Though much has been published about Cheltenham's history after the 1740s, when it became a fashionable resort, most say little about the many centuries of its existence before that time. This is the fullest account ever attempted to chronicle those centuries, from the late Saxon period until the 18th century. It documents the town's development into a successful small town, drawing on a range of sources preserved in local and national archives, many of them never examined in detail before.