssessed a nd d escribed. I n 1 800 t he t own s carcely f illed i ts presumed medieval l imits a nd was v irtually c onfined t o t he boundaries o f t he medieval b orough i n a nd b eyond t he n orthern h alf o f t he R oman walled a rea. The Chesterton t ythe map o f 1 807 ( see p . ) s hows n o s ubstantial buildings a long Watermoor R oad, a nd t he S tepstairs L ane a rea s eems e mpty but f or barns. The g rowth o f the t own s tarted i n 1 826 w ith t he s ale o f Watermoor C ommon t o provide f unds f or t he c learance o f S hoe L ane a nd B utter R ow f rom t he c entre o f t he Market P lace. B eecham, who i s t he main s ource f or t his s ection, c omments t hat a " vent f or t he pent up population was a fforded" ( p.186). There i s l ittle s upport f or h is s tatement i n t he c ensus f igures which h e q uotes ( p.195) a nd which a re r eproduced b elow, a lthough i t may be t hat t he majority o f 1 24 e xtra h ouses f or 1 831-1851 b elong t o t he period s hortly a fter 1 830.

2 0

F ig . 7

C irences te r i n t he 1 8th C .

F ig .8

C i rences te r

i n t he e a r ly 1 9 th C .

Date 1 801 1 811 1 821 1 831 1 841 1 851 1 861 1 871 1 881

I nhabited

8 37 9 26 1 006 1 079 1 213 1 300 1 455 1 484

H o u s eI ncrease

I nhabitants 4 130 4 540 4 987 5 420 6 014 6 096 6 334 7 079 7 739

8 9 8 0 7 3 1 34 8 7 1 55 2 9

I ncrease

4 10 4 47 4 33 5 94 8 2 2 38 7 45 6 60

The l and marked a s Watermoor C ommon o n t he 1 807 map l ies s outh o f S iddington Road i n t he a ngle i t makes with t he C ricklade R oad. No h ousing s eems e ver t o have been built h ere s o t he 1 826 e xpansion must have t aken p lace a round S tepstairs Lane a nd t he parallel f rontage o f Watermoor R oad, t ogether w ith t he s outh s ide o f C ity Bank Road ( now r eplaced b y modern h ouses) a nd a r ow n earby o n the e ast s ide o f Watermoor R oad. These houses a re i nteresting i n t hat t hey a re f airly f irmly dated e xamples o f m iddlec lass c lassical h ouses whose s tyle was t o b e c opied i n t he g rowth o f Watermoor r ight i nto t he 1 880's. I n 1 853 t he g rowth s tarted i n e arnest w ith t he sale o f t he P itacres E state - p resumably t he l and i n the e ast a ngle f ormed b y S omerford R oad a nd Chesterton Lane - a nd The Nursery t o t he s outh o f L ewis Lane. The Nursery i s o ften r eferred t o a s G regory's Nursery a fter t he f amily who ran t he business. Small r emnants o f G regory's nursery r emain, worked b y their s uccessors Messrs. J efferies, beside Tower S treet, a t t he e nd o f C ity Bank Road, a nd o n the s outh-west s ide o f t he C ricklade Road. Carpenters Lane f ormed t he east boundary o f t he l and, a ccording t o the map o f 1 837, a nd t his l ine was c ontinued by h edges a nd f ences s outh-south-east t o t he e nd o f C ity Bank R oad. R emnants o f t his l ine c ould be s een i n a r ow o f a pple t rees beside t he f ield o f t he f ormer G rammar S chool i n V ictoria Road, i n t he a lignment o f t hat s chool's c ricket pavilion, s et a gainst t he r ow of a pple t rees, a nd i n t he i rregular path which r uns i n f ront o f t he t errace C ity Bank View. A s imilar r emnant a ccounts f or t he o dd a lignment o f 2 a nd 4 Queen S treet, built w ith t heir back walls a gainst undeveloped Nursery p roperty. The f irst buildings o n t his l and were probably those o f Watermoor House. J . R. Mullings b ecame a rticled a s s olicitor i n C irencester i n 1 820 a nd married a M iss G regory i n 1 823; a fter working f or a while away f rom t he t own h e r eturned i n the l ate 1 820's a nd s ettled down. T his p resumably dates Watermoor House b etween a bout 1 828 a nd 1 835 when i t a ppears o n Wood's map, c arved out o f t he G regory a cres. The G regorys h owever d id n ot own t he l and f or B eecham r ecords t hat Chester S treet i s named a fter T . W. C hester Master " to whose f amily t he l and b elonged" ( p.187). 2 3

F ig . 9

C irences te r :

t he g row th

o f t h e mode rn t own

F rom 1 853 t o a bout 1 860 l ittle happened, but t he n ext d ecade p roduced r ecord r esults i n h ouse building a nd i t s eems l ikely t hat most o f t hese h ouses belong t o C hester S treet, T ower S treet, a nd t he west s ide o f V ictoria Road. I n 1 870 t he e ast s ide o f Victoria R oad was " mapped out i n s ingle h ouse p lots, but a l ull had s et i n i n building, a nd n o l ots were s old until 1 878" ( p.187). Brick a ppears, a s n oted i n more d etail below ( see p . 5 8) a round 1 875 i n T ower S treet, a nd i n l ess e xalted f orm, i n Queen S treet i n 1 880 a nd 1 885. M ount S treet a nd S omerford Road - presumably " the l and b etween ( Pitacres) a nd t he Querns" ( p.186) was s old c .1861 a nd t he s uperior plots on t he west s ide o f S omerford Road i n a bout 1 873. All a reas have s ome h ouses on by 1 875 t hough t he d ecade 1 871-1881 o nly a ppears t o provide 2 9 e xtra i nhabited h ouses. By t his t ime t he two major s tyles s eem t o b e h ouses e ither i n r ough s tone o r i n b rick. This i s p resumably a d ifference i n p rice, a nd presumably i n c lass. The s tyles d evelop t ogether on the e ast s ide o f V ictoria Road where h ouses i n r ough s tone a re t ypically s emidetached a nd o ften o f t hree s tories w ith f ront a nd t radesman's d oor, a nd l arge f ront d rawing r ooms projecting i n a ngular bays f rom the f acade. S ervant's basements a re n ot c ommon a nd s eem t o b elong t o t he 1 870's-1880's rather t han t he y ears a round 1 900. I n c ontrast, t he b rick h ouses o f t he 1 880's a nd 1 890's a re more t owards t he Watermoor e nd o f t he t own; t hey f orm s imple t erraces more o ften o f two s tories with much f latter f acades a nd f ew a ttempts a t d etail s ave f or a s eemingly o bligatory bay window. The brick s tyles c onnect up building p rojects i n Victoria Road, Watermoor R oad, a t errace i n Beeches Road, a nd t hen f rom 1 890 o nwards i n Ashcroft where brick a nd r ough s tone d evelop s ide by s ide. The f inal phase o f t errace building s tarted a bout 1 906 when Purley Road was l aid out. A fter a n e xperiment i n o ff-white brick t he p lan c hanged t o red-brick w ith t he upper f loor r endered with pebble dash. This s uccession s uggests t hat t erraces i n p lain r ed b rick were n o l onger a cceptable s o t hat s ome e ffort had t o be made t o e nhance t heir a ppearance. Building c ontinued i n Purley Road a nd Purley Avenue, i n Chesterton Lane, Mount S treet, Cotswold Avenue , Sperringate a nd S iddington Road a fter t he e nd-date o f o ur s urvey but t he f our s quare t errace s et n early o n t he r oad was t hen n o l onger i n f ashion. Large d evelopments have t aken place a t C hesterton a nd t he B eeches, but t here whole e states have b een l aid out a s p lanned units a nd r ed brick has b een banished f rom s ight by s mooth r endered s urfaces. O ne a spect o f g rowth which C irencester has a lmost missed i s t he Victorian professional man's v illa. The l arge h ouses i n S omerford R oad, E lmgrove, S outhleigh, Magpies a nd o thers belong t o t his c lass, a s d o L eaholme a nd 1 a nd 3 The A venue. A f ew h ouses i n Victoria R oad may be a dded, but e ven h ere t here a re r ows o f s ubstantial h ouses a nd b locks o f two r ather t han t he g racious r esidences o f North O xford o r s ome o f t he wealthy L ondon s uburbs. N ot until t he d evelopment 2 5

o f B erkeley Road, a n e xtreme outpost o f the S omerford Road c omplex, a nd t he Whiteway i n the 1 930's, 4 0's a nd 5 0's do t here seem to be a reas o f detached houses. Perhaps i t was n ot until recently that t he t own was l arge e nough f or desirable v illas t o perch on t he edge without f ear o f t he encirclement which happened i n Victoria Road, A shcroft, Beeches Road, the Avenue a nd t he Whiteway. This has ensured a c onsiderable s ocial mixture, a t l east i n t he older part o f the t own, which has c ontinued t o t he present day. The o ther end of the s cale, the smallest c ottages, a re much more d ifficult t o d iscuss b ecause they h ave been c leared away i n e xtremely determined f ashion i n t he l ast thirty years. Opening o ff G loucester S treet, Dyer S treet, Cricklade S treet, Dollar S treet, Thomas S treet a nd Coxwell S treet were Yards, Courts, A lleys, Rows and Places, a ll c onsisting o f a l ong narrow open s pace with small c ottages a long one s ide. On the map o f 1 875 the extreme r egularity of t hese c ottages - small r ectangles i n a r ow - s trongly s uggest that each block was built a s a unit. Unfortunately both 2 8-38 B lack Jack S treet, a nd S heppards Place, Gloucester S treet l ook t he s ame on a map, a s does t he 1 4th c entury Arlington Row a t B ibury, G los. While i t i s possible to be s ure that these demolished r ows l ay i n date b etween Arlington R ow and B lack Jack S treet, i t i s i mpossible t o l ocate them a ny more e xactly i n t ime a t the present. Of t he two town examples l eft 2 8-38 Black Jack S treet i s a row o f about 1 840 while t he e ntrance t o Sheppards Place i s dated 1 694 and s ome o f t he h ouses a re a lmost c ertainly earlier. I t i s unsafe t o a rgue f rom existing e xamples s imply because they d o s till exist and have n ot been removed; t hey a re presumably i n better c ondition a nd may t herefore be more modern, or have been better built. One s ign which s uggests that some o f t hese rows may have belonged t o t he early 1 9th c entury i s t he e xistence o n t he 1 837 map o f a small collection o f such houses on S tepstairs Lane and S chool Lane which a re not o n the Chesterton T ything map o f 1 807. The s ame i s t rue f or Prices Row i n Watermoor Road. S tepstairs Lane, Midland Road, a nd S chool Lane were removed only a few years a go s o t horoughly that e ven t he l ines o f the r oads can no l onger be t raced; t hey have been r eplaced by a s omewhat austere development known l ocally a s " the Concentration Camp". No a dequate r ecords were kept, a nd I doubt whether many photographs e xist. I n t his way a piece o f the town v ital t o t he understanding o f i ts development has been thoroughly e xcised s o that the q uestion o f Places a nd Rows must be l eft unanswered. A f inal point i s the f orm i nto which the t own had g rown by 1 921. Apart f rom t he g rowth o f Chesterton i t i s f ascinating t o s ee h ow the t own g rew s lowly back i nto t he l imits s et f or i t i n t he 7 0's o f t he f irst c entury AD. Apart f rom G loucester S treet, S omerford Road a nd t he Gasworks and Railway s outh o f Watermoor, the l imit o f t he built u p a rea i n 3 21 a nd i n 1 921 i s g iven r oughly by a

2 6

c ircuit s tarting a t t he junction o f G rove Lane a nd L ondon R oad ( the Roman Verulamium G ate) g oing b y G rove Lane, S pitalgate Lane, Thomas S treet, Park S treet, Park Lane, S heep S treet, Querns R oad, S chool Lane, C ity Bank R oad, t he C ity Bank a nd Beeches Road, back t o t he point o f d eparture. This l ine i s n ow being e mphasised b y t he c onstruction o f a r ing r oad which w ill e ncapsulate the e arly n ucleus, h opefully r eturning i t primarily t o a r esidential a rea rather t han a j unction o f busy h oliday r outes.

2 7

PAST,

PRESENT AND FUTURE

There i s l ittle pressure o n those who undertake s urveys, e xcavations, o r h istorical projects t o make t hem r elevant to t he business o f l iving i n t he modern world. Relevance i s e ven s een t o c onflict w ith s cholarship, t o b e a n undesirable c onstraint, o r, i n i ts worst f orm a publicity s tunt o r a f utile a ttempt t o j ustify s ocially a n u nnecessary a nd unproductive past-time. A w ell c onceived e xcavation o r h istorical p roject w ill h ave i n i t t he s eeds o f i ts own r elevance. The e xcavation s hould a ttempt t o make s ense o f a c ommunity, o r a part o f a c ommunity, a nd n ot waste i ts t ime t rying t o c onvince a public which i s o nly marginally i nterested t hat t hree postholes o f a Roman building r escued f rom d estruction r epresent a t reasury o f knowledge. The h istorical project must o f i ts v ery nature proceed f rom t he r elics o f a c ommunity t o r ecreate, c omment o n, a nd e xplain t hat c ommuni ty, o r a part o f i t. B oth pursuits s hould make t he workers i n e ach f ield well f itted t o b ring t heir s tudies up t o t he p resent a nd t hus t o c omment o n t he l ife o f t he c urrent c ommunities. I t i s e ven a rguable t hat i t i s o nly possible t o i nterpret a ny part o f t he past t hrough a knowledge o f, a nd i mmersion i n, t he present s o t hat t he two a re n ot o nly l inked, but cannot b e s eparated. These c omments a re t herefore o ffered, a s a n i ntegral part o f t he s tudy, n ot a s a n a pologetic f ootnote. Two main a reas o f d isagreement a re a t o nce o bvious; what s hould c ome d own, a nd what s hould g o u p. T he e arlier a building t he s tronger the case, presumably f or keeping i t s tanding. A g lance a t f ig. 6 w ill s how h ow f ew o f t he buildings which K ip s aw a t t he b eginning o f t he 1 8th c entury a re s till v isible. The s ituation i s a l ittle better i f we c onsider the buildings r epresented o n t he map o f 1 793 which s till s tand, b ut i t s eems o bvious t o s ay t hat t hese buildings f orm s o s mall a part o f t he p resent t own t hat we c annot a fford t o l ose one w ithout exceptional r easons being g iven. Yet one 1 8th c entury a nd e arly 1 9th c entury b uilding has b een d emolished while t his s tudy was being d one, o ne o f t he f ew half t imbered c ottages s urviving was under a ttack two y ears a go i n 1 972, a nd a n e xcellent 1 8th c entury s tone f rontage was s aved b y public e nquiry i n 1 973. I n a ll t hese c ases d evelopers c laimed that t heir motives were o f t he purest, t hat t hey w ould n ever move a n i mportant building, b ut t hat t hese e xamples were n ot g reat o f t heir k ind, a nd h ad c ome t o t he e nd o f t heir u seful l ife. I t would b e k indness, t hey a rgued t o put d own these f aithful f riends r ather t han l et t hem l inger on i n unsatisfactory c ondition. A n ew building i s a lways d escribed a s i ntending t o f it harmoniously i n w ith t he s urrounding varied t ownscape, s o t hat a ny c hange might a lmost b e f or t he b etter.

pers

Opposed t o t he p ersuasive voices o f t he d emon d eveloa re s ome who w ould p refer n o c hange t o h appen t o t he

2 8

a rchitecture o f t he t own. Neither s ide s eems t o t ake i nto a ccount t he p lace o f b uildings i n t he l ife o f a c ommunity. The b uildings o f a t own f orm t he material back-cloth against which e very s ingle a ctivity o f t he c ommunity t akes p lace. I t i s a s treet o f h ouses t hrough which we g o t o s chool, t o work, t o s hop, o r t o while t ime a way; i t i s a building i n which we a re b orn, g row u p, g et married, g row o ld, a nd d ie. H owever s mall t he e ffect may b e t hese s urroundings d o h ave s ome e ffect o n u s, a nd a c ommunity which d oes n ot c are a bout i ts s urroundings d oes n ot care a bout i ts own l ife; a s a c onsequence i t d eserves f rom i ts s urroundings h elp p roportional t o t he a ttention which t he s urroundings r eceive. When i t i s proposed t herefore t hat a building be r emove d a nd r eplaced i t i s w orth each p erson s topping t o think whether t his c hange w ill i mprove o r d etract f rom h is s urroundings. H e knows t he building t here a t p resent, h e knows t he a ssociations i t h olds f or h im, h e c an d ecide, i f h e s tops o n t he way t o work f or a moment t o t hink a bout i t, whether h e p ositively l ikes t he l ook o f t he building, o r f eels n o a ffection f or i t whatsoever. H e c an l ook a t t he e xamples a lready i n t he t own o f r ecent building a nd can make u p h is m ind whether t hese would i mprove t his s ite o r n ot. I f h e c an s ee n o l ikely i mprovement t he c ase i s s ettled; t he o ld building must r emain. I f h e c an s ee probable i mprovement a d iscussion must t ake p lace with people who s ee t he o pposite, a nd i f the c ommunity w ill f ind i ts s urroundings i mproved by c hange, c hange t here must b e. I t may b e n oted t hat e conomics have n ot e ntered i nto t he a rgument. This i s n ot woolly i dealism, but s imply t he r ecognition o f a g reat a dvantage which many t owns w ith o ld b uildings s hare. There a re many people a bout who w ish t o own a nd t o l ive i n o ld buildings, buildings w ith a ssociations, b uildings which l ook a ttractive, o r s imply buildings which t heir n eighbours d o n ot l ive i n. Whatever t heir motives t here i s a vailable a l arge a mount o f private money f or t he r estoration o f o lder buildings t o f orm d esirable r esidences. The a nswer t o a ny business, f irm o r d eveloper, who p leads t hat i t i s uneconomic f or h im t o r estore, c onvert, o r e xactly r ebuild a building, i s t o s uggest t hat h e s hould s ell i t t o s omeone who w ill. Unfortunately s uch s uggestions a re unlikely t o b e well r eceived, f or t he s ale o f premises b ought f or business purposes a t p rices r elevant t o l iving a ccommodation i s l ikely t o p roduce a f inancial l oss. The a nswer f or t he r ecalcitrant owner i s t o l et a f ew more s lates s lide f rom t he r oof, e ncourage d eath-watch b eetle i n t he t imbers, a nd t he building w ill s oon f all d own, i f i t c annot be knocked d own. The r ubble c an t hen be c leared a way a nd a s ite i s a vailable f or d evelopment. I t i s p ossible t hat a n a nswer t o t his n onsensical s tate o f a ffairs may a pproach t he s tatute b ook i n t he r easonably n ear f uture. A ll t hat i s n ecessary i s t he 2 9

power f or a s tatutory b ody t o r equire t he owner o f a building t o r epair i t, o r s ell i t. A b uilding whose d emolition h as b een a verted w ill t hen h ave t o b e r eturned t o g ood order w ithin a r easonable l ength o f t ime, o r s old, i n t hat s ame t ime. Faced w ith s uch a t hreat a d eveloper w ill e ither f ind t hat the building was n ot s uch a n unusable s hell a s h e t hought, a nd s tart o n r enovation i n h is own i nterest, o r h e w ill d ecide t hat t here i s l ittle o f profit i n t he building f or h im a nd s ell i t. B ut t he f inancier t o whom h e w ishes t o s ell i t w ill be aware o f t he l aw, a nd w ill f ight s hy of s uch a r esponsibility when h e c an build a brand n ew h eadquarters e lsewhere, a nd t he o riginal d eveloper w ill h ave t o s ell t he h ouse f or a r easonable s um t o a f amily w illing t o s pend t ime a nd money making a h ome o f i t. This b rings u s o n t o a s ubsidiary d anger, o ne perhaps nearer t o a rchaeological d etail. T o what e xtent may a building b e c hanged? A fter many y ears o f r ather t houghtl ess d emolition we a re e ntering a phase o f well-meaning r estoration. W ith a f ew e xtra w indows, a f loor r aised a f ew f eet, a n ew d oorway, t hough t he o ld o ne l ooks a n ice f eature t astefully b locked w ith p lants i n t he walls, The O ld B utton F actory, i n a q uiet part o f t own, may h ope f or a n ew l ease o f l ife. I n o ne way t his has n ever h appened before. B uildings have v ery often c hanged purposes, d oors have b een b locked, windows have b een o pened u p, a nd whole s tories have been added o r s ubtracted, but t he purpose up t o t he v ery r ecent past h as b een t o produce a f unctional n ew b uilding of the a ppropriate s pecifications. This s eems o bvious, h onest, a nd t herefore satisfactory. T he present mode o f r estoration i s d ishonest i n t hat a h ouse i s a s pace f or l iving i n, a nd a b uilding c annot b e a n h onestly made h ouse i f l iving i s e ither a rtificially c onstrained by t he s urroundings, o r i f a c ompromise h as been made b etween h onest l iving r equirements, a nd h istorical d etail. I f, i n a wall c ontaining two small e arly w indows, t hree n ew l arger w indows a re i nserted a nd t he two o lder o nes r etained i n o bviously unsatisfactory a nd unusable positions, i t would probably have b een better t o t ake o ut t he e arly w indows, d onate t hem t o t he museum, a nd d esign s omething w ith t he a im o f l iving i n i t. The occupant o f a r avished h ouse d erives l ittle b enefit f rom d ishonest a ntiquarian d etail, t he s pectator s ees o n t he o utside a d esigned mess. The a lternative t o s tarting again i s, o f c ourse, t o l ive v oluntarily w ithin t he o riginal walls. The r ooms w ill be l ow , small a nd d ark, but t here a re many p eople whose l ifes tyle t his w ill s uit. Not t o a llow people t o l ive i n s uch s urroundings i s o fficial i diocy a t i ts w orst. A project i n which a ll t he b uildings i n a manageably small t own h ave b een s crutinised briefly t herefore l eads u s t o t hese c onclusions. There a re probably n o buildings more t han 1 50 y ears o ld ( pre 1 830) which t he t own can a fford t o l ose w ithout c hanging i tself a nd l osing s omething i n t he

3 0

p rocess. S ome s tyles o f building o f t he m iddle 1 9th c entury a nd l ater a re a t p resent s o well r epresented t hat s ome e xamples c ould b e s pared, o ther s tyles a re r are, a nd s o n eed protection e ven i f n o o ne f eels g reatly f or t hem a t p resent. Which brings u s t o t he s econd g reat q uestion, what s hould g o up? I n Verey's v olume o n t he C otswolds i n t he Buildings o f E ngland s eries h e r eaches the y ear 1 919 w ith t he c omment " It would be n ice t o be a ble t o s top this i ntroduction h ere, a nd o n f urther c onsideration t here s eems t o be n o valid r eason f or n ot d oing s o..." ( p.63). W e have s topped our s urvey o nly two y ears l ater, w ith t he t hird e dition o f t he Ordnance S urvey i n 1 921, a nd t his has h appened partly t hrough t he s ame f eelings t hat Verey expressed. Faced w ith r ows o f modern h ouses, s ome w ith i ntricate d etail, s ome w ith n o d etail a t a ll t here s eemed n o point i n r ecordi ng a nd a nalysing a s tyle with n o purpose, n o d irection, a nd n o o riginality. Yet s ome a ttempt has t o be made t o a ssess modern a rchitecture, o r a t l east s ee s ome o f i ts possibilities. I n a s mall t own, well off t he a rchitectural mainstream i t i s probably better t o t ry t o e xamine t he question h istoricially; what has h appened b efore? I t i s d ebatable a s t o whether t here h as e ver been a C irencester o r C otswold, o r e ven West C ountry s tyle o f a rchitecture. The earliest wooden f ramed buildings i n t he t own a re s imilar i n g eneral d esign, t hough n ot perhaps i n d etail o f c onstruction, t o wooden f ramed buildings e lsewhere. The e arliest s tone buildings a re e cclesiastical a nd a ny s uggestion t hat t he perpendicular s tyle was one peculiar t o t he C otswolds would a rouse e xtreme d isagreement i n East Anglia a nd many o ther parts o f England. As s oon a s c lassical d etails were i ntroduced a ny s emblance of l ocal s tyle f led i n f avour o f c opies o f g reat buildings d esigned with mediterranean models i n mind. The c lassical i nfluence c ontinued i n d efault of o ther i nspiration f or a c onsiderable t ime i n C irencester until i t was c hallenged by r evivalism, i n which Tudor was f ar more o bvious than G othic. Verey a gain s ums i t up i n h is presidential a ddress t o t he B ristol a nd G loucestershire S ociety ( Trans., Vol. 9 2 f or 1 973, p .5) " it was agreed by most people t hat G othic was t he proper mode f or c hurches, E lizabethan f or houses, a nd I talian f or municipal buildings". R unning a bsolutely t rue t o f orm a t t his t ime C irencester s hows Holy T rinity C hurch, Watermoor i n t he G othic s tyle, t he Corn H all i n t he I talian s tyle, a nd Oakley C ottage i n t he E lizabethan s tyle. There i s o ne s tyle t hat has been missed out o f t his melancholy l ist o f C otswold p lagiarism, a nd t hat i s t he s tyle i n which most o f t he s uperior h ouses o f t he l ater 1 7th c entury were built. W ith i ts c ombination o f medieval s urvivals a nd s imple c ommon s ense t his c ombination of a g ood s tone f acade w ith d etails o nly a t t he w indows a nd t he d oors, a nd o ne o r two g ables breaking t he f acade, w ith s tone t iles s et o n a r oof o f moderately s teep p itch t his

3 1

f ashion i s a t once h omely, satisfying, a nd s tately. The w indows u sually have s tone mullions a nd t ransomes, o r mullions a lone, a nd t he i ndividual d rip moulds or l ong c ontinuous d rip moulds a re t he o nly d etails which project f rom t he s urface o f t he f acade e xcept p erhaps f or t he d ecorated h ead t o a moulded d oorcase. Even h ere t he d etails a re c ollected t ogether f rom o ther s tyles which g rew well outside t he C otswold a rea; t he mullions a nd mullions a nd t ransomes h ave c ome f rom t he s tone t racery o f t he l atest medieval g othic w indows, a nd t he mouldings o f t he d oorcases s how o ften the f lat t udor a rch a nd r enaissance d etail i n t he head which p resumably i s o f I talian e xtraction. The s pacing of t he windows w ith t heir s ize c arefully r egulated a ccording t o t heir h eight i n t he building, t he g ables with n o overhang, but a s ingle t imber l ying o n t he s tone a nd v isible i mmediately under t he t iles, a nd the f loor j oists a nd the r oof beams a ppearing f lush w ith t he e xterior s tonework having been c arried t hrough t he wall a ll c ombine t o produce a n i mpression o f d esign w ith n othing but e ssential d etails. And t his d esign, o r c raftsmanship d elights many people. Why d oes a t ypical building e rected i n C irencester, o r a ny o ther small t own i n the l ast t hirty y ears n ot e qually d elight people? What ought t he modern a rchitect t o d o i n order t o a chieve t his g ood taste o nce a gain? T o hope t o a nswer these q uestions i s r idiculous y et t o d iscuss t hem i s n ecessary, a nd d iscussion must s tart s omewhere. I t s eems o bvious t hat o ne g ood p lace f or s uch d iscussion i s a t t he e nd o f a h istorical s urvey.

T he modern building i s n ot built o f s tone e xcept i n a f ew c ases. I n C irencester t he a rchitect has t o d esign i n reconstituted s tone, a nd no d oubt s imilar r equirements e xist i n o ther places which a re t rying t o a void g ross m istakes i n modern d evelopment. A s y et i t s eems obvious t hat n o a rchitect h as l earnt how t o u se r econstituted s tone. I t i s a t p resent being used a s a s ubstitute f or e ither c oncrete b locks o r r eal s tone a nd t he buildings which i t f aces t heref ore l ook e ither l ike c oncrete barracks o r pastiche c opies o f t he l ate 1 7th c entury s tyle. The f irst r equirement i s presumably t hat a rchitects s hall e xplore t he possibilities o f t his n ew material i n which t hey a re being f orced t o build s o t hat they may d esign buildings f or t he material rather t han u sing i t a s a s ubstitute. But this well meaning d irective t o b uild only i n s tone or r econstituted s tone may i tself b e partly r esponsible f or t he l ow s tandard o f d esign which i s now o bvious. I t i s d oubtful i f s uch a c onstraint w ill be a cceptable t o a n a rchitect who a ctually wants t o s ay s omething t hrough h is buildings r ather t han wanting t o d esign a n unexceptionable s hell i n which a ny a ctivity c an c onveniently be carried on. I t may b e t hat t he r ight c ourse i s t o c hoose e ither a n a rchitect who has proved h imself e lsewhere a nd l et h im l oose o n a d esign i n t he t own, whatever t he materials o r d esign, o r e lse t o a sk f or s everal g eneral e ssays f or one

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s ingle c ommission, t hen t o s elect t he b est. This s uggests c ompetition, a nd i t i s i nteresting t hat n one o f t he major d evelopments i n the t own have b een t hought i mportant e nough t o l aunch a n o pen c ompetition t o a ttract n ew a nd varied i deas t o t he n ew buildings o f t he c hanging t ownscape. A ttempting a f urther s tatement o f t he ways i n which most modern buildings o ffend, o r more o ften, f ail t o p lease, we probably n eed t o c onsider t he r oof-line. The f irst f ully h orizontal r oofline c ame i n w ith t he c lassical c ornice a nd parapet, i t i s t herefore probably o f l ittle u se t o s ingle o ut t he modern f lat r oof a s a n i tem o f d isfavour, f or t he s ame c riticism would a pply t o many c lassical a nd s ubc lassical buildings which a re g enerally f ound t o b e pleasing . I t i s w orth n oting t hat t he f lat r oof i s a lways a ssociated with a f oreign o r i ntrusive s tyle, s o t hat t he u se o f g ables m ight a ssist a n ew building t o b lend b etter w ith p re-existing buildings. Another f eature which s eems unsatisfactory i n many modern d esigns i s t he t otal l ack o f d etail, moulding o r e mphasis a t t he d oors a nd w indows. Again, t his p oint i s o f l ittle u se f or t his i s t rue o f l arger h ouses s uch a s 5 Dyer S treet, s urely a major a sset, a nd o n s maller houses o f t he whole o f s tyle I I f rom t he 1 8th c entury. I rregularity h owever s eems t o b e a p roblem . S tyle I buildings a nd e specially t he l ate 1 7th c entury k ept a v ery c areful balance o f f eatures, a nd i n most i nstances a ctually employed perfect s ymmetry o f f eatures. A s d esigns moved t oward t he c lassical i t was perfectly possible t o h ave t he d oor t o o ne s ide o f t he f acade w ith perhaps t hree bays o f w indows o n o ne s ide, a nd f our o r f ive o n t he o ther. Where perfect s ymmetry was n ot used, but a n a ttempt was made a t balance t hen t he a symmetry was o bvious a nd c alculated. Two a spects o f i rregularity would s eem d ifficult t o a ccept i n s ome modern buildings; the a lignment, o r n on-alignment with t he s treet f rontage, a nd a n i rregular a ngle o r l ops idedness o f a gable. There i s o bviously n othing i ntrins ically wrong i n i rregularity, a nd n o d oubt modern e xampl es a re c arefully calculated, but t heir e ffect i s o ften t hat o f a d eliberate m istake. F ew, i f a ny, e arlier buildings i n t he town a re s et a t a n a ngle t o t he f rontage; i n o ne o r two r ecent b uildings where t his has b een d one i t i s u ncertain i f i t i s i ntentional o r whether t his has r esulted f rom a lignment o f a r ectangular b uilding w ith s ome o ther f eature s uch a s a property boundary. S imilarl y, s ome modern t ilted gables g ive a n i mpression o nly of i mbalance. I n n either case h as t he i rregularity b een t hought o ut c arefully e nough w ith r egard t o t he s urroundi ng b uildings which a re i nevitably r egular, a nd having d ecided t o u se a n i rregularity t he a rchitect has n ot been s trong e nough t o make a point w ith i t, s o t hat i t has m isfired. A l ast point c ontradicts what h as j ust been s aid, f or o ne o f t he most unpleasant a spects o f modern buildings when part o f a r ow o f e arlier buildings i s t he b latant r egularity o f w indow h eights i nstead o f a p leasant g radat ion f rom t he g round f loor u pwards. This i s a purely 3 3

s ubjective s tatement w ith n o f irm basis but prejudice, a nd i t s uggests s omething which i s t o b e f irmly r ejected, t hat s ome f eatures o f a rchitecture a re i mmutable. There i s n o r eason t hat we can s ee, s ave c ustom, a nd what i s s een most o ften, why buildings s hould h ave w indows which g et smaller the h igher t hey a re, y et i t a ppears a s a j arring m istake when a new building f orces t he f eature o f uniform w indows i nto a r ow o f o lder houses a ll f ollowing t he o lder f ashion. Perhaps we have h ere a point t hat has a lready b een mentioned under t he previous h eading o f i rregularity. I f a new building i s d eparting f rom t he s tyle o f i ts n eighbours i t needs t o be i n d ialogue w ith them . I t c annot b e s elf c ontained a nd s uccessful. A f acade on a s light a ngle w ith d elicately a symmetrical gables w ill be s houted d own by a n eighbouring r ow o f 1 9th c entury f acades which a re o verpoweringly s ure of t hemselves a nd r efuse a ny i nnovations by t heir s ide. Delicacy o r t entative d esign i s u seless, what i s needed i s a f ull bodied a rgument f rom a b rash n ewcomer o f s ure design, s trong c lean l ine, which s houts o ut o ne main point i n o pposition t o i ts pompous e lders. I f t he n ew building i s not h emmed i n by o lder n eighbours but i n a s urrounding o f i ts own t hen t here i s no e xcuse f or c lients, a rchitects, p lanning c ommittees, o r the public a t l arge i f t he d esign i s not e xciting, c ontroversial, c onfident, a nd t herefore a c ontribution t o the t own. I n the past t he t own has s een r oughly one a stonishing building i n each c entury. The Abbey was built a t a t ime when t he n ew g othic s tyle was a ppearing f rom France, a nd a lthough i t had s ome f irm Romanesque d ecoration i ts l ater d etails must have used t he newer s tyle. The building o f the parish c hurch, a nd a dditions t o t hat a nd t he Abbey t ake u s o n i nto t he 1 5th c entury. I n t he s ixteenth c entury t he parish c hurch porch, o r Town Hall a ppeared i n f ully d eveloped perpendicular w ith o riel w indows a nd g ood f an t racery. The 1 7th c entury s aw the d evelopment of t he C irencester s tyle, a nd t hen s omewhere i n t he m id 1 8th c entury, a r eactionary e lement produced t he magnificent f acade o f 5 1 C oxwell S treet, a nd t his was challenged by t he u tterly i ntrusive brilliance o f L loyd 's Bank. The 1 9th c entury i ntruded a n I talianate f acade i nto t he s taid Market P lace, a building w ith n o l ocal e lements a t a ll. We a re d ue f or o ur 2 0th c entury i nspiration, but i t c an n ever a rrive i f t he t own i s t imid a nd c orrect.

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THE S URVEY a )

A im

The s urvey s et o ut t o e xamine e very building i n C irencester, t o g ive i t a d ate w ithin known l imits, a nd t o a ssign i t t o a s tyle i n which i t would be g rouped w ith o ther s imilar b uildings. A s ubsidiary a im was t he s tudy o f t he d evelopment o f t he t own. b )

Definitions

a nd L imitations

To t he n ative t he d efinition o f C irencester i s o bvious. I n s pelling i t o ut f or t he l ess f ortunate we have t ried t o e xamine e very building w ithin t he r ecent Urban D istrict, o r m odern t own, e xcepting t hose f arms o n t he p eriphery which a re s till f unctioning a s f arms, o r were d oing s o u ntil r ecently, e . g. Chesterton Farm, Bowling G reen Farm, e tc. B uildings not s hown o n t he map o f 1 921 have b een e xcluded. T hey a re l isted a s G i n t he i ndex, w ithout f urther c omment, i f t hey o ccur i n s treets w ith a majority o f o lder b uildings. Where t here a re n o pre 1 921 buildings i n a s treet, t he s treet i s n ot mentioned. The t erm building h as b een l imited mainly t o t he f acade, which h as b een s tudied a t f irst h and, e xcept where v egetation made t his i mpossible, a nd t he g round p lan, which h as b een s tudied f rom maps. I n many c ases we have c ertainly d ated a b uilding t oo l ate, b ut b efore t he date c an b e r evised t here must b e physical e vidence o n which t o proceed. Outbuildings have, i n g eneral, b een e xcluded; a part f rom t he d ifficulties which would have been e ncountered i n c lassifying s ummer-houses, d og k ennels, gardening s heds a nd g arages, the t ime i nvolved i n g aining a ccess t o e ach building w ould have b een prohibitive. c )

S ources

F ive maps o f t he c omplete t own o f C irencester a t a s uitably l arge s cale a re known t o u s. I n t he l ast y ears o f t he 1 8th c entury a n e nterprising s urveyor R ichard Hall made a map o f t he t own o f which h e d rew s everal c opies; o n d ifferent c opies h e o utlined t he properties o f v arious l andowners, a dded a s uitable a scription, a nd t he l arger e states t hus r eceived " individual" t reatment. One c opy dated 1 793 - d edicated t o H enry, Earl Bathurst, i s i n t he B ingham L ibrary, C irencester, a s econd c opy i n t he G loucestershire Record O ffice ( D 2 525) s hows " the p roperty o f T .B. Howell Esq."; i t i s f rom a photocopy o f t his map k indly s upplied b y t he Record Office t hat we have w orked. The map g ives s treet n ames, i dentifies i nns, marks g ardens a nd o pen f ields a nd g ives most property boundaries. O n d etails of buildings i t i s b rilliantly e xact d own t o t he d etails o f b ow w indows a nd u neven f acades. Though i t i s a g reat p ity t hat t here s eems t o b e n o e arlier c omplete map i t would be i mpossible t o b e b etter s erved f or t he e nd of t he 1 8th c entury. 3 5

T he " Plan o f C irencester 1 835" by J ohn W ood, S urveyor - a lso s upplied by t he C ounty R ecord Office ( D 6 746 P 4 8) a s a photocopy - i s f ar l ess a ccurate t han i ts predecessor. Buildings a re s ometimes c onventionally d rawn, d etails a re omitted, a nd s ometimes buildings a re c ompletely wrong. I t i s possible t o make t his c riticism w ith s afety because t here a re i nstances where t he maps o f 1 793 a nd 1 875 a gree, but 1 835 d iffers. One g reat b onus i n 1 835 i s t he naming o f a ll property a ccording t o i ts owner. This h as not b een used much i n t he p resent s tudy t hough i t has provided much i nformation f or u se i n f uture w ork. W ood g ives t he populat ion o f C irencester i n 1 831 a s 4 ,998. B eecham ( p.195) presumably u sing o fficial c ensus f igures, quotes 5 ,420, a d iscrepancy o f n early t en per c ent. I t i s i mpossible t o c ompare B eecham 's number o f h ouses, 1 ,079 f or 1 831, w ith t he map f or o nly property boundaries, n ot boundaries between l iving units, a re s hown. The f irst e dition o f the O rdnance S urvey f or C irencester was s urveyed j ust o ne hundred y ears a go i n 1 875 by Capt. L . J .G . F errier, RE, a nd l evelled b y L ieut. W . Wynne, R .E. I t was published, a pparently i n t he s ame y ear, a t t he s cale o f 1 :500. The 2 5 i nch t o t he m ile, o r 1 :2500, e dition o f 1 875 was a pparently s urveyed a nd l evelled i n 1 873-74. The l argest s cale ( c.6 f eet t o o ne mile) g ives a n i nvalua ble i nsight i nto the d etails o f C irencester a c entury ago; we h ope t o f ollow t his i n much g reater d etail i n a f uture s tudy. New editions o f t he 1 :2500 map a ppeared i n 1 902, 1 921 a nd 1 970. The s econd a nd t hird e ditions a re useful f or c harting t he g rowth o f t he t own i n t he decades a round 1 900, while the f ourth e dition g ives much n eeded h elp, but o ccasionally s preads c onfusion, on t he matter o f s treet numbers f or buildings. P hotocopies o f a ll but t he f ourth e dition, 1 :2500, were k indly s upplied by t he B ritish L ibrary, Reprographic S ection, a nd Mr. Mark W ebber h elped by f inding the r elevant s heets a nd e ditions. C hief a mong t he o ther maps a vailable i s that i n Beecham o pposite p .250, which g ives a p lan o f t he t own i n 1 886. Unfortunately t he s cale o f 1 0 i nches t o t he m ile o nly a llows o f a ccurate i nterpretation i n t he well s paced d evelopments o f Watermoor; i t i s probably more d anger t han h elp i n the more densely p acked o lder part o f t he t own. But t his i nterim v iew o f Watermoor, which a llows two phases, E i 1 875-1886 a nd E ii 1 886-1902, b etween t he f irst a nd s econd e ditions o f t he 1 :2500 O rdnance S urvey i s o f t he g reatest value. One o f t he c hief d efects o f t he 1 793 a nd 1 835 maps i s t hat t hey s how l ittle o f t he t own to t he s outh o f the L ewis Lane - Q uerns Lane l ine. T his i s partly r emedied by t he " Map o f t he B orough o f C irencester, 1 837" d rawn b y J . Dewhurst a t a s cale o f f ive i nches t o t he m ile. This map, s upplied a s a photocopy by t he County Record O ffice ( D 2 525) g ives a ll t he o utlying b uildings e rected b y 1 837 a nd c an t herefore b e t aken a s a c omplement t o,

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a nd a c heck o n, Wood's map o f 1 835. I t g ives t he B orough a nd t he Tything boundaries, t hough i n built up a reas t hese a re d ifficult t o f ollow . The " Plan o f the Tything o f C hesterton" drawn i n 1 808 by Hall a nd S on f or H enry, Earl Bathurst, a c opy of which was used by t he E state t o n ote d etails o f l and c onveyanced t o t he G reat Western Railway Company on 3 0th December 1 846, i s i n t he C ounty Record O ffice ( D 2 525), a nd t his g ives t he v ital d ivision between t he t ythings o f Chesterton a nd S perringate. O ther maps o f p arts o f t he t own d o e xist but a re o f very l imited u se. K ip's p lan has a lready b een mentioned i n detail. M oving f rom p lans t o written s ources t he quality d rops s harply. The h istory o f C irencester has a lways b een cumulative s o t hat e ach writer has r epeated what h is predecessor h as had t o s ay a nd has a dded t o i t f rom h is own k nowledge. While n ot a perfect h istorical method t his h as preserved much o f value, e specially when i t i s r emembered t hat each w riter w ill be most u seful a nd most a ccurate when r eporting h is own t imes; f ew people a round 1 800 w ill have c hecked on R udder's a ntiquarian s tatements but d isagreement w ill h ave b een s trong on a ny m is-statement o f c ontemporary p oints. This i s n ot t he p lace t o a ttempt a C irencester b ibliography, but we may n ote i n passing t hat t he c umulative c omments o f A tkyns ( The Ancient a nd P resent S tate o f G loucestershire, 1 712) Rudder ( A New H istory o f G loucestershire, 1 779; A H istory o f C irencester 1 800) a nd W . K. B eecham ( A H istory o f C irencester, 1 848) h ave l ittle t o s ay o n i ndividual buildings o r u seful d ates. R udder's t houghts on o ld buildings have a lready b een quoted. This l eaves t he t hree more r ecent h istorians o f C irencester, K .J. B eecham ( History o f C irencester, 1 886), the R ev. E .A. Fuller ( several d etailed papers i n T ransactions o f t he B ristol a nd G loucestershire Archaeological S ociety, Vols I -XXVIII) a nd W elbore S t. C lair Baddeley ( A H istory o f C irencester, 1 924). Fuller's papers a re e xcellent, d etailed, h istorical s tudies o f s pecific t opics - the parish c hurch, t he s chool, t he A bbey - a nd he c an t herefore be a bsolved f rom h is f ailure t o h elp u s w ith i nformation o n s ecular buildings i n g eneral. T he c ontrast b etween t he two r emaining writers c ould n ot be g reater; Beecham i s s uperb, Baddeley i s d isastrous. F or Baddeley t he h istory o f C irencester e nds c .1700, o f t he B athurst f amily c .1800, a nd a ll t hat we a re g iven o f t he 1 9th c entury i s a n a fterword by W . S cotford Harmer which, t hough v ery v aluable f or i ts r eminiscences, g ives v ery f ew f irm d ates f or buildings. Beecham, i n c ontrast, i s a n early p erfect s ource f or t he V ictorian buildings o f C irencester. Having t rained a s a n a rchitect h e was e xtremely c onscientious i n n oting t he date a t which a ll major b uildings were e rected, a nd h e c harted t he d evelopment o f t he Nursery ( Watermoor) a nd A shcroft Estates meticulously. F or h im t he modern barracks ( p.236, 1 856)

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a re a s i mportant a s t he a ncient c astle, t he Corn Hall d eserves a s much description ( p.229) a s A lfred's Hall i n t he Park, a nd t he d etails o f the Gasworks a re g iven a t g reater l ength than t hose o f S t. J ohn's Hospital. Only on o ne s ubject i s h e s ilent, a nd t hat by d esign ( p.312) the people o f C irencester. The most obvious d irect written s ource f or b uildings a part f rom t he 1 851-71 c ensus r eturns, which we h ope t o work o n s hortly, a re their deeds, o r i n a f ew c ases, i nscriptions o n t he f acades. W e have n oted a ll t he i nscriptions we have s een, but we have n ot c onsulted a ny current deeds. Many boxes o f C irencester deeds d eposited by d efunct s olicitor's o ffices a nd e states a re h oused i n the C ounty R ecord O ffice. I n a f ew cases t he p roperties t o w hich the d eeds r efer a re i dentified, but f or t he majority the only d etails a re, f or example, " a s hop a nd messuage i n C ricklade S treet". I t s eems a r easonable s ummary t o s ay that most d eeds which have f ound t heir way i nto t he r ecord o ffice have l ost t heir modern c ounterpart so t hat a ny h ope o f using them f or quick a nd c ertain dating i s vain. A l ong t horough project would be needed to make t he r ight u se o f this valuable untapped s ource. I f a ny house-holders i n C irencester a re w illing t o l ook a t d eeds s till i n t heir own possession a nd l et u s know t he r esults i n terms o f dates, i nhabitants a nd f unctions, whether they prove u s r ight o r w rong, we will b e v ery g rateful a nd will undertake t o publish a n amended l ist i n due c ourse. The a im o f this s tudy was material; t o describe, a nd t o b egin t o a nalyse t he buildings and t he physical surroundi ngs which e xist i n a small t own t oday. To a v ery small e xtent we have taken a dvantage o f o ral s ources a nd have r eceived valuable h elp, i nformation, a nd i deas f rom Mrs Barker, Mrs Elphick, Mrs Young, Mr. J . C lappen, M r. C layfield, Mr. H . Legg, Mr. & M rs R . M. Reece, a nd Mr. D .J. Viner. A s urvey o f buildings o f C irencester was n eeded because the p rimary source, the b uildings, a re c onstantly being removed. The primary s ource on t he c ommunity within these buildings, the memory o f t he c ommunity i tself, i s being e roded a t a n e ven f aster r ate by t he natural course o f i llness a nd death, a nd i n a f ew y ears memories o f the proper C irencester, before 1 918 when t he outside world i ntruded, w ill be g one. I f we have s ucceeded i n l aying t he barest o utline o f s ystematic knowledge o f t he skeleton o f a s ociety, i ts buildings, t hen we h ope t o g o o n t o t ap a s many oral s ources a s we can t o e ndow t hese b uildings w ith r emembered l ife, a nd t o i mprove t he outline i n t he process. d )

Methods

The f irst s tage o f the s tudy was a d etailed t our o f a ll buildings i n t he t own. A l ist was made o f t he s treet numbers t o b e e xpected f rom the 1 970 O rdnance S urvey 1 :2500 a nd a tabular description o f e ach building was made, 3 8

s treet b y s treet, i n a l edger. I n a ll c ases t he d ate was g uessed, a nd this purely s ubjective g uess n ot o nly p roved on s everal o ccasions t o b e r emarkably a ccurate, but a lso s aved u s f rom many s lips d ue t o the t oo r igid a pplication o f a s ystem o f c lassification a t a l ater s tage. The s econd s tage was t he d igestion o f the i nformation g athered a nd a n a ttempt t o s ort t he buildings i nto c onsistent a nd i nformative g roups. A c ompletely o bjective s orting a nd g rouping w ould have g iven f ascinati ng r esults but t his o bviously n eeds e lectronic help a nd was f ar b eyond our t ime a nd our r esources. W ithin t he d ate b rackets g iven b y t he maps ( 1712, 1 793, 1 835, e tc.) we d id u se a s imple matrix o f f eatures a nd t his l aid t he basis o f the f inal c lassification which c ut a cross t he d ate b rackets a nd r elied l argely o n a ssessment o f s tyle. This g rouping i s partly s ubjective, i n t hat c ertain f eatures h ad t o be t reated a t the e xpense o f o ther f eatures which were c onsidered l ess i mportant f or g rouping, a nd p artly objective, i n t hat once t he v ital f eatures had been s elected t he g rouping b ecame mechanised, i .e. a ll b uildings w ith f eatures X , Y a nd Z were put i n s tyle I I. T he d ivision i nto s tyles i n most c ases r equired a s econd v isit t o c heck t he f eatures which were n ow c onsidered i mportant; t his p rovided a useful c orrecting p rocess. Divisions w ithin s tyles t ook a c onsiderable t ime, a nd t hough a ll a ttempts h ave b een made t o use o nly s imple a nd o bvious g roupings, t here r emain s ome unsatisf actory g roups a nd a ttributions. The s tyle l ists were f inally c hecked with t he r ecord c ards, a nd t he i ndex made o ut, i n which a ll buildings o f t he t own before 1 921 were i ncluded. This a gain f ormed a c ross-check which r evealed g aps a nd mistakes a nd t hese were r ectified. An e stimate o f a ccuracy i s v irtually i mpossible, mainly b ecause t here a re f ew t ests o f what i n this f ield, i s r ight a nd what i s wrong. Perhaps we c an h ope t hat no more than o ne i n twenty ( 5 per c ent) o f o ur e ntries may be s hown t o b e f actually i naccurate o r s tylistically i nept; i f t his i s s o i t means t hat t his f irst a ttempt a t a c omplete s urvey o f t he buildings o f C irencester h as provided a r easonably f irm f oundation f or f uture r esearch. e )

S ummary

o f

C onclusions

The t raditional methods o f writing up a p iece o f s cientific work, e specially a n e xperiment r equires t hat A im, M ethod a nd Observations s hould be f ollowed by a C onclusion. This may b e n o bad t hing f or i t f orces a ny writer who a ccepts t he d iscipline i nto a n e stimate o f e rror - a f eature l amentably l acking i n a rchaeological a nd h istorical writing - a nd a s ummary o f what t he w ork h as a chieved. We have y et t o f ind many a rchaeological r eports i n which t he w riters h onestly s tate d issatisfaction w ith t heir a ims, t heir methods o r t heir r esults, a nd we h ave c ertainly n ever s een a r eport i n which e ither a h istorian o r a n a rchaeologist a dmits t hat the r esults o btained a re f ar b elow t hose n ormally r equired by t he

3 9

expenditure o f the g iven amount o f money, t ime, e ffort a nd expertise. Our balance s heet, i n t hese terms, has been s et out i n the preface, a nd we f eel that i t i s s atisfactory. What, therefore, d o we c laim a s results? I n the c ommentary we have s uggested a f ramework f or understanding the g rowth o f C irencester f rom a s imple r iver f ord, a Roman f ort, a C ivitas capital, the capital o f the province o f Britannia Prima, a post-Roman c ity s tate, a Saxon r oyal r esidence, a small medieval t own c ontrolled by one o f the g reater mitred Abbeys, a f lourishing wool t own a nd f inally a quiet market t own, centre o f a l arge c ountry a rea. I f, i n ten years t ime, t he i ntroductory chapters d o n ot need complete revision i t w ill mean not that we were c orrect i n our s uggestions but that no f urther thinking on t he s ubject has b een d one. These f irst chapters use a s f ew uncertain facts a s possible, a s many reasonably c ertain facts a s c an be g athered, and a s l ittle unsupported imagination a s can be a ttained; they deserve c ritical a ttention a nd c onstructive c omments. I n t he survey every building e rected before 1 922 a nd s tanding i n August 1 974 has b een put i nto a s tylistic g roup by v irtue o f i ts a rchitectural o r s tructural detail, o r l ack o f i t, a nd has been g iven a date to within half a c entury o r l ess. From t his work we have been a ble t o make c omments on the use o f brick which i s rare i n f acades before a bout 1 875. I f this development i s t o be l aid a t the d oor of i mproving c ommunications i t i s hardly d ue t o the Thames a nd S evern Canal ( 1790's) o r the Great Western Railway ( 1841); i t i s i nteresting that the "Midland a nd S outh Western Junction" railway t ravelling f rom the c lays o f Hampshire, r eached Swindon i n 1 875 a nd Watermoor i n 1 883. The f irst two brick t erraces ( p. 5 8) a re o f 1 880 a nd 1 885. After this beginning b rick f lourished briefly before being part shrouded i n s tucco ( c.1906-14) a nd l atterly banished f rom s ight. The use o f types o f building s tone may probably be understood more easily now t hat most buildings have been g iven a r ough date. S imple d ressed Cotswold f reestone occurs a t a ll periods t hough a part f rom the c lerical a nd charitable buildings o f the t own t he earliest h ouses a re t imber f ramed. Many o f these t imber buildings have a s tone p linth a nd s tone f oundations, but t he s tone built h ouses with gables, using t imbers mainly horizontally, which a re thought o f a s t ypical C irencester h ouses, s eem t o b e a development o f the 1 7th c entury. Ashlar facing, i n which l arge b locks o f s mooth s tone a re l aid w ithout i ntervening c ourses o f mortar, f irst a ppears on L loyds Bank, perhaps s oon a fter 1 740, but d oes not c ome i nto c ommon use until t he 1 790's. Even a fter t hat i t i s by n o means universal. I t i s i nteresting to s peculate o n t he re-organisation needed i n t he quarries when the d emand f or a shlar f acing g rew . The working of s tone quarries i s a f ascinating a rea o f research which s eems s o

4 0

f ar v irtually untouched e xcept f or t he r ecent e xcavation o f a g roup o f S axon q uarries a t Ewen, t hree m iles f rom C irencester. The building o f Watermoor Church ( 1847-50) i n what B eecham d escribes a s " rock f aced masonry" o f f orest marble s eems t o b e t he f irst u se o f v ery r ough s tone f acing a part f rom t he natural l imestone f ormations used i n t he e ntrance g ateway t o C irencester H ouse a nd o ccasionally e lsewhere f or k eystones. Many b uildings f ollow i n t his r usticated s tyle b ut s eldom, i f e ver, i n t he f orest marble u sed a t Watermoor. T urning f rom methods t o s tyles t he s urvey h elps t o s eparate out t he buildings w ith c lassical f eatures i nto t hose w hich p recede t he f ull c lassical s tyle - mainly 1 7951 835 - a nd t hose b uildings i n which c lassical f eatures have l ived o n. This a llows mention o f one o f t he points a t which our g uess d ates were most o bviously i naccurate, f or t he proto c lassical buildings w ith h eavy d ressed window s urrounds were s een a s l ate c lassical d ecline r ather t han e arly c lassical i nfluence. I n t he s ame way, r ough d ating has a llowed u s t o s uggest thoughts o n t he s urvival a nd r evival o f e arly f eatures s uch a s d rip moulds a nd mullions a nd t ransomes, t he m inor Romanesque r evival, a nd t he a bsence o f a ny f ull 2 0th c entury " Town Hall Georgian". B ut p erhaps t he main value o f t he s tudy l ies i n what may b e d one i n the f uture with s uch d etails o f t he d evelopment o f p lanning a nd buildings o f a s mall t own, f ortunate i n i ts s upply o f s uperb building s tone, but many y ears a way f rom t he mainstream o f a rchitectural s tyle a s i t h as d eveloped i n England s ince t he Reformation.

4 1

MEDIEVAL BUILDINGS W ithout d oubt t he t hree earliest b uildings i n t he t own a re the Saxon A rch, S t. J ohn's H ospital a nd t he Parish Church ( all originally c .1180). S ince t hese a re i solated e xamples of early a rchitecture which h ave been t horoughly d ealt w ith i n o ther works i t i s n ot n ecessary t o d escribe t hem h ere. The earliest s ecular building t o s urvive i s Weavers Hall o f Thomas S treet, b uilt b y S ir W illiam Nottingham, A ttorney G eneral t o Edward I V " for the b enefit o f f our p oor men" a nd e ndowed a t h is d eath i n 1 483 ( Beecham, pp 2 23/4). I t h as a p linth made up o f v ery l arge s tone b locks, has s everal v ery small d eep s et w indows a nd o ne c rude window with a h eavy mullion a nd t ransome. I t s eems p ossible that f our s ingle l ight w indows p laced n ear t o each o ther, g radually c oalesced t o f orm f our l ights w ithin a s ingle f rame, a s i n t his particular w indow, a nd e ventually e volved i nto t he more d elicate Tudor mullioned a nd t ransomed w indow s uch a s t hose o f M onmouth H ouse i n Thomas S treet. B oth Monmouth H ouse a nd 2 6 Thomas S treet probably date f rom t he e arly 1 6th c entury.

S tyle

I

S tyle I c onsists o f buildings w ith s tone mullions, s tone mullions a nd t ransomes, e ither i ndividual o r c ontinuous d rip moulds, a nd c oved eaves a s t heir c haracteristic f eatures. The earliest buildings i n t his s tyle h ave i ndividual d rip moulds, a nd mullioned w indows. Mullioned w indows can be s ub-divided i nto three g roups o f c oncave moulding, c hamfere d moulding o r ovolo moulding. T he e arliest b uildings a re r ecognised by t heir c oncave mouldings, which may be a c ontemporary s ecular r eflection o f t he 1 5th a nd 1 6th c entury windows i n t he Parish C hurch. T hus buildings i n Phase I (b) a re p robably l ate 1 6th o r e arly 1 7th c entury. I t i s n ot possible t o s ay d efinitely whether o volo o r c hamfered mullions a re u sed f irst because t here i s o nly a t wo y ear d ifference i n d ate b etween t he t wo e arliest d ated b uildings employing t his o rnamentation. However t he l atest f orm of moulding t o be u sed o n s tone w indow f rames i n C irencester buildings i s f lat beaded moulding o f s tyle I Va I t i s more o bvious t hat c hamfered moulding c ould have e volved i nto f lat b eaded moulding t han t hat o volo mouldi ng s hould have d one; t his would s uggest t hat c hamfered moulding was t he l ater s tyle. F urthermore t here i s a t endency f or buildings o f this s tyle t o become l ess o rnamented t he l ater t hey a re, which w ould a gain make t he p lainer c hamfered moulding t he l atest s tyle. I t i s t herefore r easonable t o s uggest t hat b uildings w ith o volo mullions were built a fter 1 640, a nd c hamfered mullions a fter 1 660. This

t endency of

l ater buildings 4 2

t o be s tylistically

l ess d etailed i s a lso o bservable i n t he d evelopment o f d rip m oulds. The i ndividual d rip moulds which a re f ound i n c onjunction w ith s tone mullions g radually e volve i nto c ontinuous d rip moulds. 2 5 C oxwell S treet perhaps r epresents a t ransition s tage between t he t wo s ince i t has a c ontinuous d rip mould which i s s haped o ver t he h eads o f w indows. B oth t ypes o f drip mould a re f ound on s ome buildings, but i n a ll t hese cases t he i ndividual d rip mould i s f ound o n t he g round f loor w indows a nd t he c ontinuous d rip mould r elegated t o upper s toreys. No i ndividual d rip moulds a ppear on buildings l ater t han 1 700 u ntil t hey a re r e-adopted by t he " antiquarian r evivalist" a rchitects o f t he 1 9th c entury. During t he 1 7th c entury, t he proportions o f buildings were c hanging a s c eiling l evels were r ising a nd r ooms becoming taller. This a ffected t he proportions o f windows u sed i n a building, f or i f t he C irencester builder had c ontinued t o u se mullioned w indows i n taller buildings the w indows would h ave r esembled prison g rilles. However h e r esponded b y r otating t he l ong a xis o f t he window f rame f rom t he h orizontal t o t he vertical. Extra s upport f or t he n ow h eightened mullion was g ained by t he a ddition o f a h orizontal c ross bar - t he t ransome. Mullioned w indows were s till u sed i n c onjunction with mullioned a nd t ransome d w indows but only o n upper s tories a nd i n g ables, where t he h eight o f the s torey made i t a ppropriate. 1 05 G loucester S treet, dated 1 695, i s t he o nly dated building w ith s tone mullions a nd t ransomes but buildings of t his phase probably g o back t o 1 670. C oved e aves a re a f eature o f S tyle I which a ppear only on buildings which h ave n o g ables o n t he f acade. This i s a lso c onnected with t he d evelopment o f buildings o f taller proportions, s ince t here i s o nly one mullioned building w ith c oved e aves. This building i s t he Unitarian c hurch a nd i t i s a lso e xceptional i n being t he o nly building w ith mullioned w indows which a re taller t han t hey a re w ide. As t his i s a n e cclesiastical building i t i s n ot s urprising t hat i t d eviates f rom t he s ecular pattern. I (a)

Buildings having mullions

C oncave Moulding

i ndividual

d rip moulds

C oxwell S treet: 1 - a lso has d oorcase d ated RM 1 658 Park S treet: 1 1

a nd s ingle

a moulded

s tone

Watermoor R oad: 2 , Chesterton Manor has c oncave a nd two ovolo mullioned w indows.

Ovolo Moulding

C oxwell S treet: 2 5 d oorcase d ated 1 674 C ecily H ill: 2 7 Castle S treet: 4 3

4 3

- a lso has

two

a moulded s tone

Chamfered Moulding

I (b)

G osditch S treet: U nitarian C hurch - a lso h as c oved e aves a nd a keystone a rch d oorcase dated 1 672. G loucester S treet: 7 - a lso h as a m oulded s tone d oorcase dated 1 694. G loucester S treet: 2 -6 - ( these may b e a l ater r econstruction o f e arlier buildings)

Buildings mullions.

Concave Moulding

h aving c ontinuous d rip m oulds

G loucester S treet:

4 0

Ovolo Moulding

C oxwell S treet: 2 - a lso d oorcase dated ERE 1 676 C oxwell S treet: 5 Park S treet: 9

Chamfered Moulding

G loucester S treet: G ooseacre Lane: 1 1

I (c)

Chamfered M oulding

I (d)

1 9 a nd

h as

a moulded

s tone

1 5

B uildings h aving c ontinuous d rip m oulds mullions a nd t ransomes.

Ovolo Moulding

a nd s ingle

a nd s tone

Park S treet: The O ld G rammar S chool - a lso has mullioned w indows Park S treet: 1 a nd 3 - a lso c oncave mullioned w indows i n the gable, p ossibly r eused, a nd a c ontinuous d rip mould which i s s haped o ver t he r ounded h eads o f t he g round f loor w indows. C oxwell S treet: 5 3 Dyer S treet: 2 a nd 4 - a lso h as c oved e aves Lewis Lane: 1 6 Dyer S treet: 3 9 C oxwell S treet: 3 B eeches Road: The G olden Farm C astle S treet: 1 5, T he B lack Horse C ricklade S treet: 4 4 C ricklade S treet: T he Wheatsheaf Castle S treet: 6 3 Park S treet: 2 a nd 4 - a lso h as c oved e aves S heep S treet: 2 9 a nd 3 1 - a lso has c oved e aves G loucester S treet: 5 7, Barton C ourt G loucester S treet: 1 05 - a lso has moulded s tone d oorcase dated BBI 1 679

B uildings w ith

c oved

e aves.

Thomas S treet: 6 - a lso h as a c ontinuous d rip mould Market P lace: 2 8 a nd 3 0 C ecily H ill: 2 - a lso has c ontinuous d rip m ould Castle S treet: 2 2-26 C ricklade S treet: 7 2 a nd 7 4 Dollar S treet: 1 a nd 3 4 4

I (e)

B uildings w ith c ontinuous d rip moulds s tylistic f eature.

a s

t heir only

G loucester S treet: 2 8, 5 1 a nd 5 3 C oxwell S treet: 1 4-20 Dollar S treet: 4 a nd 1 4 Dyer S treet: 9 a nd 1 1 L ewis L ane: 1 4 ( probably r eplaced w ith s tucco band c ourse)

S tyle

I I

S tyle I I c onsists o f t imber f ramed buildings, d efined a s b uildings i n which t he weight o f t he f acade r ests o n t he t imber f rame. O ther buildings w ith t imber f rames, whose weight r ests o n a s tone f acade a re n ot i ncluded i n t his c ategory b ut a re c lassified by t he f eatures o f t he s tone f acade. A ll t he b uildings i n t his c ategory h ave v isible u pright t imber s upports, a nd a ll h ave a j etty. Probably 1 6th/17th c entury. Dyer S treet: 1 2, The Bear Market P lace: 4 1, The F leece - a lso h as s tone p linth Dollar S treet: 6 a nd 8 lso has G loucester S treet: 3 3 a nd 3 5 - a p linth o f v ery l arge s tones G loucester S treet: 9 6 Castle S treet: 1 9 a nd 4 7 G osditch S treet: 1 7 a nd 1 9 G loucester S treet: ? 1 41

S tyle

a

a

I II

S tyle I II c onsists o f b uildings w ith n o o ther s tylistic d etail t han a s ingle b lock l intel a bove t he d oor a nd w indow jambs. The e arliest phase i n t his s tyle c onsists o f buildings w ith t imber l intels s ome o f which have l eaded c asement w indows. I t i s p robable t hat a ll t he t imber l intelled buildings had l eaded c asements o riginally but s ome h ave b een r eplaced w ith modern w indows. T imber l intels a ppear o n buildings dated p re 1 715 a nd a s l ate a s 1 875, w hen t hey a re f alling o ut o f use w ith t he w ider u se o f m onolithic s tone l intels. Buildings i n category ( c) c ontinue t he t radition o f t his s tyle o f f eatureless buildings, but w ith t he s ubstitution o f s tone f or t imber a s a b uilding material, a nd date f rom p re 1 835 t o 1 921. I II(a)

Buildings h aving t imber l intels a nd l eaded ments a s t heir o nly s tylistic f eature. Market P lace: 3 5 Castle S treet: 1 7 a nd 4 5 C oxwell S treet: 2 7-37 S pitalgate L ane: 1 a nd 2 7

4 5

c ase-

B arton Farm a nd f arm b uildings G loucester S treet: 8 8-94 a nd 1 69-177 C ity Bank Road: 1 4 a nd 1 6 B eeches R oad: The N ew M ills T etbury R oad: The T oll H ouse L ondon R oad: 6 -10, G rove Cottages Thomas S treet: 2 7-37 Q uerns Lane: 2 3 Querns H ill: 4 3-47 I II(b)

Buildings having l eaded c asements a nd modern l intels, p robably r eplacing t imber l intels. G loucester S treet: 2 6, Castle S treet: 3 Park S treet: 1 5 Barton L ane: 1 0 a nd 1 2 L ewis Lane: 3 2-38 Dugdale R oad: 1 4-16

I II(c)

Buildings s tylistic

h aving t imber f eature.

9 5-97

l intels

a nd

a s

1 85

t heir o nly

C ricklade S treet: 4 8, 5 0, 6 0 a nd 8 9 G loucester S treet: 6 0 Castle S treet: 4 5 a nd 5 3 B lack Jack S treet: 1 2 S omerford Road: 1 6 B lack Jack S treet: T he C rown Garages G ooseacre Lane: 1 -3 C oxwell S treet: 3 2 a nd 3 6 Park S treet: 1 9 C ecily H ill: 3 S heep S treet: 3 5 Waterloo: 1 4 a nd 1 6 Thomas S treet: 4 7 G loucester S treet: 5 6 a nd 5 8, 6 2-66, 9 8 1 00, 1 02 a nd 1 04, 1 14-118, a nd 1 20 S pitalgate Lane: 2 G loucester S treet: The Nelson e xtension G ooseacre Lane: 2 -4, The Nelson Hall Q uerns Lane: 2 5 a nd 5 4 Watermoor Road: Q ueens Head Garages I II(d)

Buildings h aving monolithic o nly s tylistic f eature.

s tone

l intels a s t heir

C ricklade S treet: 3 9 a nd 4 1 Dollar S treet: 2 0 Park S treet: 1 7 Dyer S treet: 3 7 a nd 4 1 G loucester S treet: 7 4, 9 1 a nd 9 3 B lack J ack S treet: 4 4 C ricklade S treet: 6 2 Watermoor Road: 2 8, 3 8-48, 5 4-58, a nd 1 35-143 V ictoria R oad: 8 6-96 4 6

a nd

6 4-76,

9 5

Tower S treet: 1 2-16 a nd J efferies Nursery Avenue: 1 5 a nd 1 7, 2 2, 2 4 a nd 3 4(a) Chester S treet: 6 0 a nd 6 2 Church S treet: 2 a nd 4 , 1 1-15, 2 5-27, 3 6-40,30 C ity Bank R oad: 1 , 3 a nd 1 0 Prospect P lace: 2 -20 a nd 3 2-38 A shcroft Road: 6 B ridge Road: The G asworks O ffice S omerford R oad: H ighfield Cottage a nd Magpies Chesterton L ane: 5 6-60 a nd 6 6-72 S troud Road: Ammonite C ottage, dated 1 888 S iddington R oad: The H orse a nd Drill Watermoor R oad: T he Queens Head S pitalgate L ane: 3 -9 Queen S treet: 2 a nd 4 L ondon Road: The Apple L oft

S tyle

I V

T his g roup o f buildings i s r ather more a rbitrary t han most o f the o ther s tyles f or i t c omprises mainly b uildings i n t ransition f rom t he l ast s tages o f S tyle I , C irencesterC otswold t o S tyle V , C irencester-Neo C lassic. The point a t which a building g ains e nough c lassical d etails t o a chieve a t ransitional o r f ull C lassic s tatus, i s b ound t o be s ubjective, a nd t his i s t he main c ause o f a rbitraryness i n t he g roup. Renaissance a nd c lassical d etails a ppeared c ommonly i n S tyle I - mainly a ssociated w ith doorways a nd d oorcases; w indows o f S tyle I s tayed f irmly n on-classical. I n g roup I V(a) t here a re c lassical keystones i n t he window l intels, o r w indow s urrounds, a nd t he l ast phase o f mullions a nd t ransomes. The e nd p roduct o f the mullion a nd t ransome t radition c an be s een i n the White L ion ( c.1726), G loucester S treet, w ith keystones, a nd i n t he magnificent f acade o f 5 1 C oxwell S treet ( ? c .1740) whose s ombre e legance i s s o s evere t hat i t a chieves the c lassic i deal i n s implicity a nd proportion while r elying on C irencester-Cotswold d etails t o t he e xclusion o f a ll s pecifically c lassical o rnament. I n the L ittle Bull, 7 2 Dyer S treet, the mullion a nd t ransome t radition s eems t o r un i nto t he c lassical a shlar s tyle c omplete with band c ourse, a nd t he date o f 1 791 on t he e arliest deeds i n t he G loucestershire Records O ffice ( DC E 5 1) s eems q uite a cceptable. G roup I V(b) i s a c ollection o f buildings, s till i n d ressed s tone, r ather t han a shlar, b ut o ften very well cut b locks, which have projecting r ectangular w indow s urrounds w ith k eystones. They f all i nto two d ivisions one w ith r ound h eaded w indows ( mid 1 8th c entury ? ) the o ther w ith s quare heads. Moving t owards t he end o f t he c entury we have a s mall g roup o f s tone buildings whose main d ecorative f eature i s t his s ame r ectangular p rojecti ng s urround t o d oors a nd w indows ( IV(c)) which i s presumably n ear t he e nd o f t he 1 8th c entury s ince i ts f eatures c arry o n t o f ull c lassical f acades s uch a s the Wharfingers H ouse ( Style V ). 4 7

The l ast g roup of b uildings ( IV(d)) a ll h ave C ecily H ill l intels a s t heir main, or o nly f eature. This l intel, made up a lmost o f v oussoirs l aid t o f orm a c ompletely h orizontal a rch ( Plate I II) i s f irst d ated on 1 1-15 Cecily H ill ( 1777), a nd s eems t o be u sed i ndiscriminately o n g reat a nd small s tone buildings a t t he beginning of t he c lassical s tyle. I t i s s oon d ropped f rom t he f ashionable r epertoir a s t he c lassical s tyle d evelops a nd i s l eft f or t he humbler b uildings of two s torey t enements such a s W ood's S quare, 5 9-67 G loucester S treet o r Brady's Cheese Warehouse, 3 Querns Lane. The s tyle d ies i n t he 1 840's a s b rick i s i mported i n small q uantities f or l intels a nd o ther d etail. I V(a)

S tone mullions

F lat b eaded Moulding

I V(b)

a nd t ransomes o n

C oxwell S treet: 5 1 B lack J ack S treet: 7 G loucester S treet: 3 a nd 5 Dyer S treet: 7 2 C oxwell S treet: 4 7 a nd 4 9 C ricklade S treet: 6 4-66 C ecily H ill: 9 G loucester S treet: 8

s tone b uildings.

Keystones

Projecting w indow s urrounds w ith k eystones o n s tone buildings. C ricklade S treet: 1 0 a nd 1 2 Market P lace: 9 -17 D ollar S treet: 3 0 Round h eaded B lack Jack S treet: 2 (a) S ilver S treet: 4 a nd 6 Castle S treet: 2 3 S iddington Road: 6 a nd 8 , G oldschmidt Arms S tone buildings w ith heavy d ressed w indow s urrounds. Thomas S treet: 8 G loucester S treet: 1 0 G loucester S treet: 1 6-22 Watermoor Road: Chesterton Manor Thomas S treet: Friends Meeting H ouse

I V(d)

S tone buildings w ith Cecily H ill main o r only d ecorative f eature.

l intels a s t heir

C ecily H ill: 1 1-15 Barton Lane: 6 -8 a nd 2 8 B eeches R oad: 1 -5 a nd 9 -19 S ilver S treet: 7 -9 Park S treet: 5 -7 C astle S treet: 6 9-71 Querns L ane: 3 a nd 5 -17 S heep S treet: 2 3 S pitalgate Lane: 1 1-21 Thomas S treet: 2 a nd 2 5 L ittle Mead

4 8

Coxwell S treet: 1 2a G loucester S treet: 3 0, 3 7-49, 5 9-67, 8 7-89, 1 11-117, 1 43 a nd 1 06-112 Cricklade S treet: 7 6-82 a nd 9 1 Watermoor R oad: C oles M ill L ewis Lane: 8 5

S tyle V

8 3-85,

C irencester N eo-Classical

This category c onsists o f buildings w ith c lassical d etails which a ppear o n the maps of 1 793 a nd 1 835, i n o ther w ords built before 1 835; a n a rbitrary d ivision which i s j ustified i n S tyle V I. The buildings have been f urther s ubdivided i nto s tone, s tucco a nd a shlar f aced buildings. A s t he buildings o f S tyle I V a re f aced i n r ubble o r well c ut b locks a nd t he f irst phase of S tyle V I c onsists o f a shlar f aced buildings i t might be a ssumed t hat s tone precedes a shlar with s tucco f orming a t ransitional phase b etween t he two. The two p oints o f d eparture f or t he n eo-classic s tyle i n C irencester a re provided by L loyd's Bank i n Castle S treet a nd C irencester House. Built i n t he f irst two d ecades o f t he 1 8th c entury t hese r epresent two e xtremes o f a s tyle, L loyd's Bank being a building of i ntricate d etail while C irencester House i s p lain a nd unadorned. 4 t o 2 8 Cecily H ill, t he Tontine Buildings o f 1 802 r eflect t he s parseness o f d etail i n C irencester H ouse, while 4 0 a nd 4 2 C ecily H ill has a wide r ange o f d etail, f ollowing the e xhuberance o f L loyd's Bank. A f eature c onnecting b oth of t hese buildings, a nd 3 2 Cecily H ill w ith S tyle I V i s the C ecily H ill l intel. Chesterton House a nd Watermoor H ospital a re l ater buildings w ith s tone f acades, moving t owards the s everity a nd l ack of d etail c ommon i n S tyle V . Buildings w ith s tucco s uggest a d esire f or f acades w ith a s mooth s urface, i n t he t radition of L loyd's B ank. 7 C ecily H ill has a n a shlar a ddition t o the o riginal s tucco f aced building s o t hat t he c ombination o f s tucco a nd a shlar f irst s een i n L loyd's Bank i s r epeated but w ith a g ap o f half a c entury b etween t he two parts. 6 0 Dyer S treet, G loucester House, i s a s tucco f aced building a t t he h eight of t he Adam s tyle c .1780. 4 5 C oxwell S treet i s a nother s tucco f aced building w ith two entrances; these a re a s omewhat p edestrian Roman d oric porch, t he o ther a n a ttractive d oorcase w ith E truscan o vertones. The Wharfingers House, Querns H ill u ses t he h eavy d ressed w indow s urrounds w ith k eystones o f S tyle I V i n a f ull c lassical c omposition, f eatures c onsistent w ith i ts date l ate i n the e ighteenth c entury. 2 0 Thomas S treet extends s imilar d etails i nto a f ine s tucco f acade u sing s tone f or G ibbs s urrounds t o d oors a nd w indows. Earlier

a shlar b uildings,

49

f or e xample

3 2 Dollar S treet

a nd 5 Dyer S treet, h ave v ery p lain f acades w ith n o w indow mouldings; s imple porticos a dd t o t heir imposing austerity. A lthough this a ppears t o u pset t he s equence proposed t here s eems t o be n o d oubt t hat t hese t wo buildi ngs a ppear on t he map o f 1 793 whereas 1 8 a nd 2 0 Thomas S treet a re built l ater a nd a re s imilar t o t heir a shlar c ontemporaries 2 2 Thomas S treet, 2 9 Park S treet a nd 3 Dyer S treet. Of t hese t hree buildings, 2 9 Park S treet i s r usticated on t he g round f loor a nd has w indow h eads s imilar t o t hose o f t he G ibbs s urrounds o f 2 0 T homas S treet; the o ther two a re a lmost e xact c opies i n a shlar of 2 2 Thomas S treet but w ithout t he e laborate w indow a nd d oor s urrounds. Ashlar f aced buildings t owards t he e nd o f t he period, s uch a s Watermoor House c .1830, a ppear t o l ose c ontrol over t heir c lassical d etails s o t hat t hey no l onger f orm a harmonious whole. V (a)

Buildings w ith c lassical s tone f acade.

f eatures pre

1 835 w ith a

Dyer S treet: 7 a nd 1 7 Market P lace: 1 9, 2 3 a nd 3 7 G osditch S treet: 3 -5 Thomas S treet: 4 9 a nd 5 1 Park S treet: 6 a nd 8 , 1 2 a nd 1 4 a nd Dunstall H ouse Cecily H ill: 5 , 4 -28, 3 2, 4 0 a nd 4 2 B lack Jack S treet: 6 Castle S treet: 1 8 Querns Lane: 1 , 1 9 a nd 3 5-39 Park Lane: C irencester House Chesterton Lane: C hesterton House Watermoor Road: 1 45 a nd 1 47 Watermoor Hospital Sheep S treet: 2 5 West Market P lace: 1 1 S ilver S treet: 2 C oxwell S treet: 3 9-43 V (b)

Buildings w ith c lassical s tucco f acade.

f eatures pre

1 835 w ith a

Dyer S treet: 3 , 5 , 5 7, 6 0 a nd 8 4-86 Market P lace: 2 5, 2 9-33, 3 8-40 a nd 4 3 West Market P lace: 3 (a) G osditch S treet: 7 , 9 , 9 (a) a nd 1 1 Dollar S treet: 1 0, 1 2 a nd 3 2 G loucester S treet: 1 07 Thomas S treet: 2 0 a nd 2 2 C oxwell S treet: 6 a nd 4 5 Park S treet: 2 9 Cecily H ill: 7 C ricklade S treet: 5 a nd 7 Querns H ill: The Wharfingers House L ondon R oad: 5 -7 B lack Jack S treet: 8 5 0

V (c)

B uildings w ith c lassical a shlar f acade.

f eatures pre

1 835 w ith a n

Castle S treet: 1 4, L loyd's Bank Dyer S treet: 3 3, 5 3 a nd 5 5 West Market P lace: 2 a nd 4 , 5 a nd 7 Market P lace: 1 , 3 , 5 a nd 7 Dollar S treet: 7 a nd 9 , 4 3-45 Thomas S treet: 1 2-16 a nd 1 8 G loucester S treet: 1 2, 1 4 a nd 2 9 L ondon Road: 1 5 Castle S treet: 3 1 a nd 3 3 Watermoor Road: Watermoor House

S tyle V I The c lassical s tyle o f building t ook r oughly a c entury t o t ake r oot i n C irencester ( c.1700-1800), b lossomed briefl y i n a r easonably pure f orm ( c.1800-1835) a nd decayed s lowly ( c.1835-1939). Any d ivision between c lassical a nd s ub-classical i s bound t o be s ubjective; a n a ttempt has been made t owards o bjectivity by taking a s a d ividing l ine t he map o f 1 835. Thus buildings o n t he map, built before 1 835 a re taken t o b e s ound c lassical, a nd t he later buildings a re l isted mainly a s a f alling away f rom c lassic al d esign. Anomalies a re present a nd usually c ommented o n, but t he d ividing l ine p roves r easonably a cceptable i n practice. The buildings have been d ivided i nto f our main g roups a ccording t o t he f inish o f t he f acade: V I(a) c ontains buildings f aced i n a shlar b locks, V I(b), buildings f aced w ith d ressed s tone, V I(c) buildings f aced w ith s tucco, a nd V I(d) buildings f aced w ith r usticated s tone. The majority o f a shlar f acades s eem t o belong t o t he middle 1 9th c entury, s tucco t o the s econd h alf o f t he c entury, smooth a nd r usticated s tone t o t he e nd of t he 1 9th c entury a nd b eginning o f the 2 0th c entury. Amongst t he a shlar f acades a fter 1 835 t here a re a f ew p leasant s urprises. T he g arden ( south-east) f ront o f the B eeches H ouse, B eeches Road, presents a s imple, i f s lightly g loomy, c lassical a spect, whereas i n 2 1-25 West Market P lace, Chesterton Terrace ( 16-26) Watermoor R oad a nd t he G asworks C ottage, Bridge R oad, the s implicity o f d etail a nd s atisfying p roportions g ive a c lean a nd welcoming a tmosphere. I n the s ame v ein i s t he small b lock 4 4-50 V ictoria Road, s oon a fter 1 853, a r emarkably a ttractive a nd h omely s ub-classical b uilding. Highfield, S omerford R oad ( inscribed 1 868) a nd 4 4-46 Lewis Lane a re t he o nly e xamples o f c oursed c hamfered a shlar. The l ater l arge v illas o f S omerford Road, E lm G rove, East C ranhams a nd R ooks Nest ( c.1870-75) use many o f t he o ther c lassical motifs s ometimes i n o dd c ombination; t he Romanesque porch of E lm G rove being worthy o f s pecial mention. The l arge f acade o f 1 2-22 Market P lace belongs t o t he e nd o f t he 1 9th c entury ( 1886-1902), a nd t he f ormer I ndependent Methodist

5 1

C hapel - n ow t he Memorial H ospital Annexe i n S heep S treet was r evised f rom c lassical t o s ub-classical b y V .A. L awson a s a War Memorial i n 1 919. W ith t he move e ither f orward i n t ime t o t he e nd o f t he 1 9th c entury, o r d own t he s ocial s cale, i t i s e xtremely d ifficult t o wax e loquent o ver t he g eneral r un o f buildings which are uninspiring a nd uninspired. T he Henry Tanner C hapel, 2 3 Park S treet i s s imple a nd p leasant, L eaholme, 2 Avenue has a t l east s ome i nteresting d etails a nd 2 7 S heep S treet, a r econstruction o f a G eorgian H ouse h as s ome a tmosphere. V ictorian s ub-classical s tucco i s s eldom p leasant, a nd s ub-classical buildings w ith r usticated s tone s eem mainly o ut of s ympathy w ith C irencester s tyles, The b est b uildings i n t his g roup a re p erhaps 1 8 a nd 2 2 S omerford R oad ( 1861-1875) a nd The S hrubbery, 9 7 V ictoria R oad, w ith i ts bay w indows a nd p leasant d oorcase. Perhaps t his g rudging a dmiration o f a f ew b uildings o f t his t ype a nd d ismissal o f t he majority i s s hort s ighted. T his s tyle r epresents t he majority o f m id V ictorian b uilding i n C irencester; a t l east i t was r estrained a nd i n s tone. This p eriod p roduced many s uperb b uildings i n o ther t owns b ut buildings o f t hat h igh c alibre a re s eldom s een i n t he work o f t he s peculative b uilders who m ight h ave f looded t he Nursery Estate w ith badly b uilt, badly d esigned brick t erraces, a nd g loomy m iddle c lass s emid etached v illas. W e o ught t o l ook again a t t he s imple s tone t erraces s uch a s t he two s torey b locks - 3 4-40 C hester S treet - p erhaps modelled on 4 2 w ithout i ts r e-used d etail a nd b e g rateful f or t he f riendliness o f t he s tone, t he l ight r elief a s b locks move u p a f ew f eet o r b ack f rom t he r oad, t o g ive a n i mpression o f s olid, g entle, i f u nremarkable d omesticity. V I(a)

B uildings w ith c lassical w ith a shlar.

f eatures

a fter

1 835

f aced

B eeches R oad: The B eeches Watermoor R oad: 1 6-26, 3 1-35 a nd 3 7-41 Church S treet: 1 7-23, 2 8 Chester S treet: 4 4, 4 6-48, 5 0-54 a nd 5 6-58 V ictoria R oad: 1 6, 3 4-38, 3 5-37, 3 9, 4 0, 4 4-50, 5 2-54, 9 5, a nd 9 8-100 C ricklade S treet: 1 4, 1 9-23 Park S treet: 1 0, 2 1 a nd 2 5 Park Lane: 6 Coxwell S treet: Baptist C hurch a nd 8 , Jehova's W itness B lack J ack S treet: 1 4, 1 6 a nd 1 8 Castle S treet: 3 5-37 Thomas S treet: 2 4, F riends Meeting H ouse p orch Market P lace: 1 2-22 a nd 3 4-36 W est Market P lace: 2 1-25 S omerford R oad: 1 2-14, 2 0, 3 0-36, H ighfield, E lm G rove, R ooks Nest, East C ranhams 5 2

Waterloo: 1 5 S heep S treet: Hospital Annexe A shcroft R oad: 3 5-45 Queen S treet: 1 0, The Forresters L ewis Lane: 4 4-46 A venue: 8 -12, 9 B ridge Road: G asworks C ottage Tetbury R oad: O ld Museum V I(b)

Buildings w ith c lassical w ith d ressed s tone.

f eatures

a fter

1 835

f aced

Chester S treet: 1 -21, 2 -14, 1 6-20, 2 2-28, 2 5-75, 3 0-32, 3 4-40 Queen S treet: 1 -5, 6 , 7 -15, 1 2-22, 1 7 L ondon R oad: 9 Watermoor R oad: 2 7-29, O ld Parsonage, 5 0-52, 7 5, 8 3-87, 8 9-93 G loucester S treet: 2 7, 7 0, 7 6-80, 1 03, 1 45-7, 1 49-51, 1 87 V ictoria R oad: 1 8-20, 2 2-24, 8 0-82, 1 02 Chesterton L ane: Chesterton H ouse L odge C oxwell S treet: 1 0a-b, 1 2 Dollar S treet: 5 1-53, 2 2 a nd 2 4, 2 8 Castle S treet: 2 0, 2 8, 3 2, 3 6 Park S treet: 2 3, 2 7 S ilver S treet: 5 B lack Jack S treet: 4 , 2 4-26 L ewis Lane: 3 5-37, 3 9-41, 8 3, 8 7 Querns Lane: 2 1 C ricklade S treet: 3 2-36, Malt House Chester C rescent: 2 -22 Dyer S treet: 1 0, 5 6-58, 6 0a, 6 2, 6 6 a nd 6 4 Prospect P lace: 1 -3 S heep S treet: 3 -15, 2 7 Avenue: 2 , Leaholme, 1 4-20 S omerford R oad: 4 -10, S outhleigh T ower S treet: 2 -10, 1 8-22 Mount S treet: 1 -3, 5 -17 Carpenters Lane: Furniture s tore A shcroft R oad: 5 6-58 V I(c)

Buildings w ith c lassical s tone ( ?) a nd s tucco.

f eatures

L ewis Lane: 1 2 Dollar S treet: 1 1-17, 3 4 Dyer S treet: 6 -8, 7 6-82, Market P lace: 2 7 V I(d)

Buildings w ith c lassical w ith r usticated s tone. V ictoria R oad: Dollar S treet: Avenue: 1 9-21 Ashcroft R oad:

4 -6, 3 8 4 7-61

5 3

1 835 o f

4 3-45

f eatures

1 2,

a fter

a fter

5 6-60,

9 1,

1 835

9 7

f aced

A shcroft Gardens: 1 5 Tower S treet: 2 4-26 S omerford R oad: 1 8,22

S tyle V II A lthough 2 a nd 4 G loucester S treet were i ncluded i n S tyle I , i t was w ith misgivings s ince t hese buildings a re quite possibly r econstructed f rom pre-existing buildings, a nd t hey s erve t o h ighlight t he d ifficulty o f d istinguishi ng between s urvival a nd revival buildings. 1 G rove Lane, the Lodge t o t he S axon Arch a nd 2 Dollar S treet, a lso i llustrate this point being buildings using a declining building s tyle rather t han being a c onscious r evival o f the s tyle. 1 G rove Lane i s r ebuilt o n t he s ite o f t he o riginal l odge, with o nly small c hanges i n plan t o d istinguish i t f rom t he o riginal, while 2 Dollar S treet c ould very easily be mistaken f or a n e arly building o f S tyle I i f n ot f or t he f act that t he r iver, o ver which i t i s built, i s s hown a s o pen on t he 1 835 map. 5 t o 2 1 Watermoor R oad, the B owley A lmshouses, dated b y i nscription 1 826, a re again a s urvival unlike t he Lawson e xtension o pposite o f 1 924 which a re r evival. T he u se o f a d eclining building s tyle s et i n c ontemporary s urroundings i s i llustrated by 1 9 a nd 2 1 t o 2 5 C ecily H ill which have s tone mullions a nd i ndividual d rip moulds s et r egularly i nto a tall a shlar f acade w ith a parapet t hus r etaining the proportions o f a c lassical building but w ith f eatures o f S tyle I . A fter the a bundance o f c lassical a nd c lassical i nfluence buildings i n C irencester t here s eems t o have been a r eaction a gainst t he r egular f acade i n f avour o f a building which w ould f it better i nto a r ural background. An a ctive part i n r evival o f S tyle I was g iven by the Bathurst Estate which c arried o ut a c onsiderable a mount of r estoration a nd r ebuilding o f t heir properties, a nd by V . A. Lawson who d esigned both c lassical a nd r evival buildings i n t he t own. Bathurst buildings a re n ot only r ecognisable by t heir i nevitable a nd h elpful i nscriptions b earing t he Bathurst c rest a nd t he date o f t he building but a lso b y t heir s tone mullioned w indows a nd c ontinuous o r i ndividual d rip moulds, t o b e s een i n s uch b uildings a s 1 C ecily H ill, 3 8 a nd 4 0 Coxwell S treet a nd 6 5 Thomas S treet. These s ame f eatures a re t o be f ound i n Lawsons buildings, such a s t he B owley A lmshouses i n Watermoor R oad, a nd Oakley Hall i n S omerford R oad, t he l atter being i n a shlar l ike t he B ingham L ibrary o f 1 904 i n Dyer S treet. Ashlar i s n ot a material u sed i n S tyle I , but a lready t he L ittle Bull, Dyer S treet, has p roved i ts c ompatibility with C otswold f eatures, a s d o t he Querns, Tetbury Road, dated 1 825, a nd p erhaps t he f irst c onscious r evival building i n the t own. The Querns has s uccessfully u sed s teep g ables, i ndividual d rip m oulds a nd s tone mullions, on a l arge s cale, w ithout l osing the i mpression o f s implici ty. These f eatures a re more u sually f ound o n c ottages 5 4

s uch a s 1 8 Dollar S treet, t he Kennels L odge, T etbury R oad a nd 9 t o 2 1 L ewis Lane, t he G eorge A lmshouses l ater r ee ndowed b y W illiam L ennox, 5 th Earl Bathurst; h erestone mullions a nd T udor a rch d oorcases a re more o bviously i n k eeping w ith t he r ural n ature o f t he buildings. S implicity d oes n ot a lways g o h and i n h and w ith C otswold f eatures, a s 1 5 G osditch S treet d emonstrates, f or t his building, d ated 1 873, has a f antastic m ixture o f battlements a nd g argoyles a longside s tone mullions a nd t ransomes, i ndividual d rip m oulds a nd a t udor a rch d oorcase. S ince a d istinction has b een made between a shlar a nd s tone f aced b uildings i t would b e c onvenient a t this p oint t o s tate t hat t hese d ivisions a re a gain a rbitrary. T here s eems t o be n o harm d one by d ividing r evival buildings i nto t hose o f s tone, a shlar o r r usticated s o l ong a s i t i s r emembered t hat t hese a re f or c onvenience o nly. The majority o f s urvival a nd e arly r evival buildings a re s tone f aced while a shlar c ontain a c ross s ection o f buildings s ome o f which a re o n t he 1 835 map while the l atest d o n ot a ppear u ntil 1 922. R ustication i s a lmost c ertainly u sed l ater t han a shlar o r s tone s ince t he e arlier r usticated buildings f irst a ppear o n t he 1 875 map, a nd t hese s eem t o f ollow a s tyle s et by S ir G ilbert S cott's Church a t Watermoor built i n 1 850-1. Watermoor C hurch i s f aced i n r ough c ut s tone while t he Cemetery L odge a nd Chapels o f M edland, a nd A .J.C. S cole's C hurch a nd Presbytery o f S t. P eter break i nto f ull rustication; a ll o f t hese buildings h ave V ictorian g othic windows. The T emperance Hall, G osditch S treet a lso has G othic w indows but r esembles m ore c losely t he parish c hurch r ather t han Watermoor. The t wo s chools o f L ewis Lane, 1 879, a nd V ictoria R oad, 1 880, a re a lso r usticated w ith mullions a nd t ransomes, but b y t his s tage r evival a rchit ecture has l ost i ts e arly s implicity a nd b ecome m ixed up w ith e lements o f c lassical r evival, s uch a s pedimented w indow h eads a nd ballustrades. Unmixed c lassical r evival c an b e s een i n 2 Market P lace, t he M idland Bank which h as a l ead c upola, i ron balustrades a nd a c orbelled c ornice, a nd t he Masonic Hall, t he A venue which h as h eavy d ressed w indow s urrounds a nd a s ingle Venetian w indow. B esides C otswold a nd C lassical r evival there a re a f ew i solated g roups o f buildings which h ave r evived f eatures, s uch a s 3 8 C ecily H ill which h as h erring bone l intels, i n i mitation o f t he buildings e ither s ide a nd o pposite, a s d oes 6 5 a nd 6 7 C astle S treet, t he T hree C ompasses. G othic r evival i s e vident i n t he w indows o f 3 9 Market P lace, 1 0 t o 1 6 Park S treet, 1 4 L ondon Road, M ill H ouse, Watermoor R oad, a nd t he T own S tation, Tetbury R oad. A n a ttempt i s a lso made t o r evive t he e xposed t imbers a nd o verhanging u pper s toreys o f t imber f ramed buildings i n t he f orm o f half t imbering, which i s s uccessfully a chieved i n L awsons buildings, 7 4 Dyer S treet, a nd 1 53 t o 1 57 G loucester S treet a nd i n t he Memorial Hospital, S heep S treet.

5 5

V II(a)

Buildings h aving r evived S tyle f aced i n s tone.

I f eatures,

Market P lace: 3 9 G osditch S treet: 1 a nd 1 5 Dollar S treet: 2 , 3 a nd 1 8 G loucester S treet: 3 2-86 Barton L ane: 2 a nd 4 G rove Lane: 1 Thomas S treet: 1 0 Thomas S treet: 6 5 Bathurst 1 882 C oxwell S treet: 3 8 a nd 4 0 Park Lane: 1 0-16 C ecily H ill: 1 7, 1 9, 2 1-25, 2 9, 3 1 a nd 3 6 C ecily H ill: 1 - B athurst 1 880 C ecily H ill: 3 8 - d ated 1 909 B lack Jack S treet: 1 0 - Bathurst 1 909 C astle S treet: 5 -7 a nd 6 5-57 C astle S treet: 4 0 - d ated 1 858 C ricklade S treet: 3 0 a nd 3 1 L ewis Lane: 1 -7 - B athurst 1 889 L ewis Lane: 9 -21, 1 8-30 a nd 2 L ondon Road: 1 1 a nd 1 4 T etbury R oad: The K ennels - d ated 1 837 Tetbury Road: The K ennels L odge, U pper Q uerns L odge a nd Oakley C ottage C hesterton Lane: C hesterton Farm L odge W atermoor R oad: 3 , M ill House, H opes Foundry, Watermoor S chool a nd S chool H ouse, 4 -14, 2 3-25 a nd 7 7 Watermoor Road: 5 -21 - dated 1 826 A shcroft R oad: 4 8-54 Dyer S treet: 4 7-51 - Bathurst 1 889 V II(b)

Buildings having r evived S tyle i n a shlar

I f eatures,

Tetbury R oad: The Q uerns - d ated B eeches R oad: The B eeches G loucester S treet: 5 4 Tetbury R oad: The T own S tation S omerford Road: Oakley Hall Avenue: 4 a nd 6 , 3 2 a nd 3 4 S heep S treet: Marlborough Arms Dyer S treet: 1 - d ated 1 904 V II(c)

Buildings w ith r evived S tyle r ustication.

f aced

1 825

I f eatures w ith

Watermoor Church W atermoor Road: 6 3-73 Watermoor Road: The Parsonage S omerford R oad: 2 C ecily H ill: The A rmoury L ewis Lane: The S chool - dated 1 879 V ictoria Road: The G rammar S chool - dated

5 6

1 880

V ictoria R oad: S tonewalls Victoria R oad: 8 a nd 1 0 S t. Peters R oad: 1 5, The Church a nd Presbytery Castle S treet: 2 -12 - d ated 1 896/7 Avenue: 1 -3 Chesterton L ane: The C emetery L odge a nd Chapels S ilver S treet: 8 -14 Bathurst 1 900 B lack Jack S treet: 9 -17 K ing S treet: B ingham Hall - dated 1 908 K ing S treet: 2 -28 Castle S treet: 3 8 - dated 1 910 V II(d)

C lassical

r evival.

Avenue: Masonic Hall Market Place: 2 V II(e)

Half t imbered b uildings. G loucester S treet: 1 53-157 - dated 1 906 Dyer S treet: 7 4 S heep S treet: Memorial H ospital - dated 1 873 Castle S treet: 3 0 Dyer S treet: 2 9-31

S tyle V III B uildings i n t his c ategory have l ittle s tylistic d etail w ith which t hey c an b e c ategorised a nd s o t hey have been d ivided i nto s tone f aced buildings a nd r usticated buildings. A f urther d ivision has b een made between h ouses a nd purpose b uilt s hops, public h ouses o r e ngine s heds. The majority o f the s tone f aced buildings a re l ater than 1 835 b ut s ome e arlier buildings h ave been i ncluded i n t his c ategory i f t hey have no s tylistic f eatures. A ll o f the r usticated b uildings a re l ater t han 1 835. The o nly f eature which i s h eld i n c ommon by a s ignificant number o f buildings i n t his s tyle i s t he a ngular b ow w indow, but s ince t here a ppears t o b e n o c onnection b etween t he d ate o f t he building a nd t he s tyle o f t he b ow n o d istinction has been made between wood, s tone o r bows w ith a nd without parapets. V III(a)

H ouses w ith s tone f acades a nd n o s ignificant f eatures. A venue: 5 a nd 7 P rospect P lace: 1 7 G loucester S treet: 2 5, 5 0 a nd 5 2 Q uerns H ill: 4 1, Querns Gables Barton Lane: 4 0 C oxwell S treet: 2 2-28 L ewis Lane: 5 2-56 L ondon R oad: 2 6 a nd 2 8 S omerford R oad: 3 8 a nd 4 0

5 7

a nd 1 89-197

V III(b)

Purpose built s hops w ith s ignificant f eatures.

s tone

f acades

a nd n o

Dyer S treet: 3 5 Gloucester S treet: 4 8 a nd 1 22 Dollar S treet: 3 6 Cricklade S treet: 2 , 4 a nd 4 0 Castle S treet: 9 Watermoor R oad: 9 7-103 B lack Jack S treet: 2 (b) L ondon R oad: 2 -4 V III(c)

Houses w ith r usticated f acades f eatures.

a nd n o s ignificant

Carpenters Lane: A rgyll H ouse Victoria Road: 2 , 5 -9, 2 6-32, 4 2, 4 1-49, 9 5-81 a nd 9 9-101 Church S treet: 6 -26 S t. Peters R oad: 2 -36, 3 a nd 5 a nd 9 -15 Mount S treet: 2 -6 a nd 2 0 Chesterton Lane: 5 4 a nd 8 4-90 V III(d)

O ther rusticated buildings w ith n o s ignificant f eatures. Watermoor R oad: The Q ueens Head e xtension V ictoria Road: The Talbot B ridge Road: The Engine S heds

S tyle

I X

B rick

B rick has been u sed a s a b uilding material i n C irenc ester a t l east s ince t he 1 8th c entury, b ut until t he m iddle of t he 1 9th c entury i t was n ever a llowed t o a ppear on f acades. The s ide o f t he a shlar e xtension t o 7 C ecily H ill i s g ood brick o f c .1800 a s i s t he " Gothick" bay a ddition t o t he f acade o f 5 Cecily H ill. Perhaps the earliest whole building t o s tand i n c lear u nashamed b rick i s t he o riginal Primitive Methodist Chapel i n L ewis Lane, built i n 1 851. The b reakthrough s eems t o c ome a round 1 875 f or two r ows o f brick buildings a re caught i n c onstruction by t he map o f t hat y ear. 1 59 Watermoor R oad, s tucco o n brick with s tone d etails i s o n t he map whereas 1 61-5 which a re v irtually i dentical f irst a ppear o n Beecham's map o f 1 886. 3 0 t o 3 4 Tower S treet, e xcellent l arge b rick buildings with s tone d ecorative d etails a nd, s urprisingly, s tone s ides a re o n 1 875, while 2 8, o f e xactly t he s ame c onstruct ion but s et f orward a l ittle i s f irst o n 1 886. The o nly o ther b rick b uildings c onstructed f or c ertain between 1 875 a nd 1 886 a re 2 6-42 Queen S treet ( Beecham 1 880) w ith s tone d etails a nd d ecorative e aves c ourse a nd 1 9-37 Queen S treet ( Beecham 1 885), t his t ime w ith a c astellated r ed

5 8

b rick e aves c ourse. There a re s ome o ther b rick buildings which a ppear o n 1 902 but n ot 1 875 which c annot be more c losely dated b ecause B eecham's map i s n ot s ufficiently d etailed. S tucco ( IX(a)) presumably o n b rick, a ppear i n 8 a nd 1 0 t he Market P lace where i n 8 , h owever b leak the f acade, t he V ictorian a rchitect deserves c redit f or a g ood t ry a t 1 8th c entury w indows with a rchitraves a nd a n a ttempt a t a G ibbs s urround; p erhaps h e s hould have e nhanced t he c onsoles under t he s ills - i n C irencester a t l east, a v ery V ictorian habit. B rick partly r endered, s tuccoed, o r w ith pebble d ash b lossomed i n Purley Road, S iddington R oad a nd Mount S treet, f rom a bout 1 906, a nd f lourished well a fter our e nd date of 1 922. Yellow b rick ( IX(b)) i s c ommendably r are. I t a ppears p erhaps a bout 1 870 a t 2 B lack Jack S treet, perhaps 1 880 a t 2 0 C ricklade S treet, with a burst i n 1 906 i n t he f irst h ouses t o b e built i n Purley R oad. Facades c ontaining only b rick with l ittle o r n o c ontrasting d etail ( IX(c)) a re e xtremely r are, a bout t he o nly g ood e xamples being 8 3 t o 8 9 V ictoria R oad dated by i nscription t o 1 906. B y t radition t he builder went bankrupt a nd t he g ardens t o t he r ear were a ppropriated t o build 7 7 t o 8 1, smaller, l ater, more modest houses, y et w ith s tone f acades. This s trongly s uggests t hat t his unique b lock a re due t o s peculation by a builder f oreign to t he t own who i mported both s tyle a nd materials , f or t he e xcellent c ast i ron balconies a nd moulded b ricks used i n d oor a nd w indow s urrounds c annot b e paralleled i n t he t own. I mposing b rick buildings w ith s tone d etails ( IX(d)) a re very f ew a nd s eem t o c luster a round 1 900. The l arge, f ully o rnamented v illas o f t he t radesmen a re s imilar i n c onception, while the Plume a nd Feathers ( inscribed 1 901) Watermoor Road, a nd C astle Buildings ( inscribed 1 899) Castle S treet h ave a s tyle o f their own. M ore modest brick buildings w ith s tone d etail ( IX(e)) proliferate a fter t he f irst s teps i n Queen S treet ( 18758 0) a nd c ontinue perhaps up t o 1 914. Yellow brick, a s t he prominent d etail material o nly ( IX(f)) t hrives a fter 1 890 a nd may be a s hort l ived f ashion. The only buildings t o u se t he h eavily f ired b lue b ricks f or d ecoration ( IX(g)) a re t he s uperb buildings o f the G asworks a nd M idland Railway n ear B ridge R oad r unning f rom 1 896 t o t he d ated Engine S hed o f 1 915. This " Brick R omanesque" may s uffocate many a modern t own by i ts i ndustrial o verbearance, but s et i n d erelict l and w ith bushes g rowing f rom t he c ornices t he s tyle presents a n ostalgic twinge which may h ave f allen t o the r ing r oad by t he t ime t his s tudy i s i n print.

5 9

I X(a)

S tucco on b rick: r anging f rom a c omplete c overing o f f ine s tucco t o a o ne s torey c over o f pebble dash. Market P lace: 4 , 6 , 8 -10 Watermoor R oad: 1 59, 1 61-5, 1 05 Church S treet: 3 4 V ictoria Road: 8 4 Castle S treet: 1 S omerford R oad: Laundry A shcroft G ardens: 2 4 Quadrangle, B ridge R oad, S iddington R oad, Nursery R oad Purley R oad: 2 -12, 1 4-32, 1 9-21, 2 3-29, 3 1-41, 3 4-44, 4 3-49, 4 6-56 Purley A venue: 2 -4 M ount S treet: 2 5-31, 3 3-39 Tetbury R oad: Lower Querns L odge G ooseacre Lane: 7 -9 Q uerns L ane: 3 8, 4 4 C ricklade S treet: 6 7-71, 8 1, B rewers A rms, 3 3, 1 1, 4 2 A shcroft R oad: 4 2 W est Market P lace: 1 5

I X(b)

Y ellow o r o ff white b rick. B lack J ack S treet: C ricklade S treet: Purley R oad: 1 -9,

I X(c)

R ed b rick w ith

l ittle

2 2 0 1 1-17 o r n o

c ontrasting d etail.

L ewis L ane: P rimitive Methodist C hurch S treet: 1 (a) L ewis L ane: 5 0, 5 4-56 V ictoria R oad: 8 3-89 S pitalgate Lane: 2 9 C ricklade S treet: 3 8 I X(d)

Red b rick w ith

Church

i ntricate s tone d etail

Tower S treet: 2 8, 3 0-34 L ewis L ane: 4 8 S t. Peters Road: 1 Ashcroft R oad: 1 9-21 Watermoor R oad: P lume a nd Feathers C astle S treet: 2 5-27 C astle B uildings Chesterton Lane: 4 5 I X(e)

R ed b rick w ith m inor

s tone d etail.

Queen S treet: 2 6-42, 1 9-37, 2 4 C ricklade S treet: 4 4, 6 8 B lack J ack S treet: 4 0-42 Chesterton Lane: 3 3-43 S omerford R oad: 4 9-51 Prospect P lace: 7 -15, 2 2-30, 5

6 0

Church S treet: 5 -9 Nursery Cottages: 2 -16 Watermoor R oad: 8 0-98, 1 02-116 V ictoria R oad: 6 9-73, 1 03-109, 1 11-125, A shcroft R oad: 1 4-20, 2 2-26, 2 8-38, 4 0 A shcroft G ardens, 1 -11 C ity B ank R oad: 2 7-43 Mount S treet: 1 9-23 Castle S treet: 5 1 L ondon R oad: 1 2, 2 0-22 I X(f)

R ed b rick w ith p rominent

1 7

y ellow b rick detail

A shcroft G ardens: 2 -22 A shcroft R oad: 1 -9, A shcroft H all, Methodist Church, G loster Dairy, 1 1-17, 2 7-33 Watermoor R oad: 1 09-113, 1 15-119 Avenue: 2 6-30 C hester C rescent: 2 4 C ity Bank R oad: 5 -27 B eeches R oad: 2 1-27 Victoria R oad: 1 9-21, 5 1-67 I X(g)

R ed b rick w ith b lue b rick d etail. B ridge Road: Engine S heds 1 886-1902 a nd dated 1 915, Gasworks o n r ailway s iding

S tyle X

M iscellaneous

The f inal s tyle c ollects t ogether a s mall n umber o f b uildings which d o n ot f it happily i nto a ny o ther s tyle. The n umber was g reater, but t he l ess r emarkable b uildings have b een f orced i nto o ther s tyles l eaving only t en s pecial cases. a ) 1 0 Coxwell S treet. I t i s s addening, a nd a warning, t hat t he e arliest d ated h ouse i n t he t own ( inscription 1 648) h as a d oorway, b ut n o o ther f eature b esides t o g ive u s i nformation. The f acade i s a s imple 1 9th c entury s tucco c omposition u nexceptionable were i t n ot f or t he f act t hat i t i s t he r esult o f " modernisation" which has h idden, o r d estroyed a b uilding w hich c ould h elp u s understand part o f our s urroundings. This i s n ot a s urvey o f d etail but a s urvey o f buildings, w ith r egret we must t herefore c onsign this h ouse t o the r elative obscurity o f 1 9th c entury s tucco. I t i s probably t oo much t o h ope t hat n o o ther e arly b uildings a re n ow, o r w ill s hortly, f ollow t his one i nto a n a rchitectural l imbo. b ) F rom t he r emarks made i n o fficial q uarters o n t he s ubject o f r emoval o f " sub-standard" h ousing we must a ssume t hat two r ows o f e arly 1 9th c entury c ottages h ave a l imited e xpectation o f l ife. 2 8-38 B lack Jack S treet a nd 1 7-23 Waterloo a re s mall s tone c ottages, with b rick a rched l intels

6 1

a l ink b etween t he s tone c ottages o f t he t urn o f t he 1 8th 19th c entury, a nd t he I mproved Dwellings e rected f rom c .1860 onwards. As means t o t he understanding o f t he d evelopment o f C irencester t hey a re e ssential a nd s hould r emain e specially a s t hey a re t he only r emaining e xamples o f many s imilar r ows which a ppear on t he 1 875 map l eading off f rom C ricklade S treet a nd G loucester S treet; a s h ouses f or s ay s ingle o ld-age p ensioners, n ot a ble t o d o handymen-jobs o r make t heir own i mprovements, t hese c ottages a re l ess t han i deal. S urely t he a nswer - r ather than c ompulsory purchase, d emolition a nd e xpensive r ebuilding - i s t o e nsure t hat a s s uch c ottages c ome e mpty they a re s old t o owner o ccupiers, perhaps two a t o nce, who w ill undertake t o b ring t hem up t o s tandard. A t n o burden t o l ocal r ates a n i mportant part o f a c ommunity's h istory c an b e s aved a nd people c an own h ouses o f which t hey c an b e p roud. c ) 1 a nd 1 3 W est Market P lace ( left h and portion o f C rown f acade) a nd 2 0 B lack J ack S treet ( Golden C ross) a re welcome e xamples o f 1 9th c entury e xuberance. The f irst t wo e xamples u se a mixture o f s tyles i n s tone a nd b rick, mostly c overed by s tucco t o e nliven t he d esigns. The Golden C ross i s basically a s tone f acade w ith c onsiderable use o f b rick d etail. B uilt before 1 875 t his p resumably s hows t he a ttraction which r ed b rick d ecoration h eld f or s ome l ocal p atrons a nd builders. While o ne w ould i magine that t he i mposing c lassical f acades o f 2 8-34 T ower S treet, d espite t heir b rick, h ave a lways c ommanded t he a pproval o f " those who k now", The Golden C ross must s urely h ave e ndured a p eriod o f a esthetic d isapproval, f or t he uninhibited u se o f r ed b rick i s v ulgar; we a gree - i t i s vulgar - e njoyably s o. d ) C irencester was l ucky i n a ttracting t he s ervices o f Medland t o d esign, a ccording t o Verey, t he Corn Hall ( 1862 ) a nd t he K ings Head ( 1835-75) i n t he Market Place. Might o ne a lso a dd R iver C ourt, 2 9 B eeches Road ( 18861 902), o n a ccount o f t he f ascinating c omposition o f varied e lements a nd t he s urprising p laster mouldings under t he w indow h ead? C onsiderable e ncouragement may b e d erived f rom t he C orn Hall f or h ere i s a l arge o rnate V ictorian s tone building w ith n o Cotswold f eatures e xcept i ts s tone, which i s y et t he b rilliant point a round which t he Market P lace t urns. This i s e ncouraging b ecause i t means t hat a r eally g ood a rchitect, g iven h is h ead, c an p roduce a masterpiece which n eed have n o o bvious l inks w ith t he i ntended s ite, a nd t hat building, t hrough i ts own b rilliance w ill be worth h aving. A t t he same t ime, a b rilliant a rchitect w ill d esign a b uilding which w ill f it i nto i ts s urroundings, b ut h e w ill d o t his i mplicitly, i ntuitively o r a rtistically, a nd t he pettifogging " guide-lines" o f a n u ninspired c ommittee w ill o nly t urn h im away f rom t he c ommission. e )

L astly w e c ome t o 4 2 Chester S treet,

6 2

built b etween

1 859 a nd 1 875, p robably n earer t he l atter date. I t i ncorporates a n e xcellent d oorcase w ith f luted p ilasters, a moulded d oor h ead s et o ver a k eystone o n a f luted l intel, a nd t he w indows have s houldered a nd f itted a rchitraves. There s eems n o d oubt t hat a ll t he d etail i s g enuine, y et e very p iece o f o ld s tone works f its p erfectly on t o t he h ouse a nd was a lmost c ertainly i ncorporated a t t he o riginal build. Whoever built t he h ouse h ad a s uperb f eeling f or e arlier d etail. B ut a ll t he n earby h ouses h ave i dentical d imensions w ithout t he d etail. Did t he builder b uild t he r ow a ccording t o t he p roportions o f o ne o ld h ouse h e d emolished, o r d id h e r e-use o lder d etail o n a n ew d esign w ith c onsummate s kill? F igure ( 10) i s a n a ttempt t o s how, i n g raphic f orm, t he c hronological d evelopment o f t he s tyles l isted i n t he c atalogue, with t he a pproximate d ating p rovided b y t he maps o n the v ertical s cale, a nd t he s tyles a nd s ubstyles o n t he h orizontal a xis. Therefore t he g raph s hows i n which p eriods a s pecific s tyle i s t o be f ound, e .g. S tyle 1 (a) i s o nly t o b e f ound o n buildings p re 1 712, whereas S tyle I II(d) i s f ound o n buildings e arly e nough t o b e s hown o n t he 1 793 map a nd l ate e nough t o b e s hown o n the 1 921 map; a s i t i s t herefore o f l ittle c hronological s ignificance i t i s put w ith S tyle V III a t t he e nd. An a rrow i ndicates t hat t here a re n o e xisting b uildings w ith, f or e xample, S tyle I V(b) f eatures built i n t he period 1 795 t o 1 835. However, s ince S tyle I V(b) c ontinues i nto t he p eriod 1 835 t o 1 875 i t i s p robable t hat t here were buildings o f t he p eriod 1 795 t o 1 835 w ith t hese f eatures, but which h ave s ince been d emolished. I t i s p lain f rom t he d iagram t hat n o s tyle a fter I V(c) i s t o be f ound o n buildings p re 1 712 a nd w ith f ew e xceptions no s tyle b efore V I(a) a ppears o n b uildings l ater t han 1 835.

6 3

_ o

7 _ o

1 1

I

1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1

. 0

3=

c a Med iaeva l c T i o ) c , o c n

l i . 1

( \ i o c r )

C D

L i p N c o-

i n c t o . o ' L )

0

L . r ) c o c o

O D

L i ) o )

F ig . 1 0

C irences te r :

D iagram o f b u i ld ing f ea tures

C o

a ) c ) 5

I NDEX OF BUILDINGS S treets ( see f ig. 1 1) a re l isted i n a lphabetical o rder omitting " The" ( Avenue, Market P lace, Waterloo), a nd i n e ach s treet buildings a re g iven i n n umerical o rder w ith t he e ven numbers i n t he l eft h and c olumn a nd o dd n umbers o n t he r ight. W here buildings c ould have t he s ame e ntry t hey a re r un t ogether - e .g. Ashcroft Gardens 2 -22 a re a ll o f the s ame s tyle a nd date. Each e ntry g ives t he map o n which i t i s r easonably c ertain t hat the building f irst a ppears b y a c apital l etter:A B C D

p robably a ppears on t he K ip print map o f 1 793 map o f 1 835 f irst e dition O rdnance S urvey 1 875 ( 1:2500) D ii known f rom r eferences t o b e l ate i n D , e .g. 1 855-1875 E i B eecham 's map o f 1 886 E ii s econd e dition O rdnance S urvey 1 902 ( 1:2500) F t hird e dition Ordnance S urvey 1 921 ( 1:2500) G a fter 1 922

Where a f acade has b een a dded t o a p re-existing buildi ng two l etters a re g iven, e .g. DB which s ignifies a f acade o f phase D on a building o f phase B . The s econd part o f t he e ntry g ives a R oman numeral I -X f or the s tyle under which i t has b een g rouped w ith a l ower c ase l etter s howing t he r elevant s ection. Thus 4 2 Chester S treet has t he e ntry D i i X meaning t hat i t a ppears o n map D f or t he f irst t ime, i s t herefore t o be dated 1 835-1875, but i s h istorically known t o be l ate i n t hat phase, 1 855-75; i t i s d escribed i n S tyle X miscellaneous. A n a sterisk preceding t he Roman numeral d enoting t he s tyle s hows t hat the b uilding i s i llustrated i n t he plates, e .g. * IXa.

6 5

F ig .

C i rences te r :

I

S t ree t

p lan

Abbey Way

A shcroft

Gardens

2 -22 2 4 A shcroft

E ii E ii

I X(f) I X(a)

1 -11 1 5

F E ii

I X(e) V I(d)

E ii E ii E ii E ii E ii

I II(d) I X(e) I X(a) V II(d) V I(b)

1 -9 A shcroft Hall 1 1-17 1 9-21 Methodist Church Dairy 2 7-33 3 5-45 4 7-61

E ii E ii E ii E ii

I X(f) I X(f) I X(f) I X(d)

E ii E ii E ii E ii E ii

I X(f) I X(f) I X(f) V I(a) V I(d)

1 -3 5 -7 9 1 5 1 7 1 9-21

E ii D ii D ii G D ii E i

V II(c) V III(a) V I(a) I II(d) I II(d) V I(d)

Road

6 2 8-40 4 2-46 4 8-54 5 6-58

Avenue 2 L eaholme Masonic Hall 4 + 6 8 -12 1 4-20 2 2-24 2 6-30 3 2-34 3 4a

E i E ii E ii Eii Dii Dii E ii Dii E ii

V I(b) V II(d) V II(b) V I(a) V I(b) I II(d) I X(f) V II(b) I II(d)

Barton Lane 2 + 4 F V II(a) 6 -8 D I V(d) 1 0-12 D I II(b) 1 4-16 G 1 8 + 1 8(a) 1 952 2 0-22 1 934 2 4-26 1 927 2 8 D I V(d) 3 0-32 G 3 4-36 1 946 4 0 M ill House B V III(a) Barton Farm A * III(a) & f arm buildings B eeches Road The Beeches

D

G olden Farm New M ills

A A

V I(a)

V II(b) 1 -19 * I(c) 2 1-27 I II(a) 2 9 R iver Court

6 7

C F E ii

I V(d) I X(f) *X

B lack Jack S treet 2 2 (a) 2 (b) 4 6 8 1 0 1 2 1 4-18 2 0 G olden C ross 2 4-26 2 8-38 4 0-42 4 4

DB

1 909

* IX(b) I V(b) V III(b) V I(b) V (a) V (b) V II(a) I II(c) V I(a) * X V I(b) X I X(e) I II(d)

C rown G arages 7 9 -17

A A D

I II(c) I V(a) V II(c)

1 -17

F

I X(a)

Furniture S tore

E i

V I(b)

Bridge Road E i * IX(a) Gasworks E i+F V III(d) Engine S heds I II(d) Gas O ffices V I(a) Gasworks C ottage 1 915+ I X(g) Engine S heds E i Carpenters Lane Argyll H ouse

Castle

E i

V III(c)

S treet

2 -12 1 4 L loyds Bank 1 8 2 0 2 2-26 2 8 3 0 3 2 3 6 3 8 4 0

1 896/7 V II(c)

A E i

1 910 1 858

* V(c) V (a) V I(b) I (d) V I(b) V II(c) V I(b) V I(b) V II(c) V II(a)

6 8

E i 1 3 5 -7 E i 9 1 1 A 1 5 A 1 7 A 1 9 2 1 2 3 1 898 2 5-29 3 1-33 3 5-37 3 9 A 4 3 4 5 A 4 7 A 5 1 5 3 6 3 A 6 5-67 3 C ompasses F 6 9-71

I X(a) I II(b) V II(a) V II(b) I (c) I II(a) * II I V(b) I X(d) V (c) V I(a) I (a) I II(c) I I I X(e) I II(c) I (c) V II(a) I V(d)

Cecily H ill 2 4 -28 3 2 3 6 3 8 4 0 + 4 2 Militia Armoury 4 6

A 1 802 B CB 1 909 B D D

* I(d) * V(a) * V(a) V II(a) V II(a) * V(a) * VII(c) V II(a)

1 3 5 7 9 1 1-15 1 7 1 9-25 2 7 2 9-31

1 880 C BA A A 1 777 D C A D

V II(a) I II(c) * V(a) V (b) * IV(a) * IV(d) V II(a) * VII(a) I (a) V II(a)

Dii F

V I(b) I X(f)

Dii Ei Eii Ei Dii Dii Dii Ei Dii Dii

V I(b) V I(b) V I(b) V I(b) V I(b) *X V I(a) V I(a) V I(a) I II(d)

1 -21 2 5-75

D ii Dii

V I(b) V I(b)

D

V II(c)

3 3-43 4 5

Eii F

I X(c) I X(d)

D

V II(c)

C C

V II(a) V (a)

C D D Eii Eii

V I(b) V III(c) I II(d)

Eii Eii Dii Dii G Dii Dii

I II(d) * VIII(c) V I(a) I II(d)

Dii D ii G E ii F Dii Dii

I II(d) I X(c)

I X(a) I II(d)

1 l a 3 5 -9 1 1-15 1 7-23 2 5-27

I X(e) I II(d) V I(a) I II(d)

I II(d)

1

D

I II(d)

Chester C rescent 2 -22 2 4 Chester S treet 2 -14 1 6-20 2 2 2 4-32 3 4-40 4 2 4 4-48 5 0-54 5 6-58 6 0-62 Chesterton Lane Cemetery Lodge Cemetery Chapels Chesterton Farm L odge Chesterton House Chesterton House L odge 5 4 5 6-72 7 4 8 4-90

V III(c)

Church S treet 2 + 4 6 -26 2 8 3 0 3 2 3 4 3 6-40 C ity Bank R oad 1 0

C

6 9

C ity Bank R oad 1 4-16

A

I II(a)

3 5 -27 2 7-43

C C F

I II(d) I X(f) I X(e)

1 696 C A

I (b) V (b)

1 3 5 2 5 2 7-37 Baptist C hapel 3 9-43 4 5 4 7 + 4 9 5 1 5 3(a) 5 3

1 658 A A 1 674 A

I (a) I (c) I (b) * I(a) * III(a)

D C C A A G A

V I(a) V (a) * V(b) I V(a) * IV(a)

5 + 7 9 1 1 1 7 1 9-23 2 5 3 1 3 3 3 9-41 4 3-65(a) 6 7-71 W heatsheaf 8 1 8 5 8 9 9 1 9 3-103 1 05-119 1 32-141

B G DC G D G D D C G F B E G C C C C 1 935 1 889

1 + 3 5 7 + 9 1 1-17 1 9-27

A DA C D G

Cotswold Avenue C oxwell

S treet

2 6 8 Jehova 's W itness 1 0 1 0(a)+(b) 1 2 1 2(a) 1 4-20 2 2-28 3 2 + 3 6 3 8 + 4 0

C ricklade

E EA E D B A B B 1 882

2 4 6 + 8 1 0 + 1 2 1 4 1 8

I (c)

S treet

2 + 4 6 -6e 1 0 1 2 1 4 2 0 2 6 2 8 3 0 3 2-36 3 8 4 0 4 2 4 4 4 6 4 8-60 6 2 Malthouse 6 4 + 6 6 6 8 7 0 B rewers Arms 7 2 + 7 4 7 6-82 Dollar

V I(a) * X V I(b) V I(b) I V(d) I (e) V III(a) I II(c) V II(a)

E G D B DB E G G E 1 893 F F F E B C B E A F F B C

V III(b) I V(b) I V(b) V I(a) I X(b)

V II(a) V I(b) I X(c) V III(b) I X(a) I X(e) I (c) I II(c) I II(d) V I(b) I V(a) I X(e) I X(a) I (d) I V(d)

V (b) I X(a) V I(a) V II(a) I X(a) I II(d) I X(a) I (c) I X(a) I II(c) I V(d) X V II(a)

S treet D A A CA A C

* VII(a) I (e) I I V (b) I (e) V II(a) 7 0

I (d) V II(a) V (c) V I(c)

Dollar

S treet

2 0 2 2-28 3 0 3 2 3 4 3 6 3 8

C D B B D E D

I II(d) V I(b) * IV(b) * V(b) V I(c) V III(b) V I(d)

A D D A G DB BA F D B E DC B

I (c) V I(c) V I(b) * II

2 9-41 Triangle 4 3 + 4 5 4 7 + 4 9 5 1 + 5 3

G C G D

1 3 5 7 9 -11 1 7 1 9 2 1 2 5-27 2 9-31 3 3 3 5 3 7 3 9 4 1 4 3-45 4 7-51 5 3-55 5 7

1 904 C B B B B G G G E C B E A A D 1 889 C C

1 3 + 5 7 1 9 2 5 2 7 2 9 Barton Hall 3 3 + 3 5 3 7-49 5 1 + 5 3 5 7 5 9-67 8 3-89 9 1 + 9 3 9 5 + 9 7 1 03 1 05 1 07

G 1 740 A A C D

* V(c) V I(b)

Dugdale R oad 1 4-16 Dyer S treet 2 + 4 6 + 8 1 0 1 2 The B ear 1 4-54 F orum 5 6-58 6 0 6 0(a) 6 2-66 7 2 7 4 7 6-82 8 4 + 8 6

G loucester 2 -6 8 1 0 1 2 + 1 4 1 6-22 2 6 2 8 3 0 4 0 4 8 5 0 + 5 2 5 4 5 6-60 6 2-66 Nelson Extension 7 0 N elson 7 4 7 6-80

V I(b) * V(b) V I(b) V I(b) * IV(a) V II(e) V I(c) V (b)

V II(b) V (b) V (b) V (a) I (e) V (a)

V II(e) V (c) V III(b) I II(d) I (c) I II(d) V I(c) V II(a) V (c) V (b)

S treet A A CB CB CB C B D A D F E C B

* I(a) * IV(a) I V(c) V (c) I V(c) I II(b) I (e) I V(d) I (b) V III(b) V III(a) V II(b) I II(c) I II(c)

B D D D

I II(c) V I(b) I II(d) V I(b)

7 1

I V(a) * I(a) I (b) V III(a) * VI(b)

C V (c) A * II B I V(d) A I (e) A I (c) B I V(d) C I V(d) E I II(d) D I II(b) D V I(b) 1 695 I (c) C V (b)

G loucester S treet 8 2-86 8 8-94 9 6 9 8-100 1 02-104 Royal Oak 1 06-112 1 14-120 1 22

G osditch

F D + A B

V II(a) I II(a) I I I II(c)

D D B F

I II(c) I V(d) I II(c) V III(b)

1 11-117 1 19 1 41 1 43 1 45-151 1 53-157 1 69-177 1 85 1 87 1 89-197

D G A D D 1 906 A D + D + E

I V(d)

1 3 -5 7 -9 9 (a)-11 1 5 U nitarian C hurch 1 7 + 1 9

C B B C 1 873

V II(a) * V(a) V (b) V (b) * VII(a)

1 672 A

* I(a) I I

1 -3 5 7 -9 1 1-15 2 1

D G F A G

S axon A rch 1

A C

I I I V(d) V I(b) V II(e) I II(a) I II(b) V I(b) V III(a)

S treet

Abbey House F lats

G

Gooseacre Lane 2 -4 Nelson Hall 6 8 1 0

F G G G

I II(c)

I II(c) I X(a) I (b)

G rove Lane * Medieval * VII(a)

K ing S treet 2 -24 B ingham Hall 2 8

F F F

V II(c) V II(c) V II(c)

F

V II(a)

DC A A D D G G D E E

V I(c) I (e) I (c) V II(a) I II(b)

L ewis Lane 2 1 2 Twelve B ells 1 4 1 6 1 8-30 3 2-38 4 0 C inema 4 4-46 4 8 5 0

V I(a) I X(d) I X(c)

1 -7 1 889 V II(a) 9 -21 C V II(a) 2 3-33 G 3 5-37 D V I(b) 3 9-41 D V I(b) 4 5 G P rimitive M ethodist Chapel D * IX(c) T elephone E xchange G C ounty J unior/ I nfants S chool 1 879 V II(c)

7 2

L ewis L ane 5 2 5 4

+ 5 6

V III(a) V III(a)

8 3 8 5 8 7

V I(b) I V(d) V I(b)

V III(b) I II(a) I X(e) V II(a) I X(e) V III(a)

5 + 7 9 1 1 Waggon & Horses 1 5 The Apple Loft

V (b) V I(b)

L ondon R oad 2 -4 6 -10 1 2 1 4 2 0 + 2 2 2 6-28

V II(a) V (c) E

* III(d)

L ove Lane Market P lace 2

F

V II(d)

4 -10 1 2-22 K ings H ead C orn Hall 2 8-30 3 2 3 4 + 3 6 3 8 + 4 0

D E D D B

* IX(a) V I(a) * X * X I (d)

D B

V I(a) V (b)

1 Parish Church A 3 5 + 7 9 -17 1 9-23 2 5 DB 2 7 2 9-33 A 3 5 3 7 3 9 A 4 1 F leece 4 3 Fleece

V (c) * Medieval V (c) V (c) * IV(b) V (a) V (b) V I(c) V (b) I II(a) V (a) V II(a) * II V (b)

M idland Road Demolished w ithout Mount

a ny record

S treet

2 -6 2 0

D ii D ii

V III(c) V III(c)

1 -3 5 -17 1 9-23 2 5-39

E ii E i

V I(b) V I(b) I X(e) I X(a)

Nursery Cottages 2 -16

E ii

I X(e)

F

I X(a)

Nursery Road 2 -8 Park L ane O ld G rammar S chool A

I (c)

C irencester House 7 3

* V(a)

Park Lane 6 1 0-16

D C

V I(a) V II(a)

A C D B C

I (c) V (a) V I(a) V (a) V (a)

Park S treet 2 + 4 6 + 8 1 0 1 2 1 4

1 -3 5 + 7 9 1 1 1 5 1 7 1 9 2 1 2 3 2 5 D unstall H ouse 2 7 2 9

A C A A D D B D E D

I (c) I V(d) I (b) I (a) I II(b) I II(d) I II(c) V I(a) V I(b) V I(a)

B E C

V (a) V I(b) V (b)

1 -3 5 7 -15 1 7

E i F E ii E li

V I(b) I X(e) I X(e) V III(a)

Prospect P lace 2 -20 2 2-30 3 2-38

E ii E li Eli

I II(d) I X(e) I II(d)

F

I X(a)

F

I X(a)

1 -17 1 9-49 5 1-55

F F G

I II(d) V I(b) V I(a) V I(b) I X(e) * IX(e)

1 -5 7 -15 1 7 1 9-37

E i Dii E li E i

V I(b) V I(b) V I(b) I X(e)

4 1 4 3-47

C C

V III(a) I II(a)

1 3 -17

B C

Purley Avenue 2 -4 Purley Road 2 -56

I X(b) * IX(a)

Queen S treet 2 -4 Dii 6 Dii 1 0 F orresters E 1 2-22 Dii 2 4 Eli 2 6-42 E i Querns H ill

Querns Lane 2 -10 1 4-36

G G

7 4

V (a) * IV(d)

Querns L ane 3 8 4 0 4 2 4 6 5 4 The H ope

F G G G C

I X(a)

I II(c)

1 9 2 1 2 3 2 5 2 9 + 3 1 3 3 3 5-39

C D C C G G C

* V(a) V I(b) I II(a) I II(c)

Watermoor Hospital

C

* V(a)

V (a)

Querns R oad Wharfingers H ouse S t.

B

V (b)

P eters Road

2 -16 1 8-36

F E ii

* VIII(c) V III(c)

1 3 -5 Presbytery S t. Peters Church 9 -15

E li E ii E ii

I X(d) V III(c) V II(c)

E ii E ii

V II(c) V III(c)

The Marlborough 3 -15 Hospital 2 3 2 5 2 7 2 9 + 3 1 3 3 3 5

F D 1 873 C C D A G C

V II(b) V I(b) V II(e) I V(d) V (a) V I(b) I (c)

3 5 7 + 9

G D D

S chool L ane Demolished w ithout

a ny r ecord

S heep S treet H ospital Annexe

E C

V I(a)

I II(c)

S iddington R oad H orse & Drill C 6 + 8 B 2 4-46 F

I II(d) I V(b) I X(a)

S ilver S treet 2 4 -6 8 1 0-14

CB B F D

V (a) I V(b) V II(c) V II(c)

7 5

V I(b) I V(d)

Somerford R oad Dii D ii Dii A Dii Dii Dii F F D ii

2 4 -10 1 2-14 1 6 1 8 2 0 2 2 Laundry 3 0-36 3 8-40

V II(c) V I(b) V I(a) I II(c) V I(d) V I(a) V I(d) I X(a) V I(a) V III(a)

4 9-51 Oakley Hall Highfield C ottage Highfield Elm G rove East Cranhams Rooks Nest S outhleigh Magpies

Eli Eli

I X(e) V II(b)

Dii Dii Dii Dii Dii Eli F

I II(d) V I(a) * VI(a) V I(a) V I(a) V I(b) I II(d)

S perringate Watermoor S chool House Watermoor S chool S pitalgate Lane I II(a) 1 A 1 (a) S t. J ohns * Medieval Hospital A 1 826 I II(d) 3 -9 CB I V(d) 1 1-21 A I II(a) 2 7 F I X(c) 2 9

2

S tepstairs Lane Demolished without

a ny record

Tetbury Road Toll House A Ammonite Cottage Upper Querns L odge Lower Querns Lodge Old Railway S tation Oakley Cottage The Querns C Thomas

I II(a) * III(d)

Kennels Kennels Lodge Old Museum

1 837*VII(a) D D

1

GB

3 -17 1 9-23 2 5

GB

V II(a) V I(a)

V II(a) I X(a) V II(b) V II(a) * VII(b)

S treet

2 4 Weavers Hall 6 8

I V(d) A A B

* Medieval * I(d) * IV(c)

7 6

I V(d)

Thomas

S treet

1 0 Temperance Hall 1 2-16 1 8 2 0 + 2 2 2 4 2 6 2 8 L ittle Mead

D C E C D A A C

V II(a) V (c) V (c) * V(b) V I(a) M edieval * Medieval * IV(d)

I II(a) 2 7-37 4 7 I II(c) V (a) 4 9 + 5 1 5 3 Friends Meeting I V(c) House A Meeting H ouse V I(a) Porch D 5 5-63 T riangle 6 5

1 882

V II(a)

Jefferies

D ii

I II(d)

T ower S treet 2 -10 1 2-16 1 8-22 2 4-26 2 8 3 0-34

D ii D ii E i E i E i D ii

V I(b) I II(d) V I(b) V I(d) I X(d) * IX(d)

Victoria Road 2 4 6 6 a 8 -10 1 0a 1 2 Talbot 1 6 1 8-24 2 6-32 F lats 3 2a + b 3 4-40 4 2 4 4-52 5 4 5 6-60 6 2 S tonewalls 7 4-78 8 0-82 8 4 C oop 8 6-96 9 8-100 1 02

Dii E i D ii

V III(c) V I(d) V I(d)

D ii E ii E ii Dii Dii Dii Ei

V II(c)

D ii E li Dii E i E li

V I(a) V III(c) * VI(a) V I(a) V I(d)

Dii

V II(c)

Dii Dii Dii Dii Dii

V I(b) I X(a) I II(d) V I(a) V I(b)

V I(d) V III(d) V I(a) V I(b) V III(c)

3 5 -9 1 1 1 7 1 9-21 Garages 2 7-29 3 1-33 3 5-37 3 7a 3 9 4 1-49 5 1-67 6 9-73 7 3a 7 5 7 5a 7 7-81 8 3-89 9 1 9 3 9 5 Grammar S chool 9 7 9 9-101 1 01a 1 03-125

Waterloo 1 4

1 5 1 7-23

+ 1 6

7 7

V III(c) I X(e) I X(f)

V I(a)

E li E ii

1 906 E ii E i 1 880 E ii 1 880 E li

V I(a) V III(c) I X(f) I X(e) V III(c) V III(c) V III(c) * IX(c) V I(d) V I(a) * VII(c) * VI(d) V III(c) I X(e)

Watermoor R oad 2 Chesterton Manor 4 -14 1 6-26 2 8 O ld Parsonage Parsonage Watermoor Church Queens Head Garage Queens Head New Queens Head O ld 3 8-42 4 4-48 5 0-52 5 4-58 6 4-76 Hopes Foundry 8 0-116

A G D D D D D D D C C D D D D E E

1 Coles Mill I (a) I V(c) 3 V II(a) 5 -21 V I(a) 2 3-25 I II(d) 2 729 V I(b) 3 1-4 1 V II(c) Watermoor House 6 3-73 7 5 7 7 8 3-87 8 9-93 9 5 I II(d) 9 7103 I II(d) 1 05 I II(d) 1 07 V I(b) 1 09-119 I II(d) P lume & I II(d) F eathers V II(a) 1 35-143 I X(e) 1 45-157 1 59 1 61-165

C C 1 826 F F E

I V(d) V II(a) * VII(a) V II(a) V I(b) V I(a)

C F D D E i D E ii E ii E ii Eii E ii

V (c) V II(c) V I(b) V II(a) V I(b) V I(b) I II(d) * VIII(b) I X(a)

F D C D E i

I X(f) I X(d) I II(d) V (a) I X(a) I X(a)

West Market Place 2 + 4

B

1 3 (a) 5 + 7 1 1 C rown 1 3 C rown 1 5 C rown 2 1-25

V (c)

7 8

D B B B DB CB D

* X V (b) V (c) V (a) X I X(a) * VI(a)

PLATE

S t.

I

J ohn's H ospital

The S axon A rch

S pitalgate Lane

f rom the west

Med.

Med.

Parish Church Porch

Parish Church Tower

f rom the

f rom t he north-east

s outh-west

Med.

The Park,

The Mansion

a nd t he Church

W eavers' Hall 4 Thomas S treet

Med.

Med.

S table Cottages Barton C omplex

f rom the west Medieval

a nd l ater

Tythe Barn

Monmouth House

Barton Complex

2 8

Med.

Thomas

S treet

Med.

PLATE

The B ear

I I

The F leece

1 2

1 9

4 1

Dyer S treet

C astle S treet

Market P lace

3 3-35

G olden F arm

G loucester S treet

B eeches R oad

I I

7

I c

2 5

G loucester S treet I a

C oxwell

Unitarian Church S treet

G osditch S treet

I a

I a

1 9 Querns Lane Va

8 Thomas

S treet

I Vc

PLATE

I II

L ittle B ull 9

W hite L ion

7 2

Cecily H ill

8

Dyer S treet

I Va

G loucester

I Va

S treet

I Va

9 -17

2 C ecily H ill

Market P lace f rom t he North I Vb

6 Thomas

I d

3 0 S treet

5

Dollar S treet

I d

G osditch S treet

I Vb

1 1-15 C ecily H ill I Vd

Va

3 -5 Querns Lane I Vd

1 : 1 ,

P

r i l . ••

I CE % O

1 4 1

l b

' i l l

Au ' ,

II • m e

••

I II ; ! • •, _

I n

P OI M EI

wee

I II o r•e

1 1 1 , 1 1 1 1

I II IC I p lu

P l u

It t

1 88 3 3 8 8 83

PLATE

I V

L loyd's Bank 1 4 C astle

4 0-42

S treet

C ecily H ill

Vc

Va

3 2

3 2

C ecily H ill

Dollar

Va

2 0

S treet

Thomas

Vb

6 0

Vb

4 5

Dyer S treet

Coxwell

Vb

4 3-45 S treet

Dollar

Vb

Watermoor Hospital Querns Road Va

S treet

S treet Vc

4 -28 C ecily H ill Va

PLATE V

2 7-37 C oxwell

O ld Apple Loft S treet

Ammonite C ottage

London R oad

I IIa

T etbury Road

I IId

Tythe Barn

I IId

1 45-147

Barton Complex

Watermoor Road

I IIa

Va

9 7-103 Watermoor R oad V IIIb

2 -8

6 -26 Church S treet V IIIc

The Talbot 1 4

S t.

Peter's R oad V IIIc

V ictoria Road V IIId

PLATE V I

S hadow o f T imber f rame on

The Hexagon

2 7 G loucester

5

The Park S treet

C ecily H ill I V

I I

Va

S axon Arch a nd c ottage f rom t he s outh V IIa

2 1-25 W est

Market P lace V Ia

E lm G rove S omerford R oad V Ia

L ittle Mead Thomas

S treet

I Vd

4 4-50 V ictoria Road V Ia

9 7 V ictoria Road V Id

PLATE V II

2 -4

5 -21

G loucester S treet

W atermoor Road

I a

V IIa

2 Dollar

1 5

S treet

1 9

G osditch S treet

V IIa

C ecily H ill

V IIa

The Querns Tetbury Road

V IIa

T he Kennels Tetbury Road

V IIb

The Armoury Cecily H ill V IIc

V IIa

T he

G rammar S chool

V ictoria Road V IIc

H y

A •

,

1 :1 ; 1111. 1 . 11 1 : 1 1,1 11 0 .1 r . : i'' P 1 1 1 1 , .. . •

PLATE V III

Primitive M ethodist Chapel

3 0-34

L ewis Lane

Tower S treet

I Xc

4 Market

I Xd

8 P lace

2

Market P lace

I Xa

B lack J ack S treet

I Xa

2 6-42 Queen S treet

I Xb

Old

G as Works

Bridge Road

I Xe

I Xa

8 3-89

2 3-29

V ictoria R oad I Xe

Purley Road I Xa

S TEAD tS IMPSON

PLATE

1 0 C oxwell S treet

I X

5 1 C oxwell S treet

Xa

1

Waterloo

W est Market P lace

C orn Hall

Chester S treet

I Va

1 9

Xb

4 2

Xc

R iver C ourt

Xe

G olden C ross B lack J ack S treet Xc

K ings Head

2 9 Market P lace Xd

B eeches R oad Xd

Market P lace Xd