Cheltenham
This weekend I was in Cheltenham, a beautiful town near Gloucester, on the edge of the Cotswolds. It owes its prosperity to mineral springs - water from the limestone hills - which was first exploited by Captain Henry Skillicorne in ca. 1740. A visit by George III and his family in 1788 gave the town royal approval, making it a very fashionable place to live. To the south of the town, the Montpellier spa was developed by Henry Thompson, with a pump room opened in 1817, while on the north side, Pittville pumproom was opened by Joseph Pitt in 1830. I suspect other spas were built, but these were the two that had a lasting impact on the town. Minster This is the only surviving medieval building in Cheltenham, claiming to have been is use for 850 years, and replacing a church built in the eighth century. The stained glass windows are particularly fine, and are late Victorian. Montpellier This part of Cheltenham is where many of the biggest houses are. I guess it takes it name from Montpel