A Gothic Revival Christmas

The Feinsons’ handsome Victorian home in Cheltenham is perfectly suited for a traditional family Christmas

- Victoria Jenkins

The Old Rectory in Cheltenham seems designed for Christmas. Built in the 1860s, it still has many of its original Victorian features, such as the ornate plasterwork ceilings and deep skirting boards, together with mullioned windows and colourful encaustic tiles in the hallway.

“And with five bedrooms, there’s plenty of room for the rest of the family to come and stay,” says Caroline Feinson, who lives there with her husband Paul and 12-year-old son. “We like to have a big family dinner at home on Christmas Eve and then go out for lunch on Christmas Day. There’s a great choice of fantastic restaurants in and around Cheltenham and it saves our doing a lot of washing up. We open one or two presents in the morning then wrap up warm and go for a walk in the park. The rest of the presents are opened slowly after lunch while we watch Christmas films on TV.”

The Grade 2 listed Old Rectory is a particularly striking example of Gothic Revival. Way back in the 1860s, architect John Middleton designed it for a beautiful classical square in Cheltenham and the Feinsons loved it on sight.

“It was so different from the grand Georgian townhouses surrounding it,” says Caroline. “Despite being Victorian, it works really well for a modern family like ours.”

However, it did need updating and the couple decided to give it an overhaul.