Pillar House is a Grade II listed building on the Bath Road in Cheltenham’s Central Conservation Area, enjoying a prominent location opposite Grade I listed Thirlestaine House and in close proximity to Grade II* Cheltenham College. The building was originally constructed as a pair of semi-detached villas in the town’s prosperous Regency period, when the street would have been a fashionable residential address. The building suffered a catastrophic fire in the late 20th century and stood derelict for a number of year, before finally being converted to office use – at which point the houses were combined together and extended with a large block to the rear.

Connolly Wellingham were appointed in 2025 to assess the condition of the site and undertake a Feasibility Study for the reinstatement of a residential use – restoring the historic block to a pair of residences, and working with the structure of the rear office to create additional apartments.

The layout of the houses has been informed by archival and physical investigation to understand the likely original plan form, combined with the flexibility to instate living spaces more suited to 21st century living. The massing of the rear block will be judiciously modified to suit the residential use, including cutting into the structure to better separate the villas from the apartments and to bring natural light into the heart of the plan at the lower floors.