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4 Suffolk Road (formerly 2 Northwick Terrace)

In 1852 the splendidly named William Sneed Pitt (but as William Smeek Pett in the 1852 election records!), a gardener and seedsman, occupied these premises. He extended his business in 1852 to include the term fruiterer and he was here until about 1857. In that year there was a birth here of a son, Albert Edward, registered to Mrs Caudle. This is a very common name in Cheltenham and we can wonder whether this family were related to Caudle the fruiterer in Suffolk Parade in the 20th century.

By 1866 there was a complete change in the trade, when John Darter, a stationer and bookseller took over the premises. He had previously traded a few doors along the road at 10 Northwick Terrace.

Mr Darter’s was one of only four bookshops that Cheltenham College boys were allowed to enter and in 1882 the shop was being advertised as the “College Book Depot”. By 1886 the bookshop had extended into the next door property at 3, Northwick Terrace.

John Darter was a conductor of music and was often associated with church and temperance musical events. One instance of this was in 1883 when he was one of the organisers of a Gospel Temperance Mission at the end of February but there were many other similar occasions. Organisations such as the Cheltenham and District Temperance Union were established in the 19th century to counter the consumption of alcohol, which was regarded by many to be a personal and social evil. The Cheltenham Temperance Choir, conducted by Mr Darter, often numbered around 120 people and performances took place at venues such as the Corn Exchange in the High Street.

John Darter died here at 2 Northwick Terrace on 11th June 1906, aged 67. In his obituary he was described as the “Cheltenham College Librarian”, having arrived in Cheltenham as a young man initially to work as a draper at Messrs John Lance & Co. He later realised that he was far more interested in books and established his book shop in 1866. A Methodist, he was regarded as one of the most able preachers in the Gloucestershire circuit and as a dedicated Sunday School teacher. On the day of his funeral the flag at Cheltenham College was flown at half mast and the boys stood with heads bowed as the cortege passed along Bath Road. ​

Mr John Darter
'The Chelt', June 1928

For several years before John Darter’s death his nieces, the Misses Gibbons, managed the shop on his behalf and now they took over the business entirely. The shop was known both as “Darter’s College Book and Stationery Depot” and “Darter’s Library”.

Later it became “Darter’s Book Depot” and by the time of the Great War it was sometimes simply called a newsagent. In the 1920s Darter’s produced the Cheltenham College school magazine, called ‘The Chelt’.

One of the nieces, Mary Frances Gibbons, continued to run the shop until the time of her death in 1931. By 1934 “Darter’s College Book Depot” had been taken over by Reginald Hailing. Many years later, in 1957, and still known as “Darter’s Bookseller, Stationers and Newsagents”, the business belonged to Major Hugh Bogle but by 1969 the trade had changed, after about 100 years, to W.A. Woof Ltd, Sports Outfitters.

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Researcher: Stuart Manton (Oct 2019)

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