The Cheltenham Township Historical Commission received Andrew Lansley, an innovation manager for cheltenhamfestivals.org and a representative from Cheltenham Township’s twin city in the United Kingdom, on Thursday, January 9.
According to the Commission, the American version’s original settlers, including Richard Wall, were from Cheltenham, UK. Lansley visited the Richard Wall House in Elkins Park and presented the township with a gift from the motherland.
From their January 2025 issue:
Cheltenham, UK is a spa town where people, starting with James II, would go to “take the waters”. Even today it maintains a holiday feeling and hosts several festivals. Our towns are twinned, and you can see a special twinning exhibit at the Richard Wall House as well as a Cheltenham directional post outside of the township building.
Andrew took a day trip from New York City, via Amtrak and SEPTA, just to tour the Richard Wall House, see Cheltenham, and present our township with a gift from the UK. Our local government sent Lauren Walter (Public Information Officer), Megan Hart (Community Development Coordinator), Steve Conrad (Historical Commission) , and Tim Esposito (Historical Commission) to greet Andrew and exchange gifts.
After returning to New York, Lansley shared the video below:
@andrew.lansley How (not) to catch a train from NYC to Cheltenham #fyp #cheltenham #gloucestershire #uk #pa #pennsylvania #cheltenhamtownship #usa #amtrak #septa ♬ Jazz bar atmosphere, classical jazz(1162356) – 2strings
In related news, the Commission will host The Legacy of Camp William Penn on Thursday, February 13 at 7:30pm at Curtis Hall (1250 West Church Road, Wyncote).
From the event’s description:
Join us for a presentation on Camp William Penn, the USCT Civil War training camp located in the La Mott neighborhood of Cheltenham. La Mott, a nearby Philadelphia suburb across Cheltenham Avenue from West Oak Lane, is a historic district that dates back to the Civil War and the site of the first training center for African American volunteers in the U.S. Army. The soldiers who passed through Camp William Penn, beginning instruction in May, 1863, fought in all major battles in 1864 and 1865. After the surrender of the Confederate Army in the East, several of the camp’s graduates’ regiments were transferred to Texas where they participated in the emancipation of 250,000 people there, commemorated as Juneteenth, the federal holiday observed on June 19. The story of how it came to be closely follows the understanding of African American civil rights as it evolved over the course of the war.
Edward Duffy is the author of “Philadelphia – A Railroad History,” (Camino Books, 2013) and “Philadelphia Celebrates – Three Great Anniversaries – 1876-1926-1976,” (Camino Books, 2017). He is a frequent contributor to the online magazine Hidden City Philadelphia where he has written articles on Camp William Penn and the origins of the All Wars Memorial on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. He is a graduate of La Salle and Temple Universities.
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Photos: CTHC