Pittville Pump Room

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Pittville Pump Room is the last and largest of the spa buildings in Cheltenham. It was built by the architect John Forbes between 1825 and 1830 as part of the Pittville estate development by Joseph Pitt. It is a Grade I listed building standing at the northern end of Pittville Lawn with landscaped grounds running down to a lake.

The building has a colonnade of Ionic columns; the interior houses a ballroom containing the marble pump from which the spa waters were drawn. Further Ionic columns support a gallery under a dome from which music might be played; on upper floors there were a billiard room, library and reading room.

It is now in the ownership of Cheltenham Borough Council, which recently removed the Museum of Fashion formerly housed on an upper floor, and is looking to increase commercial revenue. The building is in use for concerts and festival events.

[edit] References

David Verey, Gloucestershire: the Vale and the Forest of Dean, The Buildings of England edited by Nicholas Pevsner, 2nd ed (1976) ISBN 0-14-071041-8