Gloucester () is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham.

Gloucester was founded in AD 48 by the Romans as Glevum, and was granted its first charter in 1155 by King Henry II. Economically, the city is dominated by the service industries, and has a strong financial and business sector, being home to the bank Cheltenham & Gloucester and historically was prominent in the aerospace industry.

Character

Gloucester is the county town of Gloucestershire, and is the 53^rd largest settlement in the UK by population. In 2001 the city proper had a population of 123,205. However the built-up area extends beyond the city boundary. The 2001 census gave the population of the whole "Gloucester Urban Area" as 136,203.

It is located on the eastern bank of the River Severn, west north west of London. It is sheltered by the Cotswolds to the east, while the Forest of Dean and the Malvern Hills rise prominently to the west and north west, respectively.

Gloucester is a port, linked via the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal to the Severn Estuary, allowing larger ships to reach the docks than would be possible on the tidal reaches of the river itself. The wharfs, warehouses and the docks themselves fell into considerable disrepair until their renovation in the 1980s. They now form a public open space. Some warehouses now house the National Waterways Museum, others were converted into luxury residential apartments, shops and bars. Additionally, the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum is located in the Custom House. The port still houses the most inland RNLI lifeboat in the UK.

History

Roman times

The traditional existence of a British settlement at Gloucester (Caer Glow, Gleawecastre, Gleucestre) is not confirmed by any direct evidence, but Gloucester was the Roman municipality of Colonia Nervia Glevensium, or Glevum, founded in the reign of Nerva. Parts of the walls can be traced, and many remains and coins have been found, though inscriptions are scarce. Evidence for some civic life after the end of Roman Britain includes the mention in the Historia Brittonum that Vortigern's grandfather ruled Gloucester. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Gloucester passed briefly to Wessex from the Battle of Deorham in 577 until 584, when it came under the control of Mercia.

Saxon times

Gloucester may mean fort (Old English ceaster "fort") on the glowing river. (Glowancestre, 1282). In Welsh, the city is known as Caerloyw, Caer = Castle, and loyw from gloyw = glowing/bright. Its situation on a navigable river, and the foundation in 681 of the abbey of St Peter by Æthelred, favoured the growth of the town; and before the Norman Conquest of England, Gloucester was a borough governed by a portreeve, with a castle which was frequently a royal residence, and a mint.

The core street layout dates back to Ethelfleda in late Saxon times.

Medieval times

The first Earl of Gloucester, Earl Godwine, was succeeded nearly a century later by Robert of Gloucester. King Henry II granted the first charter in 1155, which gave the burgesses the same liberties as the citizens of London and Winchester, and a second charter of Henry II gave them freedom of passage on the River Severn. The first charter was confirmed in 1194 by Richard I of England. The privileges of the borough were greatly extended by the charter of King John (1200), which gave freedom from toll throughout the kingdom and from pleading outside the borough.

Tudor and Stuart times

Subsequent charters were numerous. Gloucester was incorporated by King Richard III in 1483, the town being made a county in itself. This charter was confirmed in 1489 and 1510, and other charters of incorporation were received by Gloucester from Queen Elizabeth I and King James I.

Gloucester was the site of the execution by burning of John Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester in the time of Queen Mary and martyred by her in 1555.

The Siege of Gloucester in 1643 was an important battle of the English Civil War in which the besieged parliamentarians emerged victorious.

Modern notoriety

In 1991 Gloucester City Council worker Anna McGurk was murdered by a man whilst he was an inmate at a bail hostel in Ryecroft within the city. The murder led to changes in the law affecting those held on bail for serious offences.

The spring of 1994 saw the arrest of Fred West and his wife Rose West for the murder of 12 women and girls who went missing between 1967 and 1987 - including two of their daughters. Their home, 25 Cromwell Street, where the remains of many of the victims were buried, was later demolished and a public walkway laid in its place. To deter souvenir-hunters, the rubble was reduced to dust before disposal. One of the victims was found buried at a house in nearby Midland Road, which by then was occupied by a new resident, and is still lived in to this day.

In July 2007, Gloucester was hit badly by a flood that struck Gloucestershire and its surrounding areas. Hundreds of homes were flooded, but the event was most memorable because of its wider impact- about 40,000 people were without power for 24 hours, and the entire city (plus surrounding areas) was without water for 10-14 days.

Places of interest

Gloucester Cathedral

Gloucester Cathedral, in the north of the city near the river, originates in the foundation of an abbey dedicated to Saint Peter in 681. It is the burial place of King Edward II of England and Walter de Lacy. The Cathedral was used for scenes in the films Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and the unreleased film, , Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

Attached to the deanery is the Norman prior's chapel. In St Mary's Square outside the Abbey gate, the Bishop of Gloucester, Bishop John Hooper, suffered martyrdom under Queen Mary I in 1555.

Medieval and Tudor buildings

Many medieval and Tudor period gabled and half timbered houses survive from earlier periods of Gloucester's history. At the point where the four principal streets intersected stood the Tolsey (town hall), which was replaced by a modern building in 1894. None of the old public buildings are left except for the New Inn in Northgate Street. It is a timbered house, with strong, massive external galleries and courtyards. It was built in 1450 for the pilgrims to King Edward II's shrine, by Abbot Sebroke.

Churches

There may be many churches now, but in the past there were also many dissenting chapels. It may have been the old proverb "as sure as God's in Gloucester" that provoked Oliver Cromwell to declare that the city had "more churches than godliness". Gloucester was the host of the first Sunday school in England; this was founded by Robert Raikes in 1780. Four of the churches that are of special interest are

• St Mary de Lode - with a Norman tower and chancel, and a monument of Bishop John Hooper. It was built on the site of an ancient Roman temple which became the first Christian church in Britain
• St Mary de Crypt - with a cruciform structure of the 12th century. It has later additions, such as the beautiful and lofty tower. Also the site of the Schoolroom in which The Crypt School was formed
• The St Michael church - said to have been connected with the St Peter ancient abbey
• The St Nicholas church - founded by the Normans but with many additions since then.

In the neighbourhood around St Mary de Crypt there are slight remains of Greyfriars and Blackfriars monasteries, and also of the city wall. Under the Fleece and Saracen's Head inns early vaulted cellars still remain.

During the construction of the Boots store on the corner of Brunswick Road and Eastgate Street in 1974, Roman remains were found. These can be seen through a glass case on the street. At the back of the Gloucester Furniture Exhibition Centre part of the city's south gate can be seen.

Schools

There are three endowed schools: The King's School, refounded by Henry VIII of England as part of the cathedral establishment; the school of St Mary de Crypt now known as "The Crypt School, Gloucester" since it moved to a mile from town centre to Podsmead, founded by Dame Joan Cooke in the same reign (1539); and Sir Thomas Rich's Blue Coat Hospital for boys (1666).

Modern buildings

Noteworthy modern buildings include the museum and school of art and science, the county gaol (on the site of a Saxon and Norman castle), the Shire Hall and the Whitefield memorial church. A park in the south of the city contains a spa, a chalybeate spring having been discovered in 1814. West of this, across the canal, are the remains (a gateway and some walls) of Llanthony Secunda Priory, a cell of the mother abbey in the Vale of Ewyas, Monmouthshire, which in the reign of King Edward IV became the secondary establishment.

King's Square is at the heart of the city centre and occupies what was once a cattle market and bus station. Officially opened in 1972, it was the centrepiece of a radical redesign of the city, The Jellicoe Plan, which was first proposed in 1961. It stands beside the Debenham's (formerly Bon Marche) store built in the early 1960s. Many of the features of the redevelopment have since been dismantled; the brutalist concrete fountains in the middle of the square have gone and the overhead roadways which linked three multi storey car parks around the centre have been either closed or dismantled. The present main bus station received a Civic Trust Award in 1963 but is now tatty and unwelcoming. An indoor market opened in Eastgate Street in 1968, followed by the Eastgate Shopping Centre in 1974. The corner of Eastgate Street and Brunswick Road was redeveloped around this time; Roman remains unearthed below street level in 1974 may be seen through a glass observation panel outside the Boots building, which opened in 1980. The HSBC building on the Cross was renovated and a modern extension added to the Westgate Street aspect in 1972 which received a Civic Trust Award. Sainsbury's opened a supermarket in Northgate Street in 1970; it retains its original interior. Opposite, Tesco opened a large two-storey supermarket in 1974 on the site of a demolished chapel. This is now occupied by Wilkinsons after Tesco moved to Quedgeley in 1984

Gloucester Leisure Centre opened on the corner of Eastgate Street and Bruton Way in September 1974 and was redeveloped around 2003. A new railway station opened in Bruton Way in 1977 on the site of the former GWR station, replacing Eastgate station (former Midland Railway) which had stood on another site further east along the same road. Opposite the station stands one of the city's largest office blocks, Twyver House, opened in 1968, which houses the regional Land Registry. The main shopping streets were pedestrianised in the late 1980s.

There are few tall buildings in Gloucester, Gloucester Cathedral being the most obvious. The tower of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, started in 1970 and completed in August 1975, can be seen from miles around. In Brunswick Road, a brown concrete tower, which housed classrooms at the Gloucestershire College of Arts and Technology (now moved to a site near Llanthony Bridge). The tower was added incongruously to the existing 1930s Technical College buildings in 1971 and is due to be demolished. Clapham Court, a tall block of flats, stands in Columbia Close, between London Road and Kingsholm Road. It was built in 1972 and stands on what was once Columbia Street in a small district formerly known as Clapham.

Transport

Gloucester is linked to the Severn Estuary by the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, which is navigable by small coasters. The city is linked to the River Avon and Stourport-on-Severn by the navigable part of the River Severn, which is navigable by river craft of a few hundred tonnes' displacement.

Public transport in the city is run by Stagecoach, operating from its depot on London Road. The regional office for Stagecoach is also in the city at 65 London Road. Gloucester was formerly linked to Ledbury and Hereford by the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal. This canal is now being restored, and the restored canal basin in the Gloucester suburb of Over is already a local attraction.

Until the construction of the Severn Bridge in 1966, Gloucester was the lowest bridging point on the river and hence was an important settlement on the route between London and South Wales. The Severn is split into two branches at this point, so the road crosses first onto Alney Island and then onto the western bank. A road bridge on this western side at Over, built by Thomas Telford in 1829, still stands, notable for its very flat arch construction, but its fragility and narrow width means it is no longer used for traffic, and since 1974 has been paralleled by a modern road bridge. There is a rail crossing, also across Alney Island, which was the lowest on the river until the opening of the Severn Tunnel in 1886.

The city is served by Gloucester railway station.

Gloucester was the site of the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company railway works, which have now closed.

Roads

Gloucester is served by the M5 motorway, which runs to the east of the city. Junction 12 serves south Gloucester and Quedgeley. Junction 11a serves central Gloucester and junction 11 serves North Gloucester. The A38 runs north-south through Gloucester connecting the city with Tewkesbury and Bristol. The A40 runs west to east, connecting Gloucester with Cheltenham to the east (via a dual carriageway section known as The Golden Valley Bypass) and the Forest of Dean to the West. The A46 links Gloucester and Stroud, and the A417 links Gloucester with Cirencester in the south east and Ledbury in the north west.

Business and industry

Aerospace

Gloucester has a long history in the aerospace business. In 1926 the Gloucestershire Aircraft Company at Brockworth decided to change its name to the Gloster Aircraft Company because international customers claimed that the name "Gloucestershire" was too difficult to spell. Messier-Dowty's landing gear plant and Smiths Aerospace Dowty Propellers plant are located on the outskirts of the city. A sculpture in the city centre celebrates Gloucester's aviation history and its involvement in the jet engine, and The Whittle pub at Gloucester Business Park is named after jet pioneer Frank Whittle (1907–1996), who was born at Coventry.

Financial services

Gloucester is home to the headquarters of Cheltenham & Gloucester at Barnwood, third largest mortgage lender in the UK, and now a subsidiary of Lloyds TSB. The large insurer Ecclesiastical Insurance is based in the city, as is its owner, the charity Allchurches Trust.

Other industry

Gloucester was the home of Priday, Metford and Company Limited, a family milling firm which survived for over one hundred years.

Sport and leisure

• Kingsholm Stadium is the home of Gloucester RFC, founded in 1873, one of the world's top rugby union clubs.
• Meadow Park was the home of Gloucester City A.F.C., founded in 1883, of the Southern League Premier Division. The club now play matches at Cirencester Town's Corinium Stadium in Cirencester due to the 2007 Floods.
• The Gloucester Cricket Festival is held in Gloucester at the King's School.
• Public sports facilities are focused on the GL1 leisure centre, a large modern sports centre with several swimming pools, a multi-use sports hall, indoor bowls room, squash courts, gym and health spa. There is also a new Esporta complex in Brockworth.
• The Matson district is home to Gloucester Ski and Snowboard Centre dry slope skiing facility (with two slopes of 220m and 150m respectively down the side of Robinswood Hill) and an 18 hole golf course.
• Gloucester City Swimming Club competes in county and national swimming championships, head coach is Graham Brookhouse, who won a Bronze Medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
• Bentham Domes on the outskirts of Gloucester boasts one of the largest 5 a side leagues in Europe.

Culture

The Three Choirs Festival, originating in the eighteenth century and one of the oldest music festivals in Europe, is held in Gloucester every third year, the other venues being Hereford and Worcester. Gloucester hosted the festival in 2007, and it's next due in the city in 2010.

The city's main theatre and cultural venue is the Guildhall. The Guildhall hosts a huge amount of entertainment, including live music, dance sessions, a cinema, bar, café, art gallery and much more. The Leisure Centre, GL1, occasionally hosts concerts and has a larger capacity than the Guildhall.

Gloucester hosts a variety of festivals and events, which run at both local, national and international level.

The annual Gloucester International Rhythm & Blues Festival takes place at the end of July and early August.

Gloucester International Cajun and Zydeco Festival runs for a weekend in January each year.

A Medieval Fayre is held in Westgate Street each year during the summer.

Notable citizens

• Robert Raikes the Elder, (1690-1757), widely known as "the printer of Gloucester", founder of the Gloucester Journal, passed for a first pioneer for the freedom of the press.
• George Whitfield (1714-1770), Minister of the Church of England and a Leader in the Methodist Movement
• Robert Raikes (1735-1811), Founder of Sunday Schools
• Thomas Raikes (1741-1813), Banker and merchant in London, Governor of the Bank of England, editor of the first £1 and £2 English pound notes on 26 February 1797.
• John Clarke Whitfield (1770-1836), Organist and composer
• Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875), Scientist and Inventor
• William Ernest Henley (1849-1903), Poet
• Hubert Cecil Booth (1871-1955), inventor of the vacuum cleaner
• Ivor Gurney (1890-1937), Composer and Poet
• Tom Goddard (1900-1966), Cricketer
• Fred West (1941-1995), serial killer
• Mike d'Abo (1944–), Manfred Mann singer
• Rosemary West (1953–), serial killer
• Mike Teague (1960–), Rugby player
• Tina May (1961–), Singer
• Simon Pegg (1970–), Actor, comedian and writer
• Dynamite MC (1973-),MC rapper
• Andy Hazell (1978–), Rugby player
• Wayne Thomas (1979–), Footballer
• Alastair Cook (1984–), Cricketer
• Stuart Fleetwood (1986–), Footballer
• Scott Redding (1993-), Grand Prix Motorcyclist

Twin cities

- Metz, France - Trier, Germany

- Saint Ann, Jamaica - Gouda, the Netherlands

References

External links

• Gloucester City Council Local government web site
• BBC Gloucestershire Local news and information
• This Is Gloucestershire Local news: web site for Northcliffe Media's Gloucestershire Echo, Citizen and Forester local newspapers
• Gloucester Tourism Information on events, attractions, eating out, where to stay and what to do in Gloucester