Pittville Pump Room, Cheltenham

Pittville Pump Room in Cheltenham is a mineral spa building commissioned in 1825 by the landowner and developer, Joseph Pitt. It was to be the focal point of Pittville, his new town, and features Ionic columns based on the Temple of Illisus in Athens. The architect was John Forbes of Cheltenham. He completed the £90,000 building in 1830 just at the point when "taking the waters" began to decline in popularity. In 1889 Cheltenham borough council bought the Pump Room. After being used as a store during WW2 restoration work was undertaken and it was re-opened in 1960. Today it is a venue for concerts and other events and the mineral water may still be sampled.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Pump Rooms, Tenbury Wells

In 1839-40 saline springs were discovered in the Worcestershire town of Tenbury causing it to change its name to Tenbury Wells. In the Victorian period many towns developed such "wells" and "spas" as genteel holiday attractions with an emphasis on visitors being able to "take the waters" for the sake of their health. This often necessitated the construction of buildings that housed the wells and spas, as well as hotels to accommodate the increased number of visitors.

Many of the spa buildings featured traditional classical architectural styles. However, others sought something more novel as at Tenbury Wells. The Pump Rooms here were the work of the Birmingham architect, James Cranston (1821-71), and are quite innovative and light-hearted, using a prefabricated system of his own design that borrowed ideas from large glasshouses. Pevsner thought it "Gothicky" or "Chinese". To my mind the buildings recall English seaside pier pavilions or low-cost eastern European churches.

photo 1 © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2
photo 2 © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone