Cheltenham Minster, formerly known as St Mary’s Church, is Cheltenham’s oldest building. It has been in continuous use for more than 850 years and is the only surviving medieval building in the town. The oldest parts of the building date from shortly after 1133, possibly on the site of an earlier Anglo-Saxon minster. There is a monastery documented in Cheltenham from 773 CE. During the late 13th and 14th centuries, several additions were made to allow people from the outskirts of Cheltenham to attend communion during religious festivals.

One of the most notable features of the church is the 14th century Rose Window, found in the north transept. It features beautiful tracery, which contains a deliberate mistake, intended to symbolise the notion that only God can create things that are perfect. Most of the stained glass is from the 19th century, by noted glaziers such as Joseph Bell of Bristol.

The Minster also contains memorials to several key Cheltonians. The first is that of Henry Skillicorne who moved to Cheltenham in 1738. He is credited as being the founder of Cheltenham Spa, marketing a mineral spring at Bayshill for its medicinal properties, and for laying out the Old Well Walk. At 53 lines long, it is the longest memorial inscription in any church in Britain. A second memorial is to Francis Close, the Anglican Rector of the church from 1826 to 1856. He supported the development of a training college for teachers, and fiercely opposed horse racing – something Cheltenham had become famous for. Both Dean Close school and Francis Close Hall (part of the University of Gloucestershire) are named after him.

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The Minster, Cheltenham

The Minster was a key part of life in Cheltenham that extended beyond worship. Cheltenham began as an Anglo-Saxon settlement (the name means a settlement under a steep hill). It was granted a market charter by Henry III in 1226, giving the right to hold weekly markets and an annual fair. At this time Cheltenham was little more than a single street, now the High Street, originally referred to as ‘Cheltenham Street’. The original medieval burgage plots and alleys can still be detected in the modern frontages. The markets, a meeting place for local people and those from the surrounding areas to sell their wares, took place on the street, spilling into the churchyard, where the brass markers on the pathway to the southern side of the church were used to measure lengths of cloth or rope. Cheltenham remained primarily a market town until the discovery of the spa water in the early 18th century. Regular markets are still held in the town to this day.

Renovation of the area has continued right up to today; The MX (Minster Exchange) project improved the area surrounding The Minster, including the creation of Hub8 by Plexal, a workspace dedicated to growth of the local tech community, keeping the area as a vibrant part of the town right into the 21st century.