An occasional series celebrating the humble and occasionally not so humble street sign. Starting with the letter C. Well why not? Clarence Parade. Dating street name signs is always difficult, but I would guess this slender and understated nameplate belongs to the mid or late 19th century.
Seen here on one of the earlier Regency terraces, where it fits in nicely with the wrought-iron verandah. Cheltenham Chapel, Jenner Walk. A more detailed history of the chapel can be found in the article about Jenner Gardens , but this V-cut hand-chiselled plaque remains one of the few of its kind in Cheltenham, and one of the earliest.
The lettering is a fairly standard style for this period but the bar on the letter A is strangely high up. The panel is a slightly odd shape β¦ perhaps it originally had some kind of border around it. Chapel Lane. Completely unrelated to Cheltenham Chapel above, this little gem is behind the Bethesda Chapel in the south part of town. An early Cheltenham nameplate in cast iron with deeply scalloped corners and clarendon-style letters.
Casino Place. The slim elegant plate is similar to the one above, but notice that the typeface is completely different β a self-confident sans-serif. A plastic drainpipe is courteously diverted to allow it pride of place. Named after a house called Casino no longer extant , Casino Place has its own article.
Claremont House. An example of a painted name on a house in Montpellier Terrace you may just be able to see in the picture that the stone has been painted with cream paint underneath the letters to give it a solid background. The balcony above is a very nice example of early wrought-ironwork, with which Montpellier Terrace is especially well endowed. Clarence Square. A typical modern Cheltenham street sign. And at least this one is metal β the recent move towards plastic nameplates has not been so good.
