The Pittville Pump Room was the last and largest of the spa buildings to be built in Cheltenham. The benefits of Cheltenham's mineral waters had been recognised since 1716, but not until after the arrival of

Henry Skillicorne Henry Skillicorne (c. 1678–1763) was a Manx-born merchant mariner who after some four decades trading out of Bristol began a second career as the first serious developer of the spa waters in Cheltenham. Regarded as 'the founder of Cheltenham as a ...

in 1738 did serious exploitation of their potential as an attraction begin. After the visit to Cheltenham in

1788 Events January–March * January 1 – The first edition of ''The Times'', previously ''The Daily Universal Register'', is published in London. * January 2 – Georgia ratifies the United States Constitution, and becomes the fourth U.S ...

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, the town became increasingly fashionable, and wells were opened up at several points round the town. Pittville, the vision of

Joseph Pitt Joseph Pitt (1759–1842) was a British lawyer of humble origins who prospered as a property speculator, notably in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, but also in Wiltshire, and who served as a Tory MP for Cricklade, Wiltshire 1812–1831. His ...

, was a planned 'new town' development of the 1820s, in which the centre-piece was (and remains) a pump-room where the waters of one of the more northerly wells could be taken. Pump (Pittville Pump Room)

The Pump Room was built by the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

John Forbes between 1825 and 1830. It is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

standing at the northern end of Pittville Lawn with landscaped grounds running down to a lake. The building contains the original Pump, made of

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

and

scagliola Scagliola (from the Italian ''scaglia'', meaning "chips") is a type of fine plaster used in architecture and sculpture. The same term identifies the technique for producing columns, sculptures, and other architectural elements that resemble inla ...

, to which the waters are today fed by electric pumping. The building has a

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or cur ...

of Ionic columns; the interior houses a ballroom on its ground floor. Further Ionic columns support a gallery under a dome from which music might be played; on upper floors there were a billiard room, library and reading room. Above the colonnade are three statues, by Lucius Gahagen, erected in 1827, of the goddess

Hygieia Hygieia is a goddess from Greek, as well as Roman, mythology (also referred to as: Hygiea or Hygeia; ; grc, Ὑγιεία or , la, Hygēa or ). Hygieia is a goddess of health ( el, ὑγίεια – ''hugieia''), cleanliness and hygiene. Her ...

, Aesculapius and

Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history o ...

. The Pump Room and its grounds were managed during the 19th century by a succession of lessees, who offered the typical fare of pleasure gardens including menageries, exhibitions and balloon ascents. However the concession did not prove lucrative. Eventually Pitt himself went bankrupt and in 1890 the Room and the grounds passed into the ownership of the

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second t ...

. They are now part of

The Cheltenham Trust The Cheltenham Trust is a registered charity that manages several cultural and leisure venues in the spa town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. It manages Cheltenham Town Hall, The Wilson (Cheltenham) the town's Art Gallery and Museum, Pit ...

, a charity which also manages the Cheltenham Town Hall, the Wilson Art Gallery & Museum, the

Prince of Wales Stadium The Prince of Wales Stadium is a multi-sport stadium in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, with a running track and athletics facilities. Since 2014, the stadium has been owned and managed by The Cheltenham Trust. The stadium is home to Smi ...

and Leisure @ - plus the town's Tourist Information Centre which has continued to use them for public events. The Pump Room is frequently used as a concert hall, especially during the Cheltenham Music Festival. At one time the upper floor housed a Museum of Fashion. Following elections in 2007 the incoming Council discussed the possibility of selling the Pump Room but after widespread protests this proposal was later dropped in favour of a limited

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

which would retain the building's public use. Dome interior (Pittville Pump Room)

References

External links

Pump Room web site
{{Cheltenham, Gloucestershire Buildings and structures in Cheltenham Pleasure gardens in England Grade I listed buildings in Gloucestershire Colonnades Tourist attractions in Gloucestershire Culture in Cheltenham