Secret Tewkesbury

Secret Tewkesbury explores the lesser-known history of the town of Tewkesbury through a fascinating selection of stories, unusual facts and attractive photographs.

From its Saxon beginnings to the severe floods of 2007, Tewkesbury is one of Britain’s most remarkable towns. It is well known for its Norman abbey of cathedral-like proportions and the great battle which proved to be one of the most decisive in the Wars of the Roses, but its history contains much more that has often been overlooked. In this book local author David Elder delves deep into Tewkesbury’s lost, forgotten and hidden histories, recounting some remarkable stories. Learn, for example, about some of the town’s minor celebrities and local characters – from the seaman who carried Admiral Nelson’s wounded body to the cockpit of HMS Victory, to the miserly tanner who amassed a great fortune ‘for no higher purpose than the sordid desire of seeing it uselessly accumulate’. The author unearths fascinating facts, celebrating the town’s tradition of nonconformity which led to more than one riot, and provides fascinating insights into how the town’s inhabitants were once comically portrayed as having sharp features because it was assumed that they lived on the town’s famous hot, pungent mustard!

With tales of remarkable characters, unusual events and tucked-away or disappeared historical buildings and locations, Secret Tewkesbury will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of this town in Gloucestershire.

Secret Cirencester

Cirencester is one of the most remarkable towns in Britain. From its Roman beginnings around AD 75, when it was classed second only in importance to London, to its current status as the ‘Capital of the Cotswolds’, it has always punched well above its weight. The ‘A-side’ of its history as a small market town which developed at the centre of the Cotswold wool trade is well documented, but what about its ‘ flip-side’? Much of the town’s fascinating history has either been overlooked or lies hidden below the surface. Well-known local author David Elder delves deep into Cirencester’s lost, forgotten and hidden histories, recounting some remarkable stories. Learn, for example, about some of Cirencester’s minor celebrities and local characters, including the Victorian female astronomer who became a national expert in sunspots and solar eclipses. He also unearths fascinating facts, celebrating, for example, the town’s accolade of having the UK’s oldest public outdoor swimming pool in continuous use, and explaining why it was important for passengers travelling on the railways around the mid-nineteenth century to understand that Cirencester time was 7 ½ minutes earlier than London time.

‘He went about doing good’

The life of Dr Edward Thomas Wilson of Cheltenham has never been told. Overshadowed both by his son, the Antarctic explorer who perished with Captain Scott at the South Pole, and his brother, renowned for his heroic attempt to rescue General Gordon at Khartoum, his story is intriguingly complex. A municipal pioneer of Victorian and Edwardian Britain, he instigated modern medical practices, such as isolation fever hospitals, district nursing and clean drinking water. A supporter of science and art he opened the museum which now bears his family’s name, and promoted libraries and the local School of Art. A founder of the local camera club (the sixth oldest in the country) he pioneered photomicrography as an amateurs’ pursuit, and contributed to numerous associations, not least as President of the Cheltenham Natural Science Society. ‘No man has done so much as he to stimulate and promote the intellectual life of the town’ proclaimed one of his obituaries in 1918, while the epitaph on his gravestone reads simply, ‘He went about doing good’. Drawing on previously unpublished material and sources, this is the first in-depth biography of one of life’s ‘quiet’ heroes.

Historic England: Gloucestershire

This illustrated history portrays one of England’s finest counties. It provides a nostalgic look at Gloucestershire’s past and highlights the special character of some of its most important historic sites.
The county of Gloucestershire is one of the most varied in the country. Divided by the valley of the River Severn, the ancient Forest of Dean in the west of the county was home to coal mining for many years. To the east, the Cotswold Hills grew wealthy in the Middle Ages through the wool trade and many towns and villages have a rich heritage of historic buildings, from Chipping Camden and the mill town of Stroud to Cirencester, which was founded by the Romans. The two largest settlements are the cathedral city of Gloucester and Georgian Cheltenham, but other historical towns are to be found throughout the county, from Tewkesbury to Berkeley, Thornbury and Chipping Sodbury.

Secret Cheltenham

The ‘A-side’ of Cheltenham’s history as a fashionable Regency spa and subsequent reinvention as a town of colleges, churches and festivals is well documented, but what about its ‘flip-side’? Much of the town’s fascinating history has either been overlooked or lies hidden below the surface. Well-known local author David Elder delves into Cheltenham’s lost, forgotten and hidden histories, unearthing fascinating facts and recounting some remarkable stories. Learn, for example, about some of Cheltenham’s minor celebrities and local characters – from the man who sold his wife for little more than 18 pence to the concert pianist who claimed to be the reincarnation of Franz Liszt, while not forgetting the person who led to the ‘discovery’ of Jeeves not long before perishing at the Battle of the Somme. Secret Cheltenham reveals the lesser-known aspects of this remarkable town.

Historic England: Cheltenham

This illustrated history portrays one of England’s finest towns. It provides a nostalgic look at Cheltenham’s past and highlights the special character of some of its most important historic sites.

Historic England: Cheltenham shows the town as it once was, from its grand streets and squares to its famous tree-lined promenades and gardens surrounding its spas. Once the ‘most complete Regency town in Britain’, Cheltenham became the most fashionable resort in England following George III’s visit and has enjoyed centuries of prosperity based on the discovery of its natural mineral springs. But the town has not rested on its laurels and is now a vibrant centre of festivals and fashionable shops, a Mecca for horse racing, international music, cricket and world-renowned schools and colleges. Cheltenham is one of the country’s most visited towns and this book will help you discover its colourful and fascinating history.

Cheltenham in 50 Buildings

From a small market town to its heyday as a fashionable watering place and recognition as ‘the most complete Regency town in Britain’, through to its subsequent reinvention as a centre for religion, education, shopping and festivals, Cheltenham has a proud and distinctive identity. This extraordinary history is embodied in the buildings that have shaped the town, from the medieval church (now its Minster) and the Montpellier Rotunda, where a young Gustav Holst performed, to the world’s first (outside of London) purpose-built Masonic hall and one of the country’s most iconic buildings of the modern era, the GCHQ Doughnut. In this unique study well-known local author David Elder guides the reader on a tour of its greatest treasures, revealing that Cheltenham’s history is sometimes complex but never dull. 

Literary Tewkesbury

Tewkesbury is one of those ancient places that seems always to have been there. Over the centuries its history has frequently ‘dripped’ from the pages of literature, from Shakespeare to Ivor Gurney and from Sir Walter Scott to Charles Dickens to name but a few. Yet writers have also provided more intimate portraits of the town they have loved and cherished – whether it is faintly disguised as the ‘queer unique’ Elmbury of Tewkesburian novelist John Moore or the Norton Bury of Mrs Craik’s most celebrated novel John Halifax, Gentleman. In terms of overall importance this town has always managed to ‘punch above its weight’ whether it’s the great Abbey with cathedral-like proportions or the great battle of 1471 which proved to be one of the most decisive during the War of the Roses. This informative, analytical and richly illustrated anthology celebrates the history of Tewkesbury through literature from its early beginnings to the modern day, the achievements of its many remarkable people, and the importance of its local heritage.  

50 Gems of the Cotswolds

To many, the Cotswolds epitomise rural England at its best, conjuring up images of tranquil stone-built villages nestling beneath gently rolling hills or tucked away in evergreen secluded valleys. Such is its enchanting character that it remains one of the most popular and frequently visited parts of Britain. Yet this region defies simple stereotypes. Know where to look and you’re as likely to come across a mysterious stone circle, an Iron Age fort or the castle where Edward II was murdered as you are one of the many fine churches and manor houses built from local limestone which typically punctuate this alluring landscape.
Once celebrated as the centre of the English wool trade during the Middle Ages, the Cotswolds were rediscovered by the Arts and Crafts Movement as a special place of pilgrimage towards the end of the nineteenth century. Towns such as Chipping Campden, Cirencester, Stow-on-the-Wold and Bath have many secrets to reveal. This book also explores iconic sites such as Arlington Row.

Cheltenham Heritage Walks

The best way to explore a town is on foot accompanied by an expert guide. In this comprehensive set of illustrated walks catering for all abilities, the different strands of Cheltenham’s rich heritage are woven together to create a rich tapestry with unique and fascinating insights which will surprise locals and inspire visitors.

Cheltenham has never been stuck in the past. It goes back a long way, well before George III’s visit secured it as a most fashionable place for the beau monde to visit. However, it has also constantly reinvented itself as a place of learning, of music, of sport, of tourism and leisure, not to mention its attraction as a place for business and work. Indeed, Cheltenham could almost claim ‘city status’, such is its importance and influence in certain fields.

Walking around this town is the best way to appreciate where the town has come from and how it has moved with the times. Where else could you find Assembly Rooms (now a bank) which once hosted concerts by Paganini and Liszt, and performances by Dickens, Wilde and Thackeray?

Discover Cheltenham's many secrets and treasures, and learn the fascinating history behind them with this handy walking guide.

Literary Cheltenham

A 'stuccoed town in the Regency manner', a watering place that became the most fashionable resort in England following George III's visit, or a place of Bath-chairs where ex-colonial officers came to die? A vibrant town of festivals and fashionable shops, a Mecca for horse racing, international music, cricket and world-renowned colleges, or a quiet retreat for luxurious gardens and cultural events? Cheltenham has never suffered an identity crisis. It has simply re-invented itself through the ages. How better to portray Cheltenham's unique, evolving personality than through pictures that tell 'thousands of words' juxtaposed with les mots justes culled from some of our most acclaimed writers. From Jane Austen to Ann Yearsley, writers both modern and old, as diverse as George Orwell, Laurie Lee, George Bernard Shaw, C. Day-Lewis, Cobbett, Defoe, Scott, Trollope, Thackeray, Dickens, Byron and Betjeman, have heaped praise on the town or damned it, been spellbound by its beauty or sneered at its laziness and opulence. Famous explorers and composers have written about it as their birthplace, while others have written about it as a place to visit, whether as poets, essayists or even relatives of German philosophers. Love or hate it, they have always remembered their experience of Cheltenham.

Down Cheltenham Way

An anthology of writing about Cheltenham through the ages that attempts to set the record straight and celebrate the town by offering 'a garland for Cheltenham'. 

Beginning with an entry in the Domesday Book, the collection includes excerpts from such famous writers of the past as Defoe, Cobbett, Austen, Scott, Dickens, Trollope and Thackeray, as well as many lesser known ones, and a surprisingly large number of modern authors who have, in a sense, visited the town - from C. Day-Lewis and Agatha Christie to Dick Francis and Howard Jacobson. Colour plates of striking and unusual images of Cheltenham also illustrate the text.

Glenesk: the Collected Poems of John Angus

John Angus was born in Montrose in December 1906 and is probably best remembered today for his poem Genesis, written about his beloved Glenesk. This collection of his poems has been brought together to mark the centenary of his birth. All his work is based in or around Glenesk, an area he loved deeply and hopefully this volume will bring his poems to a wider audience. The collection is copiously illustrated with colour photos of Glenesk taken by David Elder as well as by the author himself.

Cheltenham in Antarctica: the Life of Edward Wilson

Edward Adrian Wilson is perhaps the most famous native son of Cheltenham. In the early years of the 20th century, he was one of the major influences and personalities of the heroic age of Antarctic exploration and has also been recognised as one of the top ranking ornithologists and naturalists in the UK during this period. He was also one of the last great scientific expedition artists. This is the illustrated story of polar explorer Edward Wilson, from his boyhood in Cheltenham to the diaries and letters associated with his last days as a member of Scott's ill-fated Antarctic expedition. All the royalties from this book will benefit the Wilson Collection Fund at the Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museums.