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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Cheltenham
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(91,000 in 1991) Town in Gloucestershire which has preserved the spacious and elegant feeling of its period of greatest prosperity, the 18C and early 19C. It was a market town until the discovery of mineral springs in 1718 set it on course to become a fashionable spa. The Pump Room in Pittville Park (1825, by John Forbes) became in 1983 a museum of costume and jewellery. The Art Gallery and Museum, a general collection but with an emphasis on the Cotswold school of early 20C furniture, is in a building of 1899 by W.H. Knight. The house in which *Holst was born is now a museum in his honour. The town is known for its many schools, which include one of the leading public schools for girls, Cheltenham Ladies' College, founded in 1853. The redoubtable Miss Beale (1831–1906) was headmistress from 1858 until her death.
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Famous since the early 19C for its superbly situated race course, Cheltenham now holds its National Hunt Festival each March. The most important steeplechase is the Gold Cup (for 5-year-olds and upwards), established in 1924 and run over 5.2km/3.25m.
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