The familiar image of Cheltenham, a large and prosperous
former spa town, world-famous on account of its Georgian and Regency
architecture, its festivals and educational establishments, masks an earlier
history. While numerous descriptions of the town have been published over the
years, most say little about the many centuries of its existence before the
1740s, when it began to develop as a fashionable resort. This is the fullest
account ever attempted to chronicle those centuries, from the late Saxon period
until the 18th century. In this period, Cheltenham developed into a successful
small town, ranged along a single main street, with the market and trades
serving not only its own needs but also those of the surrounding countryside.
It draws on a range of documentary sources preserved in local and national
archives, many of them never examined in detail before. It therefore helps to
explain the foundations upon which present-day Cheltenham was constructed.