Woolly says – The sun was out, and the roads were clear as we headed towards the city of Gloucester a place that we had visited before for its wonderful dockyard area, today we were heading to a couple of other places within the city centre.
Gloucester is a cathedral city in the South West of England, lying on the River Severn, founded by the Romans it became an important city and colony in AD 97 under Emperor Nerva as Colonia Glevum Nervensis, sadly little remains of the Romans but there was plenty more to see and today we had two particular places on the agenda.
Having parked the car and wandered through a small housing estate we found ourselves staring at a large ornate monument to commemorate Bishop Hooper, who was burnt at the stake in 1555, killed because of his protestant religious beliefs. The memorial was built between 1861 and 1863. It was wonderful and having taken the obligatory snap we headed onto the area surrounding the cathedral.
Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, originated with the establishment of a minster, Gloucester Abbey, dedicated to Saint Peter and founded by Osric, King of the Hwicce, in around 679.
Following the Dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII in 1536, the abbey was re-founded as a cathedral. The cathedral underwent much restoration in the 18th century, and again in the 19th. In 1989, it celebrated its 900th anniversary and has frequently been used as a filming location, including as a stand-in for Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies. As we walked round the exterior it was an impressive structure indeed and I couldn’t wait to get inside.
Making our way to the huge doors we passed a rather lovely Tudor framed house painted red which is more in keeping with how the Tudors would have coloured their buildings rather than the black and white that we associate with that period of time. Standing on the green opposite was a large Frist World War memorial with panels dedicated to different battles.
Walking up the steps and into the cathedral we were greeted with a beautiful carved entrance.
Inside things got even better, the humongous stained glass windows were incredible and with the sunlight dancing on the stone floors I could hardly draw my eyes away.
The walls were lined with memorial features and tombs for the Knights of old and Bishops to the first Abbess who had once served the beautiful cathedral.
The huge arches rose above my head to a wonderful ceiling which I lay on my back and looked up at in awe.
The mammoth does like to lie down whenever he can! I took the option of using the mirror table that allowed me to see the ceiling in far more detail.
Woolly says – Having checked the table out I had to agree that for once my human was correct.
The wooden choir stands stood in front of the alter and yet another massive stained glass window.
We continued our tour finding the tomb of Robert of Normandy, William the Conqueror’s oldest son who was known as the King we never had.
Arriving in the Lady Chapel things got even better, it was incredibly beautiful with its fine windows and amazing tombs and memorials lining the walls.
Next came the tomb of Edward II, an unpopular king who had been murdered in 1327.
A few paces away was a large processional cross that had been used in Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953. Next door was the treasury with a mountain of gold plates, cups and chalices.
Peering through a doorway I found myself in the cloisters and I have to say they were some of the finest I have ever seen, seemly to go on for miles with their ornate ceilings and wonderful windows I could have stared at them for hours.
Heading back into the sunshine outside we sat for a while giving Alfie the Dog a chance to rest and Jo the time to consume her coffee, which made an appropriate time to tell her more about our next destination.
Number 9, College Court, stands beside the ancient St Michael’s Gate and was the building Beatrix Potter chose for the setting of her story, The Tailor of Gloucester.
The inspiration for this story came in May 1894 when Beatrix Potter was staying with her cousin, Caroline Hutton. Whilst at the Hutton’s home, Harescombe Grange, which lies five miles south of Gloucester, Caroline told Beatrix the curious tale of a local Tailor, John Pritchard. Closing his shop one Friday evening, with a waistcoat cut out but not sewn together, he was surprised to discover when, on the Monday morning he opened the shop again, to discover that apart from one buttonhole, the waistcoat had been sewn together. A tiny note was pinned to the buttonhole which read, “no more twist”. The Tailor was amazed and bewildered that the work had been finished short of completion. From this date, John Pritchard advertised his work had been ‘made at night by fairies’. On hearing this, Beatrix requested that they visit Gloucester the next day to visit the Tailor’s shop, number 45 Westgate Street. Whilst visiting, Beatrix sketched some of the beautiful buildings in the cathedral city of Gloucester, including 9 College Court. Presumably, Beatrix Potter had already formed the story in her mind, but it was not until 1901 that the tale was committed to paper as a Christmas present for the daughter of one of her tutors, Freda Moore.
Entering the small shop/museum was a burrow of all things Peter Rabbit and Miss Potter, to the rear of the shop lay a small kitchen area that had remained the same since the late 1800’s with an added nod to the book in question.
Upstairs we found all manner of items linked to the story with board games, the tale of how the book had come into being and a mechanical mouse scene which showed the mice busy working away for the tailor as he slept.
Pride of place was the beautifully sown replica waistcoat that had started everything off.
With time running out on the parking meter we headed back towards the vehicle which seemed to have moved from the place that we had left it, although that was more to do with the human getting lost. Getting lost however does have its advantages and today that was finding the small ruins of St Oswald’s.
St Oswald’s Priory was founded by Æthelflæd, daughter of Alfred the Great, and her husband Æthelred, ealdorman of Mercia, in the late 880s. It thought to have been an exact copy of the Old Minster in Winchester. The site was an important part of the Burh of Gloucester and was supported by the ruling family of the time including king Æthelstan. From the 11th century its importance declined, becoming a minor house of Canons regular until suppression in 1536. The building was damaged during the English Civil War and largely demolished in 1643.
It made a fitting end to our time and as we raced towards the car before any fines could be forthcoming, I felt that Gloucester was a city that had so much to offer and might even be worth visiting again.