From the Listed Building Register

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SO9522SE PRIORY STREET 630-1/15/725 (North side) 12/03/55 Nos.26 AND 28 Court House (28), and attached railings

GV II

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Pair of terraced houses, now flats and attached railings. c1820-50 with later additions and alterations including c1970s porch to left. Stucco over brick with concealed, double-pile roof, wrought-iron railings and balconies. Double-depth plan with service ranges to rear; house to left breaks forward. EXTERIOR: 3 storeys on basement, 6 first-floor windows, with single-storey porch at left.

 

Stucco detailing includes ground-floor band surmounted by 4 Doric pilasters through ground and first floors to end and between windows at left, and 2 fluted Ionic pilasters to right end and to left of end window, entablature surmounted by pilasters as before, with continuous frieze and cornice incorporated, and blocking course; ground- and first-floor windows have tooled architraves, those to ground floor with frieze and cornice to left and floating cornices at right. 6/6 sashes where original, all in plain reveals and with sills; blind boxes remain to ground-floor windows throughout and to first-floor windows at right.

 

Basement has 6/6 cambered-headed sashes in double-chamfered reveals and with sills, and doors. Entrances: to left a flight of 6 roll-edged steps to c1980s door in lean-to porch; otherwise entrance at left, flight of steps to 4-panel door with sidelights and overlight with glazing bars within tooled timber architraves with fleurons in corners. INTERIOR: noted as having retained original joinery including panelled shutters to some rooms, and plasterwork. SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: railings to sides of steps and area railings have scrolled lozenge motif.

 

Window guards to first floor at right have elongated scroll motif. HISTORICAL NOTE: No.26 was the early boyhood home of Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833-70), Poet of Australia; also, from 1857-60 the home of George and Josephine Butler, Mrs Butler was an ardent campaigner for social justice. (Sampson A and Blake S: A Cheltenham Companion: Cheltenham: 1993-: 17,51).