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14 Suffolk Road (formerly 7 Northwick Terrace) Lord Northwick's signature on the conveyance, 1842
In 1842 Lord Northwick contracted to sell this property to Richard Tibbles, a plasterer, who lived in Bath Parade with his wife Phoebe and five children. The deed of conveyance describes the site as having been part of a larger piece of land formerly known as “Grotten Length or Furlong”. The term furlong goes back to Anglo-Saxon times and was used to describe a grouping of adjacent strips, in this instance within the Westall open field. Lord Northwick had acquired the land in 1838 as part of the Thirlestaine House estate.
Mr Tibbles paid £80 for the property, consisting of £70 for the freehold interest and £10 for the copyhold tenure belonging to the Manor of Cheltenham. The deed included certain restrictions preventing trades such as tallow chandler, stone or marble mason, or blacksmith and required Mr Tibbles not to alter the facade of the building, except that he was allowed to install a shop front. This implies that the terrace was built as a row of houses but that by 1842 the conversion to shops had begun.
By 1851 a wine, spirit & hop (beer) merchant named James Morton was in occupation but it isn't clear whether he actually traded or simply lived here. Within a year the occupants were the Misses Everill, who were milliners but a few years later, in 1857, James Morton, is once more recorded here when his profession is said to be a 'traveller'. This may imply that he had become a travelling salesman, possibly still in the drinks trade, as by 1871 J. Morton & Co were certainly trading here as wine merchants. From about 1881-1909 a coal merchant called Gideon Caudle, who had a coal yard or 'wharf', in Upper Bath St, was in occupation here. He was succeeded between 1917 and 1934 when Miss Caudle lived here and no trade is recorded. The property then seems to have remained in residential occupation until at least 1970. Since 1990 Mike Smith-Wood has been based here, carrying out antique restoration. Research: Stuart Manton (Nov 2023)
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