Montpellier is a district of

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

(

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

), at the end of the Promenade south of the town centre. Originally developed in the 1830s in conjunction with the

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

s, it is now known for its bars, cafés, restaurants and range of specialist shops. In April 2008 Montpellier was one of the most expensive areas in Cheltenham to buy property, with apartments ranging from £300,000 to over £1,000,000, townhouses from around £400,000, and houses over £4,000,000.

History

Montpellier Spa was initiated by Henry Thompson after springs were discovered on land he bought in 1801. The Spa buildings of 1817 were by

George Allen Underwood George Allen Underwood (1793 – 1 November 1829, Bath) was an architect in Cheltenham. He was a pupil of Sir John Soane from 1807 to 1815 and then started his own practice in Cheltenham. He was Surveyor for Somerset, Dorset and the Dean and ...

. Thompson's son

Pearson Pearson may refer to: Organizations Education *Lester B. Pearson College, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada *Pearson College (UK), London, owned by Pearson PLC *Lester B. Pearson High School (disambiguation) Companies *Pearson PLC, a UK-based int ...

extensively developed the area and arranged for supporting entertainment for the spa facilities. He commissioned the distinctive Rotunda by John Buonarotti Papworth as a pump room in 1825. This was a branch of Lloyds Bank, but is now a part of

The Ivy The Ivy is a British restaurant which is known for being popular with celebrities. It is located on West Street near Cambridge Circus in London, opposite the Ambassadors and St Martin's theatres, making it a popular restaurant for theaterg ...

restaurant chain. Opposite are "Montpellier Gardens", also laid out by Papworth. The architects and developers R. W. and C. Jearrad took over the running of Montpellier Spa from Thompson in 1830. Montpellier Walk, leading to Montpellier Spa and designed by W. H. Knight in 1840, is noted for the

caryatids A caryatid ( or or ; grc, Καρυᾶτις, pl. ) is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term ''karyatides'' literally means "ma ...

supporting the shop fronts.

Commercial activity

Montpellier is home to several clothing boutiques, three jeweller's shops, including Metal and Stone, a working goldsmiths, a Scandinavian specialist shop and also a varied selection of cafes. The ''Montpellier Courtyard'' is home to internationally recognised brands such as

Bang & Olufsen Bang & Olufsen (B&O) is a Danish high-end consumer electronics company that designs and manufactures audio products, television sets, and telephones. It was founded in 1925 by Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen, who designed a radio to work with alt ...

and Tokyotattoo Studios. The unique tattoo & piercing studio opened its doors in 2012 on November 5. The tattoo studio won Independent Business of the Year in 2018.https://www.tokyotattoo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/79137770_646743979195735_5921590098121457664_n.jpg Montpellier's bars include ''The Montpellier Wine Bar'', ''The Rotunda Tavern'', ''John Gordon's'', ''Door 4 Cocktail Bar'', ''Soho Bar and Eatery'', ''Harry Cook'' and ''All Bar One'', with ''The Circus Bar'' at the lower end of Montpellier Street. Eating establishments include ''The Thai Brasserie'' (Thai), ''Tarragon'' (Continental), ''Indian Voojan'' (Indian), and ''Strada'' (Italian and Mediterranean). Lansdown Road near the Gordon Lamp, Cheltenham - geograph

Lansdown Road near the Gordon Lamp, Cheltenham - geograph

The area is connected with a Segregated Bicycle Path into

Lansdown, Cheltenham Lansdown is a district of the Regency town Cheltenham Spa in Gloucestershire, England. Situated in a conservation area, much of the architecture is listed, including the distinctive Lansdown Estate. Origins Like Montpellier, and much of Regenc ...

References

* Verey, David (1976) ''Gloucestershire: the Vale and the Forest of Dean'', (The Buildings of England), 2nd ed. Penguin Books

External links

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

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