Published on 2nd March 2011

Evidence of Victorian Cheltenham’s street-life has been uncovered by Gloucestershire Highways.

Together with Cheltenham Borough Council, they are working together towards the preservation of this historic road surface.

The discovery, a set of historic red granite cobble stones was made close to the Long Gardens taxi rank in the Promenade. It is thought that they were the wearing surface when the area was used by horse and carriages for hire.

A team from Gloucestershire Highways, Cheltenham Borough Council and Gloucestershire County Council made the find whilst undertaking preliminary works for road surface improvements.

The existence of historic cobble stones was known because wear on the covering tarmac had exposed a number. But their extent was unclear and the engineers undertook the work to establish how many remained beneath the surface. Much to their surprise, an almost complete Victorian cab-standing area was uncovered.

Karen Radford, heritage and conservation manager at Cheltenham Borough Council said:  ''The discovery of this historic road surface is wonderful as the cobbles give variety and richness to the Promenade.''


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