Montpellier Arcade, Cheltenham

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Montpellier Arcade in Cheltenham is one of the oldest arcades in the UK, dating back to 1832, but I reckon half the residents of this beautiful spa town in the Cotswolds don’t even know it exists, and as for visitors, there is nothing to indicate any historic value in this vintage arcade, so it’s very easy to walk right by.

There are two entrances, but even one of these was blocked by iron gates on the August morning I dropped by (I’m told this is temporary so may already have been opened); the other entrance, round the corner, does at least have the name Montpellier Arcade carved in the stone high up above, but again, you’d need to be looking for it to see that.

And there are beautiful flower motifs in red and white in the ceiling above that entrance, which, along with some of the detail in the gutters and frames of the shop fronts, could make for a stunning entrance to this arcade. At the other end – with the locked iron gates – there is a cobwebby lamp holder, which again could easily become a beautiful feature if tidied up and a light put back in.

The set of shops that front onto Montpellier Street actually have their addresses as Montpellier Arcade, as shown in their stylish windows above the door, though they can also be entered from the arcade itself. There is a fabulous shoe repair shop (see My Favourite below) whose owner has a real feel for the arcade’s history; there’s a gin distillery, a kitchen design base, and a rather large cafe whose tables run all along the inside walkway and out the front onto the footpath. Upstairs there are offices for property sales and for a recruitment agency.

There is a cigar and single malt shop, but next door to the unit where the original ‘cigar divan’ shop was open 180 years ago! And the unit at the end of the arcade is vacant (summer 20204) with a stunning spiral staircase in wood wending its way up to the first floor. I’d rent it just for the staircase if I was local and had the money…

My pick of the arcade’s past

Margaret MacKeith has Montpellier Arcade in Cheltenham as dating from 1845, but it was actually built over 1831-32, and the first references to it in the British Newspaper Archive actually date from 1833, when one person living there got married, and another resident suffered a robbery, in a case which involved a jeweller’s in the arcade and another private residence as far away as Brighton. So this is one of the oldest surviving arcades in the UK.

As well as the jeweller, other early tenants were a clock shop; a pharmacy; and an art and book shop at No 12 sold up after a few years and was replaced in 1838 by a corset and stays shop – 20 years later No 12 had become a shop where you could buy china tea sets and lamps. There was a tobacconist at No 14 – the shopkeeper here died in 1842, with the new owner making it into a ‘Cigar Divan,’ where gentlemen could sample their tobacco before buying.

Two young brothers, Edward and George Shanks came up before local magistrates in March 1848 after they were found asleep on the floor of the arcade one night. They claimed their father had thrown them out, but the mother appeared in court to explain that they had been sent out to sell oranges for a certain price, but had been found to be selling them for more money, and pocketing the difference. The father had punished them but not thrown them out of the house. The magistrate said the father had done the right thing, and if they were caught again they would go to jail.

Egyptian-born Safaya Hemming, who ran a fabric and wallpaper shop in the arcade in the mid- 1980s, became more famous for her skills at flying solo and with her husband Nick. Together they made headlines by buying the engine of the small plane that flew Amy Johnson from England to Melbourne in the 1930s, and rebuilding a plane, with a view to taking it once again to the air and to air shows.

Sources for these stories all from www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk and specifically: 1) Cheltenham Journal, 13 March 1848, British Library Board; 2) Gloucestershire Echo, 15 April 1988, Reach plc.

What memories do you have of visits in years gone by?

Have you got any good stories to add on the past of this arcade?

What’s your favourite shop in the arcade today?

Have you seen this arcade in any films or books?

My favourite shop in the arcade

The shoe repair shop has to be my favourite of the current shops in the arcade. Not just for the quality of the workmanship, but also for their superb old machinery, and the owner’s interest in the history and heritage the arcade represents. He has a few good stories of his own, with past customers including Norman Wisdom and Davina McCall, whose old soles are framed on the wall of the shop. Bleu’s is the name of this artisan cobbler at No 14.

Has this arcade appeared in any films or books?

There are scenes in the 1986 movie The Whistleblower (Michael Caine, John Gielgud, Nigel Havers) filmed in Montpellier Arcade.

Is there a website for this arcade?

Not that I can see. Nor did I find any social media by the arcade itself.

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