Gloucester Cathedral - October 7 - Version 1

Article from pages 2 - 5 of Dickon Independent issue 62

Our visit to Gloucester Cathedral happened a week earlier than planned due to a Diocese Day of Prayer being held there on the 14th. The weather was glorious and so was the visit once we had found the Park and Ride car park hidden in the shopping centre!

The three of us went in the morning to get our money’s worth from the day out. We went straight to the cathedral for tea, coffee and a piece of cake, and of course the Ladies. The drinks were free thanks to the voucher on the leaflet supplied by Ralph. I also got a reduction on the price of the guidebook.

After a quick walk round the cathedral we went to find the arms of King Richard III on St Michael’s Tower at the Cross. They look very impressive having recently been repainted. The charter itself is not on display at Gloucester City Museum or that would have been our next stop. You can make an appointment to see it during the week, Tuesday - Friday, 10am - 5pm. Telephone 01452 396131 and ask for Louise Allen, the Collections Care Manager.

Two members of Gloucester Civic Trust were selling calendars by the Tower. We got chatting and Cynthia told them about being involved in video production. They were very keen on having her help to do a promotional video for the town so I hope something comes of it. Cynthia and I bought calendars and we were all allowed inside the Tower, which the Civic Trust is renovating.

We didn’t manage to find the ruins of Blackfriars or Llanthony Priory but we did see the Greyfriars ruins and garden. Then it was time to return to the cathedral for a delicious lunch of soup and a roll before meeting up with everyone else for the grand tour.

Our guide gave us two printed sheets about St Peter’s Abbey and took us on a really detailed tour of the building. He’d done his homework so could point out the medieval bits of most interest in the cathedral. His handout highlighted Richard III’s charter and visit to Gloucester.

There has been a religious building on the site since about 678. The present cathedral began life as St Peter’s Abbey in 1089. Work continued until about 1130. Various new additions were made until 1482, and many areas were refurbished over the centuries. The present Lady Chapel was built between 1468 and 1482 and includes white rose en soleil motifs in the side window.

Henry VIII made the Benedictine abbey the cathedral of the new Gloucester diocese in 1541, in order to preserve the tomb of Edward II, buried here in 1327.

Robert, Duke of Normandy and eldest son of William the Conqueror was buried here in 1134. He died in captivity in Cardiff Castle. His wonderful effigy is of Irish bog oak.

Edward III visited his father’s tomb in 1343. Richard II held a parliament in the abbey in 1378. Richard Beauchamp, the constable of the castle, refused to let Queen Margaret’s troops cross the River Severn here in 1471 so they were forced to march to Tewkesbury where Edward IV caught and defeated the Lancastrian army.

Richard III remembered this when he granted the city its charter on a visit in September 1483, “for the good and faithful actions of the bailiffs and burgesses in causes of particular importance to us”.

In 1484 he granted the abbey a £20 annual fee payable by the town under the terms of the charter.

The Tudor coat of arms was granted to the town in 1538 and shows a boar’s head, red and white roses and horseshoes and nails representing local iron working. It can be seen in the cathedral though this photo comes from the New Inn, built by the abbey in 1440, and used in Michael Wood’s series on Shakespeare for a performance.

Our guide took us to the Inn on our quick tour of the city, after final refreshments in the cathedral tea shop. We all visited the arms on St Michael’s Tower but the ladies from the Civic Trust were no longer there. High up above one shop could be seen the remains of the medieval building it once was.

Returning to the cathedral we looked at St John’s Church, then it was time to head for home. Two of the Harry Potter films were filmed at the cathedral but the trail through the cloisters will have to wait for another time.

Many thanks to Ralph for organising the visit and to our guide for bringing the cathedral alive.

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