The Wilson
This is home to the Wilson Family collection. On the second floor a small gallery provides a display of artefacts, documents and photographs associated with the Discovery and Terra Nova expeditions. Among these are an Emperor penguin and other scientific specimens from the Discovery collections brought back in 1904, and the prayer book used by Surgeon Atkinson to read the burial service over the bodies of Scott, Wilson and Bowers on the Ross Ice Shelf in 1913.The display also includes another book that Wilson took with him to the Pole, a copy (annotated with his margin notes) of Letters by Samuel Rutherford, the seventeenth-century Scottish theologian and preacher. There is also an ever-changing display of Wilson’s drawings and watercolours as part of the museum’s ‘Paper Store’ gallery.It was Ted’s father, Dr Edward Thomas Wilson (1832–1918), who was instrumental in establishing the museum. In 1891 he put forward proposals for ‘A Museum for Cheltenham’ and sixteen years later his hopes were realised when he officiated at its formal opening. When some of Wilson’s paintings were exhibited here in 1914, the opening hours had to be extended until ten o’clock at night to cope with the huge number of visitors.Turn left after leaving the museum and then right into Crescent Place. Turn left and proceed to the end of Crescent Terrace, then turn right into The Promenade.
Statue of Edward Adrian Wilson
This bronze statue of Wilson was sculpted by Lady Kathleen Scott (1878–1947), widow of Captain Scott, and unveiled by Sir Clements Markham, ‘father’ of the Discovery expedition, on 9 July, 1914. It bears the following inscription: Edward Adrian Wilson B.A. M.B. CANTAB. F.Z.S. Born in Cheltenham 1872. Chief of the Scientific Staff. Artist and Zoologist of the British Antarctic Expedition 1910–1913. He reached the South Pole January 17, 1912. And died with Capt. Scott on the Great Ice Barrier March 1912. ‘He died as he lived. A brave true man. The best of comrades and staunchest of friends. Letter from Capt. ScottIn front of the statue is one of three interpretation panels erected in 2012, the centenary of Wilson’s reaching the Pole and death, depicting Wilson’s life and achievements.Just around the corner from here, at 3 St George’s Parade (part of St George’s Place), is the house where the Cheltenham-born biographer, the Revd George Seaver (1890–1976), stayed. It was his association with Cheltenham that initially brought him into contact with Wilson’s sister, Ida, and later Wilson’s widow, Oriana. Seaver wrote three biographical works on Wilson between 1933 and 1948, as well as biographies of Bowers (1938) and Scott (1940).Continue to the corner just in front of the Neptune fountain where The Promenade meets St George’s Road. From here you can see, to the right, part of Cheltenham Ladies’ College.
Cheltenham Ladies' College
The Ladies’ College was the school that several of Wilson’s sisters attended and of which his father was a governor. It also has several associations with polar exploration, including the fact that it houses a field telephone, which was donated by the father of one of the pupils, a director in the company that made it, and was used by the Terra Nova expedition for making some of the earliest telephone calls in the Antarctic.Another link with the Ladies’ College is the fact that Glyngarth School – the first preparatory school that Wilson attended and where he learned Geography, English, History, Scripture, Latin, Mathematics and French, all the subjects necessary for him to progress to a public school – is now a boarding house for the college. Now called Farnley Lodge, the building can be seen in Douro Road, not far from Christ Church.Cross over The Promenade, where you’ll see the Town Hall almost straight ahead.
Cheltenham Town Hall
The Town Hall is a favourite place for lectures, and one that in the past has echoed to stories of Antarctic exploration, including those from Wilson himself (1906), from Captain Scott (1904) and Ernest Shackleton (1909, following his Nimrod expedition).More poignantly, Roald Amundsen gave a lecture about his successful polar conquest two months before the tragic news of the British expedition reached Cheltenham. Commander Edward ‘Teddy’ Evans (later Lord Mountevans of the Broke) lectured here on the tragedy in 1913, shortly after the expedition’s return.Continuing past the Town Hall, turn right onto Imperial Square. At the junction, turn left and then right up to Montpellier Spa Road. Cross over the road to enter Montpellier Gardens. Follow the path to the statue of William IV.
Montpellier Gardens
While walking here it’s interesting to consider that, even when Wilson was in Antarctica, he never forgot his Cheltenham home. Because his Antarctic diaries were written for the family he often made references to the town. It was his way of giving metaphorical access to the strange land and so, to some extent, to allow the family to share in his adventures.For example, on one occasion during the Discovery expedition when he accompanied Shackleton to take thermometer readings at the top of Crater Hill, he described the old volcanic cone at the top of the hill as being ‘about as big as Montpellier Gardens’. However, while the average air temperature in Cheltenham would have been 9 °C, the temperatures on the top of Crater Hill, upon which incidentally Wilson would also sometimes stand and make sketches, were between -29 °C and -40 °C.Turn right at the statue. You can stop here for a drink at the Garden Café. Turn left into Montpellier Walk after exiting the park. Take the third exit at the roundabout and then turn left into Lypiatt Road.OR: FOR A SHORTER WALK - you can omit the detour to Burlington House by selecting SKIP and then 7 Edward Wilson Birthplace to be directed straight to Montpellier Spa Road.
Burlington House (The Victory Club)
Burlington House (formerly Suffolk Lawn) became the Suffolk Hall Preparatory School for boys during the second half of the nineteenth century. It was here that Wilson’s future wife, Oriana Souper, or Ory for short, became a matron. Wilson made several visits here to see Ory and once stayed overnight, shortly before their wedding on 16 July 1901, as the guest of the James sisters who ran the school.Although Ted and Ory’s happy marriage was cut tragically short, Ory overcame her husband’s death partly through the outstanding services she provided to the New Zealand Red Cross during the First World War, which were later recognised through the award of a CBE. It is most appropriate, therefore, that Suffolk Hall itself was later converted into a Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) hospital from 1914 to 1919, a fact that is recorded on the panel displayed on the right hand side of the porch.Now retrace your steps back to the roundabout, this time taking the second exit into Montpellier Spa Road.
Edward Wilson Birthplace - 91 Montpellier Spa Road
The four-storey house dates from before 1825. It was conveniently located for Ted’s father, who worked as a physician at Cheltenham General Hospital. Ted was born in the front bedroom on the first floor in 1872, as the carved inscription on the façade indicates.In addition to a nursery on the top floor and a substantial kitchen in the basement there was accommodation for five servants.Cross Montpellier Spa Road and turn left for approximately 50 metres and then right into Montpellier Parade. On your right you’ll find the entrance to the Eagle Tower car park, as well as the second of the three interpretation panels depicting Wilson’s life and achievements.
Site of Westal - now Eagle Tower
Westal was the home to the Wilson family from 1874, when Ted was two, until the early 1930s. The house was one of three villas that were pulled down to make way for the 200-foot, thirty-storey Eagle Tower building.Described at the time as a ‘superior villa’ and ‘desirable first-class detached family house’, you can still appreciate how Westal would have looked from the surrounding villas that survive. The house took its name, which means ‘west nook of land’, from a small region located on the western side of Cheltenham. It was at Westal that Ted’s parents noticed that he was ‘always drawing’, leading them to encourage his artistic talent. It was also here that he developed some of his interest in nature, not only housing his ever-increasing natural history collections, but also occasionally providing a temporary home for his pets, including a buzzard he once brought back from Norway.Westal also became a focal point for visiting Antarctic explorers, including Captain Scott, whom Wilson’s father described as ‘clever, unassuming and amusing’ when he stayed at Westal in December 1904. It was also the location for an important meeting that Ted arranged with Ernest Shackleton following concerns that Shackleton’s proposed Nimrod expedition could interfere with Scott’s future expedition plans.Retrace your steps, turning left back into Montpellier Spa Road. Then turn right into Bath Road.Cross over and you’ll see Cheltenham College on your left, in front of which is the third of the interpretation panels.
Queen's House
Queen’s House, known previously as Linden House is now used as a girls’ day house at Cheltenham College. This was also once the home of Ted’s mother, Mary Ann Wilson, née Whishaw (1841–1930). The Whishaw family moved to Cheltenham around 1850, having founded one of the most successful Anglo-Russian trading companies. Mary, who was born in St Petersburg, was energetic and forthright. A good horse rider and a keen gardener, she also enjoyed painting, reading theological books, and was a respected authority on poultry farming.Following their wedding at St Luke’s church, Ted’s father noted that ‘we adjourned to Linden House where the lawn was crowded with relations and friends’.Continue to the end of College Lawn and turn left into Sandford Road.
Cheltenham General Hospital
In the summer of 1900, after Wilson qualified as a medical doctor, he worked briefly as a locum and then junior house surgeon at Cheltenham General Hospital, where he gave anaesthetics and performed minor surgery. Unfortunately, in the course of his medical duties he cut himself, and developed blood poisoning and an abscess of the axilla. He was then forced to resign from his post.Remarkably, however, a few months later, having recently had pus drained from his armpit, he went before the Antarctic committee with his arm still in a sling; although he was by no means fully fit, he was successfully recruited for the Discovery expedition.Continue along Sandford Road and turn right into College Road. As you walk along College Road notice St Luke’s church on your left. This was the place where Ted’s parents got married on 18 April 1865. At the end of College Road turn right and cross over to 24 London Road
24 London Road
Formerly 1 Priory Parade, this house, which is marked by a blue plaque, is where the botanical explorer and naval surgeon Dr David Lyall (1817–95), lived after retiring to Cheltenham.A close friend of Ted’s father, Lyall often gave thrilling accounts of his adventures as an explorer, including when he was medical officer and naturalist on Sir James Ross’s Erebus and Terror expedition (1839–42), the first ever scientific expedition to the Antarctic. Lyall’s stories undoubtedly contributed to Wilson senior’s knowledge of the ‘least explored portion of the globe’ – Wilson gave a lecture on Antarctica in 1901 as President of Cheltenham Natural Science Society.Turn back along London Road towards the town centre, continuing onto the High Street to the corner of Rodney Road.
Site of the Assembly Rooms
Lloyds Bank stands on the site of the Assembly Rooms, which, as one of the main centres of fashionable society in Cheltenham in 1898, hosted a lecture by the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen (1861–1930) about his Arctic travels. This attracted over 3,000 people, including Ted’s father, who later reflected, ‘Little did we think that one day our dear Ted would be telling of his own adventures in the far South.’Continue down the High Street and, opposite Bennington Road, on your right, take a narrow cut-through on your left into the grounds of Cheltenham Minster, St Mary's.
Cheltenham Minster, St Mary's Parish Church
Emily Bowers, mother of Henry ‘Birdie’ Bowers who was one of Scott’s five-man team that reached the South Pole in January 1912, was born in Cheltenham and was christened in this church - the only surviving medieval building in Cheltenham.Later, she attended the pioneering teacher training college (now part of the University of Gloucestershire) founded by the Revd Francis Close who was the perpetual curate here for thirty years. Emily's father, who ran a tailor’s business, was one of the parishioners who signed a farewell scroll of thanks to Close when he left Cheltenham in 1856 to become Dean of Carlisle.Emily left Cheltenham at the age of twenty, initially to become a teacher in a Sidmouth church school and, later, to become a missionary teacher in present-day Malaysia, where she met Henry’s father, a sea captain.Their son, whom Scott described as ‘a marvel’, became one of Wilson’s closest friends. Their camaraderie was cemented during the remarkable expedition led by Wilson in June 1911 to collect emperor penguin eggs for scientific study during the middle of the Antarctic winter, later immortalised by Apsley Cherry-Garrard’s account in The Worst Journey in the World (1922).Continue straight past the Minster and along Well Walk and turn right to rejoin Clarence Street and return to your starting point at The Wilson.
The Wilson
You have now reached the end of the Cheltenham in Antarctica Walk. We hope you have enjoyed it. To find out more about the life of Edward Wilson you can visit a website dedicated to him here.Do now visit The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum. It is home to an internationally significant collection including changing displays from the Arts and Crafts Movement and fine art collections, as well as fascinating archives relating to Antarctic explorer Edward A. Wilson and Cheltenham’s history. It also has a welcoming cafe if you're in need of refreshments.Please select End Tour to close the tour on your PocketSights App and do take a moment to press the "Like" icon - Thank You! Click here to visit Friends of the Wilson.
