Gloucester
Encyclopedia
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 32 miles (51.5 km) north-east of Bristol
, and 45 miles (72.4 km) south-southwest of Birmingham
.
Gloucester was founded in AD 97 by the Romans
under Emperor Nerva as Colonia Glevum Nervensis, 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.
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
.
, the city was known as Caerloyw, caer = castle, and loyw from gloyw = glowing/bright. Gloucester was captured by the Saxons in 577. 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.
In the early tenth century the remains of Saint Oswald
were brought to a small church in Gloucester, bringing many pilgrims to the town.
The core street layout dates back to the reign of Ethelfleda
in late Saxon times.
, 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.
In the Middle Ages the main export was wool which came from the Cotswolds and was processed in Gloucester; other exports included leather
and iron
(tools and weapons). Gloucester also had a large fishing industry at that time.
In 1223 thatched roofs were banned after a massive fire that destroyed a part of Gloucester.
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.
In 1580 Gloucester was awarded the status of a port
by Queen Elizabeth I.
The Siege of Gloucester
in 1643 was a battle of the English Civil War
in which the besieged parliamentarians emerged victorious.
and his wife Rosemary 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.
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 piped water for 17 days.
In 2009, Gloucester Day
was revived as an annual day of celebration of Gloucester's history and culture. The day originally dates from the lifting of the Siege of Gloucester
in 1643, during which the city held out against Royalist forces during the First English Civil War
.
of Gloucestershire
, and is the 53rd largest settlement in the UK by population. In 2001 the city 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. Gloucester is also the most multicultural part of Gloucestershire.
It is located on the eastern bank of the River Severn
, 114 miles (183.5 km) west north west of London
. It is sheltered by the Cotswolds
to the east, while the Forest of Dean
and the Malvern Hills rise to the west and north, respectively.
Gloucester is a port
, linked via the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal
which runs from Gloucester's docks 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 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 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.
(Köppen climate classification
Cfb).
, 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 (mainly its cloisters) was used for corridor scenes in the films Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
, and 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
, was martyred under Queen Mary I
in 1555.
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 around 1450 by John Twyning, a monk.
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
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 Golden Fleece (The Monks Bar) 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.
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), Sir Thomas Rich's School
, previously known as Sir Thomas Rich's Bluecoat Hospital for Boys (1666); The High School for Girls
(1883) ; and Ribston Hall High School for girls.
Comprehensives include Brockworth Enterprise School
, Beaufort Community School, St Peter's High School
(Catholic school), Chosen Hill School
, Severn Vale School
, Central Technology College
, Barnwood Park Arts College, and Churchdown School Arts College.
(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 in a state of disrepair.
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 and rebranded (as "GL1") in August 2002. Gloucester Central railway station was rebuilt in 1977 to serve both the original traffic to that station and the services from the closed Gloucester Eastgate railway 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.
The 1966 Heights Plan for Gloucester sought to restrict construction of tall buildings and defend spiritual values by protecting views of Gloucester Cathedral
. 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.
, operating from its depot on London Road.
See List of bus routes in Gloucestershire
For longer journeys, National Express
operate a number of services including the 444 to London and the 222 to Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
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
. Gloucester Docks mark the Normal Tidal Limit (NTL) of the river.
Gloucester was formerly linked to Ledbury
and Hereford
by the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal
; and subsequently by the Ledbury and Gloucester Railway
, which used the southern section of the former canal, until it also closed in 1964. This canal is now being restored, and the restored canal basin in the Gloucester suburb of Over is a local attraction.
, with frequent services to some of the country's largest cities, London, Bristol
, Cardiff
, Nottingham
and Birmingham
. Gloucester was the site of the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company
railway works, which have now closed.
, 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
and A4173 links Gloucester and Stroud
, and the A417
links Gloucester with Cirencester
in the south east and Ledbury
in the north west.
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 it 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 Railway Bridge
in 1879, followed by the Severn Tunnel
in 1886, although following the dismantling of the former in 1970 Gloucester once again has the furthest downstream rail bridge crossing of the Severn.
business. In 1926 the Gloucestershire Aircraft Company at Brockworth changed its name to the Gloster Aircraft Company
because international customers claimed that the name "Gloucestershire" was too difficult to spell. A sculpture in the city centre celebrates Gloucester's aviation history and its involvement in the jet engine
. Frank Whittle
's pioneering turbojet engine powered the first British jet aircraft, which first flew at the company's airfield at Brockworth. This is commemorated by the pub "The Whittle" at Gloucester Business Park, which now occupies the site. Roads in the Business Park are named after other Gloster aircraft, and a small statue overlooks the site of the old main runway.
Messier-Dowty
's landing gear
plant and Smiths Aerospace
Dowty Propellers
plants are on the outskirts of the city.
Gloucester is home to the headquarters of Cheltenham & Gloucester
at Barnwood
, a major mortgage lender, 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
.
Gloucester was the home of Priday, Metford and Company Limited
, a family milling firm which survived for over one hundred years, and hydraulic engineering firm Fielding & Platt
.
Gloucester Business Park
is a business park
on the outskirts on the city and is home to a number of big brands including Fortis
and Detica
.
, published by Northcliffe Media
is Gloucester's main daily newspaper, which shares some content with the Gloucestershire Echo
and the weekly Forester covering the Forest of Dean and Chepstow.
BBC Radio Gloucestershire
has its studios on London Road. Heart Gloucestershire, previously Severn Sound, is based in Eastgate Shopping Centre. Gloucester FM
is a community radio station specializing in black and urban music. Local radio is broadcast from transmitters on Churchdown Hill (Chosen Hill), and for television reception Gloucester is in a transmitter overlap area between Ridge Hill (Midlands) and Mendip (West), although the West regional broadcasts best covers the city.
A number of TV and film productions have been filmed in Gloucester; most notably at the Cathedral and Docks. These include three of the Harry Potter movies, Doctor Who and Outlaw.
, 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 2010, and it is next due in the city in 2013.
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, hosts concerts and has a larger capacity than the Guildhall.
The annual Gloucester International Rhythm and Blues Festival takes place at the end of July and early August. http://www.gloucesterblues.co.uk 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.
The main museum in the City is the Gloucester City Museum & Art Gallery
but there are several other important museums.
Nature in Art
is a gallery dedicated to the display of works of art inspired by the natural world.
, France, since 1967; Trier
, Germany, since 1957; Saint Ann, Jamaica, since 1987; and Gouda
, Netherlands, since 1972.
City status in the United Kingdom
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
, district
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
and county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
in the South West
South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
region of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
border, and on the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
, approximately 32 miles (51.5 km) north-east of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, and 45 miles (72.4 km) south-southwest of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
.
Gloucester was founded in AD 97 by the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
under Emperor Nerva as Colonia Glevum Nervensis, and was granted its first charter in 1155 by King Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
. Economically, the city is dominated by the service industries, and has a strong financial and business sector, being home to the bank Cheltenham & Gloucester
Cheltenham & Gloucester
Cheltenham & Gloucester plc is a mortgage and savings provider in the United Kingdom, a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group. C&G specialises in mortgages and savings products. Previously, C&G was a building society, known as the Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society. C&G is one of the largest...
and historically was prominent in the aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
industry.
Roman times
The existence of a BritishBrython
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
settlement at Gloucester (Caer Glow, Gleawecastre, Gleucestre) is not confirmed by any direct evidence, but Gloucester was the Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
municipality of Colonia Nervia Glevensium, or Glevum, founded in the reign of Nerva
Nerva
Nerva , was Roman Emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became Emperor at the age of sixty-five, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the rulers of the Flavian dynasty. Under Nero, he was a member of the imperial entourage and played a vital part in exposing the Pisonian conspiracy of 65...
. 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
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
includes the mention in the Historia Brittonum that Vortigern
Vortigern
Vortigern , also spelled Vortiger and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in Britain, a leading ruler among the Britons. His existence is considered likely, though information about him is shrouded in legend. He is said to have invited the Saxons to settle in Kent as mercenaries to aid him in...
's grandfather ruled Gloucester. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
, Gloucester passed briefly to Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
from the Battle of Deorham
Battle of Deorham
The Battle of Deorham or Dyrham was fought in 577 between the West Saxons under Ceawlin and Cuthwine and the Britons of the West Country. The location, Deorham, is usually taken to refer to Dyrham in South Gloucestershire. The battle was a major victory for the West Saxons, who took three important...
in 577 until 584, when it came under the control of Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
.
Saxon times
Gloucester (Glowancestre, 1282) derives from the Anglo-Saxon for fort (Old English ceaster) preceded by the Roman stem Glev- . In Old WelshOld Welsh language
Old Welsh is the label attached to the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from the British language around 550, has been called "Primitive Welsh".Many poems and some prose...
, the city was known as Caerloyw, caer = castle, and loyw from gloyw = glowing/bright. Gloucester was captured by the Saxons in 577. 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
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
, with a castle which was frequently a royal residence, and a mint.
In the early tenth century the remains of Saint Oswald
Oswald of Northumbria
Oswald was King of Northumbria from 634 until his death, and is now venerated as a Christian saint.Oswald was the son of Æthelfrith of Bernicia and came to rule after spending a period in exile; after defeating the British ruler Cadwallon ap Cadfan, Oswald brought the two Northumbrian kingdoms of...
were brought to a small church in Gloucester, bringing many pilgrims to the town.
The core street layout dates back to the reign of Ethelfleda
Ethelfleda
Æthelflæd , was the eldest daughter of King Alfred the Great of Wessex and Ealhswith, wife of Æthelred, ealdorman of Mercia, and after his death, ruler of Mercia...
in late Saxon times.
Medieval times
The first Earl of GloucesterEarl of Gloucester
The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play King Lear. See also Duke of Gloucester.-Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation :...
, Earl Godwine
Godwin, Earl of Wessex
Godwin of Wessex , was one of the most powerful lords in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great and his successors. Cnut made him the first Earl of Wessex...
, was succeeded nearly a century later by Robert of Gloucester
Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester
Robert Fitzroy, 1st Earl of Gloucester was an illegitimate son of King Henry I of England. He was called "Rufus" and occasionally "de Caen", he is also known as Robert "the Consul"...
. King Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
granted the first charter in 1155, which gave the burgesses the same liberties as the citizens of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
, and a second charter of Henry II gave them freedom of passage on the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
. The first charter was confirmed in 1194 by Richard I of England
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
. The privileges of the borough were greatly extended by the charter of King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
(1200), which gave freedom from toll throughout the kingdom and from pleading outside the borough.
In the Middle Ages the main export was wool which came from the Cotswolds and was processed in Gloucester; other exports included leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
and iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
(tools and weapons). Gloucester also had a large fishing industry at that time.
In 1223 thatched roofs were banned after a massive fire that destroyed a part of Gloucester.
Tudor and Stuart times
Subsequent charters were numerous. Gloucester was incorporated by King Richard IIIRichard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
in 1483, the town being made a county
County corporate
A county corporate or corporate county was a type of subnational division used for local government in England, Ireland and Wales.Counties corporate were created during the Middle Ages, and were effectively small self-governing counties...
in itself. This charter was confirmed in 1489 and 1510, and other charters of incorporation were received by Gloucester from Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
and King James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
.
Gloucester was the site of the execution by burning of John Hooper
John Hooper
John Hooper, Johan Hoper, was an English churchman, Anglican Bishop of Gloucester and Worcester. A Protestant Reformer, he was killed during the Marian Persecutions.-Biography:...
, Bishop of Gloucester in the time of Queen Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
and martyred by her in 1555.
In 1580 Gloucester was awarded the status of a port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
by Queen Elizabeth I.
The Siege of Gloucester
Siege of Gloucester
The Siege of Gloucester was an engagement in the First English Civil War. It took place between August 3 and September 5, 1643, between the defending Parliamentarian garrison of Gloucester and the besieging army of King Charles I. The siege ended with the arrival of a relieving Parliamentarian army...
in 1643 was a battle of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
in which the besieged parliamentarians emerged victorious.
Modern history
The spring of 1994 saw the arrest of Fred WestFred West
Frederick Walter Stephen West , was a British serial killer. Between 1967 and 1987, he alone, and later, he and his wife Rosemary, tortured, raped and murdered at least 11 young women and girls, many at the couple's homes. The majority of the murders occurred between May 1973 and September 1979 at...
and his wife Rosemary West
Rosemary West
Rosemary Pauline "Rose" West is a British serial killer, now an inmate at HMP Low Newton, Brasside, Durham, after being convicted of 10 murders in 1995...
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.
In July 2007
2007 United Kingdom floods
The 2007 United Kingdom floods were a series of destructive floods that occurred in various areas across the country during the summer of 2007. The most severe floods occurred across Northern Ireland on 12 June; East Yorkshire and The Midlands on 15 June; Yorkshire, The Midlands, Gloucestershire,...
, 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 piped water for 17 days.
In 2009, Gloucester Day
Gloucester Day
Gloucester Day is a recently reinstated annual day of celebration of the City of Gloucester's history and culture.The day was first held in the modern era on 5 September 2009 but originally dates from the lifting of the Siege of Gloucester in 1643, during which the city held out against Royalist...
was revived as an annual day of celebration of Gloucester's history and culture. The day originally dates from the lifting of the Siege of Gloucester
Siege of Gloucester
The Siege of Gloucester was an engagement in the First English Civil War. It took place between August 3 and September 5, 1643, between the defending Parliamentarian garrison of Gloucester and the besieging army of King Charles I. The siege ended with the arrival of a relieving Parliamentarian army...
in 1643, during which the city held out against Royalist forces during the First English Civil War
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War began the series of three wars known as the English Civil War . "The English Civil War" was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651, and includes the Second English Civil War and...
.
Geography
Gloucester is the county townCounty town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, and is the 53rd largest settlement in the UK by population. In 2001 the city 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. Gloucester is also the most multicultural part of Gloucestershire.
It is located on the eastern bank of the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
, 114 miles (183.5 km) west north west of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It is sheltered by the Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
to the east, while the Forest of Dean
Forest of Dean
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. The forest is a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.The...
and the Malvern Hills rise to the west and north, respectively.
Gloucester is a port
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
, linked via the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal
Gloucester and Sharpness Canal
The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal or Gloucester and Berkeley Canal is a canal in the west of England, between Gloucester and Sharpness; for much of its length it runs close to the tidal River Severn, but cuts off a significant loop in the river, at a once-dangerous bend near Arlingham...
which runs from Gloucester's docks to the Severn Estuary
Severn Estuary
The Severn Estuary is the estuary of the River Severn, the longest river in Great Britain. Its high tidal range means it has been at the centre of discussions in the UK regarding renewable energy.-Geography:...
, 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 disrepair until their renovation in the 1980s. They now form a public open space. Some warehouses now house the National Waterways Museum
National Waterways Museum
The National Waterways Museum holds the inland waterways collection at three museum sites in England: Gloucester, Ellesmere Port, and Stoke Bruerne....
, others were converted into residential apartments, shops and bars. Additionally, the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum
Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum
The Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum is located within the historic docks in the city of Gloucester. It was originally opened by HRH The Duke of Gloucester in 1980 although significantly remodeled in the late '80s and reopened in 1990...
is located in the Custom House. The port still houses the most inland RNLI lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
in the UK.
Climate
Gloucester experiences an oceanic climateOceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
(Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Cfb).
Districts of Gloucester
Gloucester Cathedral
Gloucester CathedralGloucester Cathedral
Gloucester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the river. It originated in 678 or 679 with the foundation of an abbey dedicated to Saint Peter .-Foundations:The foundations of the present...
, in the north of the city near the river, originates in the foundation of an abbey dedicated to Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
in 681. It is the burial place of King Edward II of England and Walter de Lacy
Walter de Lacy
Walter de Lacy was Lord of Meath in Ireland and Ludlow in Shropshire in the Welsh Marches.- Life :With his father Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath he built Trim Castle , Trim, County Meath....
. The Cathedral (mainly its cloisters) was used for corridor scenes in the films Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, released in the United States and India as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, is a 2001 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. The film is the first instalment in the Harry Potter film series,...
, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a 2002 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the second instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman...
, and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a 2009 fantasy film directed by David Yates and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the sixth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman and David Barron...
.
Attached to the deanery is the Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
prior's chapel. In St Mary's Square outside the Abbey gate, the Bishop of Gloucester
Bishop of Gloucester
The Bishop of Gloucester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Gloucester in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers the County of Gloucestershire and part of the County of Worcestershire and has its see in the City of Gloucester where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church...
, Bishop John Hooper
John Hooper
John Hooper, Johan Hoper, was an English churchman, Anglican Bishop of Gloucester and Worcester. A Protestant Reformer, he was killed during the Marian Persecutions.-Biography:...
, was martyred under Queen Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
in 1555.
Medieval and Tudor buildings
Many medieval and Tudor periodTudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
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
The New Inn, Gloucester
The New Inn, 16 Northgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 1SF, is a public house, hotel and restaurant that is Grade I listed by English Heritage and is the most complete surviving example of a medieval courtyard inn with galleries in Britain...
in Northgate Street. It is a timbered house, with strong, massive external galleries and courtyards. It was built around 1450 by John Twyning, a monk.
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 CromwellOliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
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
Robert Raikes
Robert Raikes was an English philanthropist and Anglican layman, noted for his promotion of Sunday schools...
in 1780. Four of the churches that are of special interest are
- St Mary de LodeSt Mary de Lode ChurchSt Mary de Lode Church, Archdeacon Street, Gloucester GL1 2QT, is a Church of England church immediately outside the grounds of Gloucester Cathedral, which is believed to be on the site of the first Christian church in Britain. The church is in the Diocese of Gloucester and Grade I listed by...
- with a NormanNorman architectureAbout|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
tower and chancelChancelIn church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
, and a monument of Bishop John HooperJohn HooperJohn Hooper, Johan Hoper, was an English churchman, Anglican Bishop of Gloucester and Worcester. A Protestant Reformer, he was killed during the Marian Persecutions.-Biography:...
. It was built on the site of an ancient RomanAncient RomeAncient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
temple which became the first Christian church in Britain - St Mary de CryptSt Mary de Crypt ChurchSt Mary de Crypt Church, Southgate Street, Gloucester GL1, is an Anglican house of worship, which was first recorded in 1140 as The Church of the Blessed Mary within Southgate. It is in the Diocese of Gloucester and is located adjacent to the ruins of Greyfriars. It has also been known as Christ...
- with a cruciform structure of the 12th century. It has later additions, such as the tower. Also the site of the Schoolroom in which The Crypt SchoolThe Crypt School, GloucesterThe Crypt School is a grammar school for boys with a mixed Sixth Form, located in the city of Gloucester, England, founded in 1539 by Joan Cooke with money inherited from her husband John....
was formed - The St Michael church - said to have been connected with the St Peter ancient abbey
- The St Nicholas churchSt Nicholas' Church, GloucesterSt Nicholas' Church, Gloucester, is a redundant Anglican church in Westgate Street in the city of Gloucester, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. Its truncated spire is a landmark in the...
- founded by the NormansNormansThe Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
but with many additions since then.
In the neighbourhood around St Mary de Crypt there are slight remains of Greyfriars and Blackfriars
Blackfriars, Gloucester
Blackfriars in the town of Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England is a surviving friary of the Dominican Order. The friary went into private hands after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, having been acquired in 1539 by Thomas Bell , who used the church as his residence, known as "Bell Place", and...
monasteries, and also of the city wall. Under the Golden Fleece (The Monks Bar) 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
See also List of schools in Gloucestershire.There are three endowed schools: The King's School
The King's School, Gloucester
The King's School, Gloucester is an independent school in the United Kingdom, taking students from the ages of 3-18, with around 500 students. The current Headmaster is Alastair Macnaughton.- Origins :...
, refounded by Henry VIII of England as part of the cathedral establishment; the school of St Mary de Crypt
The Crypt School, Gloucester
The Crypt School is a grammar school for boys with a mixed Sixth Form, located in the city of Gloucester, England, founded in 1539 by Joan Cooke with money inherited from her husband John....
now known as "The Crypt School, Gloucester
The Crypt School, Gloucester
The Crypt School is a grammar school for boys with a mixed Sixth Form, located in the city of Gloucester, England, founded in 1539 by Joan Cooke with money inherited from her husband John....
" since it moved to a mile from town centre to Podsmead, founded by Dame Joan Cooke in the same reign (1539), Sir Thomas Rich's School
Sir Thomas Rich's School
Sir Thomas Rich's School is a grammar school for boys and girls in Longlevens, Gloucester, England, locally known as "Tommies"...
, previously known as Sir Thomas Rich's Bluecoat Hospital for Boys (1666); The High School for Girls
High School for Girls
The High School for Girls is a grammar school on Denmark Road, Gloucester. It is one of only three girls' grammar schools in Gloucestershire, and consistently ranks in league tables as one of the best schools in England and one of the Top 50 Selective Schools in the UK.-Admission:As a grammar...
(1883) ; and Ribston Hall High School for girls.
Comprehensives include Brockworth Enterprise School
Brockworth Enterprise School
Brockworth Enterprise School is a co-educational, fully comprehensive Community School and the first Business and Enterprise College in Gloucestershire. It is an 11-18 school for 900 students with a Sixth Form of 100 students. There are over 50 teaching staff...
, Beaufort Community School, St Peter's High School
St Peter's High School, Gloucester
St Peter's High School and Sixth Form Centre is a Roman Catholic comprehensive school and sixth form centre, on Stroud Road in the Tuffley area of Gloucester, England. The headteacher is Lawrence Montagu. The main feeder school is the closely associated ....
(Catholic school), Chosen Hill School
Chosen Hill School
Chosen Hill School is a large co-educational academy state school in the village of Churchdown in Gloucestershire, England, between Cheltenham and Gloucester. It is a dual specialist Technology College and Language College, and a Beacon School. The school was recently mentioned in The Daily...
, Severn Vale School
Severn Vale School
Severn Vale School is a Secondary School in Quedgeley, Gloucester, England, United Kingdom. Its students are aged from 11 to 16 due to the lack of a sixth form. The headmaster is Peter Rowland.- Tutor Groups :...
, Central Technology College
Central Technology College
Central Technology College started life as a boys school that used to be located in Derby Road, Gloucester, England.Mrs H. Anthony took over the role of Headmistress from E. Cole in 2006. The incorporation of the Ninestiles Foundation, andSir D...
, Barnwood Park Arts College, and Churchdown School Arts College.
Modern buildings
Noteworthy modern buildings include the museum and school of art and science, the county jailGloucester (HM Prison)
HM Prison Gloucester is a Category B men's prison, located in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
(on the site of a Saxon and Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
), the Shire Hall and the Whitefield memorial church. A park in the south of the city contains a spa, a chalybeate
Chalybeate
Chalybeate waters, also known as ferruginous waters, are mineral spring waters containing salts of iron.-Name:The word "chalybeate" is derived from the Latin word for steel, "chalybs", which follows from the Greek word "khalups"...
spring having been discovered in 1814. West of this, across the canal, are the remains (a gateway and some walls) of Llanthony Secunda Priory
Llanthony Secunda
Llanthony Secunda Priory is a ruined former Augustinian priory in Hempsted, Gloucester, England. Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, founded the priory for the monks of Llanthony Priory, Vale of Ewyas, in what is now Monmouthshire, Wales, in 1136....
, a cell of the mother abbey
Llanthony Priory
Llanthony Priory is a partly ruined former Augustinian priory in the secluded Vale of Ewyas, a steep sided once glaciated valley within the Black Mountains area of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It lies seven miles north of Abergavenny on an old road to Hay...
in the Vale of Ewyas
Vale of Ewyas
The Vale of Ewyas is the steeply-sided and secluded valley of the Afon Honddu, in the Black Mountains of south Wales and within the Brecon Beacons National Park. As well as its outstanding beauty, it is known for the ruins of Llanthony Priory, and for several noteworthy churches such as those at...
, Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire is a county in south east Wales. The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire which covered a much larger area. The largest town is Abergavenny. There are many castles in Monmouthshire .-Historic county:...
, 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
Brutalist architecture
Brutalist architecture is a style of architecture which flourished from the 1950s to the mid 1970s, spawned from the modernist architectural movement.-The term "brutalism":...
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 in a state of disrepair.
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
Quedgeley
Quedgeley is a suburb and civil parish of Gloucester, England, situated southwest of the city. It is the only civil parish in Gloucester, and a has a population of 11,800.-See also:*RAF Quedgeley, a large RAF logistics site which closed in 1995...
in 1984.
Gloucester Leisure Centre opened on the corner of Eastgate Street and Bruton Way in September 1974 and was redeveloped and rebranded (as "GL1") in August 2002. Gloucester Central railway station was rebuilt in 1977 to serve both the original traffic to that station and the services from the closed Gloucester Eastgate railway station
Gloucester Eastgate railway station
Gloucester Eastgate railway station was a station in Gloucester, England, used by trains from Birmingham to Bristol. Originally the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway used a terminus station roughly on the site of the current Gloucester station car park.-History:In 1896 a new through station was...
(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.
The 1966 Heights Plan for Gloucester sought to restrict construction of tall buildings and defend spiritual values by protecting views of Gloucester Cathedral
Gloucester Cathedral
Gloucester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the river. It originated in 678 or 679 with the foundation of an abbey dedicated to Saint Peter .-Foundations:The foundations of the present...
. The tower of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital
Gloucestershire Royal Hospital
Gloucestershire Royal Hospital is an NHS district general hospital in Great Western Road, Gloucester, England. Gloucestershire Royal Hospital has more than 600 beds and 14 operating theatres. It serves western and southern Gloucestershire and parts of Herefordshire.A hospital first appeared on the...
, 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
Gloucestershire College
Gloucestershire College abbreviated GC is a college of further education in the county of Gloucestershire, United Kingdom...
(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.
Crime
| Offence | Locally | Nationally |
|---|---|---|
| Robbery | 1.3 | 1.4 |
| Offences against vehicles | 10.7 | 8.0 |
| Sexual offences | 1.3 | 1.0 |
| Violence against the person | 12.4 | 14.8 |
| Burglary | 12.7 | 9.6 |
Bus and coach
Public transport in the city is run by StagecoachStagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
, operating from its depot on London Road.
See List of bus routes in Gloucestershire
For longer journeys, National Express
National Express
National Express Coaches, more commonly known as National Express, is a brand and company, owned by the National Express Group, under which the majority of long distance bus and coach services in Great Britain are operated,...
operate a number of services including the 444 to London and the 222 to Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
Waterways
Gloucester is linked to the Severn EstuarySevern Estuary
The Severn Estuary is the estuary of the River Severn, the longest river in Great Britain. Its high tidal range means it has been at the centre of discussions in the UK regarding renewable energy.-Geography:...
by the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal
Gloucester and Sharpness Canal
The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal or Gloucester and Berkeley Canal is a canal in the west of England, between Gloucester and Sharpness; for much of its length it runs close to the tidal River Severn, but cuts off a significant loop in the river, at a once-dangerous bend near Arlingham...
, which is navigable by small coasters
Coastal trading vessel
Coastal trading vessels, also known as coasters, are shallow-hulled ships used for trade between locations on the same island or continent. Their shallow hulls mean that they can get through reefs where deeper-hulled sea-going ships usually cannot....
. The city is linked to the River Avon
River Avon, Warwickshire
The River Avon or Avon is a river in or adjoining the counties of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire in the Midlands of England...
and Stourport-on-Severn
Stourport-on-Severn
Stourport-on-Severn, often shortened to Stourport, is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of North Worcestershire, England, a few miles to the south of Kidderminster and down stream on the River Severn from Bewdley...
by the navigable part of the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
, which is navigable by river craft of a few hundred tonnes' displacement
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
. Gloucester Docks mark the Normal Tidal Limit (NTL) of the river.
Gloucester was formerly linked to Ledbury
Ledbury
Ledbury is a town in Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and south of the Malvern Hills.Today, Ledbury is a thriving market town in rural England. The town has a large number of timber framed buildings, in particular along Church Lane and High Street. One of Ledbury's most outstanding...
and Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
by the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal
Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal
The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal is a canal in the west of England, which ran from Hereford, the county town of Herefordshire to Gloucester the county town of Gloucestershire, where it linked to the River Severn...
; and subsequently by the Ledbury and Gloucester Railway
Ledbury and Gloucester Railway
The Ledbury and Gloucester Railway , was a railway line in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, England, running between Ledbury and Gloucester. It opened in 1885 and closed in 1964.-History:...
, which used the southern section of the former canal, until it also closed in 1964. This canal is now being restored, and the restored canal basin in the Gloucester suburb of Over is a local attraction.
Rail
The city is also served by Gloucester railway stationGloucester railway station
Gloucester railway station serves the city of Gloucester in England. The station was originally built as the terminus of the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway in 1840, but the arrival of the Bristol and Gloucester Railway and Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway in 1844, and then conversion...
, with frequent services to some of the country's largest cities, London, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. Gloucester was the site of the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company
Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company
Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company was a railway rolling stock manufacturer based at Gloucester, England; from 1860 until 1986....
railway works, which have now closed.
Road
Gloucester is served by the M5 motorwayM5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
, 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
A38 road
The A38, part of which is also known as the Devon Expressway, is a major A-class trunk road in England.The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, making it one of the longest A-roads in England. It was formerly known as the Leeds — Exeter Trunk Road,...
runs north–south through Gloucester connecting the city with Tewkesbury
Tewkesbury
Tewkesbury is a town in Gloucestershire, England. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and also minor tributaries the Swilgate and Carrant Brook...
and Bristol. The A40
A40 road
The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road in all legal documents and Acts...
runs west to east, connecting Gloucester with Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
to the east (via a dual carriageway section known as The Golden Valley Bypass) and the Forest of Dean
Forest of Dean
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. The forest is a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.The...
to the West. The A46
A46 road
The A46 is an A road in England. It starts east of Bath, Somerset and ends in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, but it does not form a continuous route. Large portions of the old road have been lost, bypassed, or replaced by motorway development...
and A4173 links Gloucester and Stroud
Stroud, Gloucestershire
Stroud is a market town and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District.Situated below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills at the meeting point of the Five Valleys, the town is noted for its steep streets and cafe culture...
, and the A417
A417 road
-Streatley - Gloucester :It runs from Streatley at its junction with the A329 to Wantage, over the picturesque Berkshire Downs. In Wantage, it negotiates the market place -Streatley - Gloucester (M5):It runs from Streatley at its junction with the A329 (between Reading and Wallingford) to Wantage,...
links Gloucester with Cirencester
Cirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
in the south east and Ledbury
Ledbury
Ledbury is a town in Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and south of the Malvern Hills.Today, Ledbury is a thriving market town in rural England. The town has a large number of timber framed buildings, in particular along Church Lane and High Street. One of Ledbury's most outstanding...
in the north west.
Until the construction of the Severn Bridge
Severn Bridge
The Severn Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the River Severn between South Gloucestershire, just north of Bristol, England, and Monmouthshire in South Wales, via Beachley, a peninsula between the River Severn and River Wye estuary. It is the original Severn road crossing between England and...
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
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. The Severn is split into two branches at this point, so the road crosses first onto Alney Island
Alney Island
Alney Island is an island in the River Severn near Gloucester. The Severn splits into two channels at Upper Parting , and merges together again at Lower Parting to the south...
and then onto the western bank. A road bridge
Over Bridge
Over Bridge is a single span stone arch bridge spanning the canalised West Channel of the River Severn near Gloucester. It links Over to Alney Island....
on this western side at Over, built by Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
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 it 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 Railway Bridge
Severn Railway Bridge
The Severn Railway Bridge was a crossing across the River Severn between Sharpness and Lydney, Gloucestershire. It was badly damaged in an accident involving river barges in 1960 and demolished in 1970.-Construction:...
in 1879, followed by the Severn Tunnel
Severn Tunnel
The Severn Tunnel is a railway tunnel in the United Kingdom, linking South Gloucestershire in the west of England to Monmouthshire in south Wales under the estuary of the River Severn....
in 1886, although following the dismantling of the former in 1970 Gloucester once again has the furthest downstream rail bridge crossing of the Severn.
Business and industry
Gloucester has a long history in the aerospaceAerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
business. In 1926 the Gloucestershire Aircraft Company at Brockworth changed its name to the Gloster Aircraft Company
Gloster Aircraft Company
The Gloster Aircraft Company, Limited, known locally as GAC, was a British aircraft manufacturer. The company produced a famous lineage of fighters for the Royal Air Force : the Grebe, Gladiator, Meteor and Javelin. It also produced the Hawker Hurricane and Hawker Typhoon for the parent company...
because international customers claimed that the name "Gloucestershire" was too difficult to spell. A sculpture in the city centre celebrates Gloucester's aviation history and its involvement in the jet engine
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
. Frank Whittle
Frank Whittle
Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS was a British Royal Air Force engineer officer. He is credited with independently inventing the turbojet engine Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS (1 June 1907 – 9 August 1996) was a British Royal Air...
's pioneering turbojet engine powered the first British jet aircraft, which first flew at the company's airfield at Brockworth. This is commemorated by the pub "The Whittle" at Gloucester Business Park, which now occupies the site. Roads in the Business Park are named after other Gloster aircraft, and a small statue overlooks the site of the old main runway.
Messier-Dowty
Messier-Dowty
Messier-Dowty is a company involved in the design, development, manufacture and customer support of all types of aircraft landing gear. The company projects are divided into two business units: Airbus & European Programs and Boeing & North American Programs....
's landing gear
Undercarriage
The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...
plant and Smiths Aerospace
Smiths Aerospace
GE Aviation Systems .Smiths Aerospace was formerly one of four business units of Smiths Group plc., an engineering company and constituent of the FTSE 100 share index. However, it was announced on January 15, 2007 that Smiths Group was divesting Smiths Aerospace to General Electric for US $4.8...
Dowty Propellers
Dowty Rotol
Dowty Rotol is a British engineering company based in Cheltenham specialised in the manufacture of propellers and propeller components. It is owned by General Electric, forming part of its GE Aviation Systems division.-History:...
plants are on the outskirts of the city.
Gloucester is home to the headquarters of Cheltenham & Gloucester
Cheltenham & Gloucester
Cheltenham & Gloucester plc is a mortgage and savings provider in the United Kingdom, a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group. C&G specialises in mortgages and savings products. Previously, C&G was a building society, known as the Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society. C&G is one of the largest...
at Barnwood
Barnwood
Barnwood, in Gloucestershire, England is situated on the old Roman road that connects the City of Gloucester with Hucclecote, Brockworth and Cirencester....
, a major mortgage lender, and now a subsidiary of Lloyds TSB
Lloyds TSB
Lloyds TSB Bank Plc is a retail bank in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1995 by the merger of Lloyds Bank, established in Birmingham, England in 1765 and traditionally considered one of the Big Four clearing banks, with the TSB Group which traces its origins to 1810...
. The large insurer Ecclesiastical Insurance
Ecclesiastical Insurance
Ecclesiastical Insurance is an insurance company in the United Kingdom founded in 1887. The head office is located in Gloucester.The company is formally named Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc and is authorised and regulated by the FSA...
is based in the city, as is its owner, the charity Allchurches Trust
Allchurches Trust
Allchurches Trust is a registered charity in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Gloucester. It was established in 1972 to act as the beneficial owner of the major insurance company Ecclesiastical Insurance, whose profits it receives. It is affiliated to the Church of England.Its objects are to...
.
Gloucester was the home of Priday, Metford and Company Limited
Priday, Metford and Company Limited
Priday, Metford and Company Limited was a family-run company that produced flour at the City Flour Mills, Gloucester, England for over a century. They were closed down in 1994 and the premises converted to luxury apartments under the name of "Priday's Mill". The City Flour Mills were the location...
, a family milling firm which survived for over one hundred years, and hydraulic engineering firm Fielding & Platt
Fielding & Platt
Fielding & Platt was a firm of hydraulic engineers who were an important part of the manufacturing sector in Gloucester until the 1990s. Started by two Lancashire men, Samuel Fielding and James Platt, the firm exploited the portable hydraulic rivetting technology of Ralph Hart Tweddell to build a...
.
Gloucester Business Park
Gloucester Business Park
Gloucester Business Park is a business park situated in Hucclecote on the outskirts of Gloucester, England with close links to the M5 and A417.Current residents of the business park include Direct Wines, Horizon Nuclear Power, Fortis, NHS and Detica....
is a business park
Business park
A business park or office park is an area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. All of the work that goes on is commercial, not industrial or residential....
on the outskirts on the city and is home to a number of big brands including Fortis
Fortis (finance)
Fortis N.V./S.A. was a company active in insurance, banking and investment management. In 2007 it was the 20th largest business in the world by revenue but after encountering severe problems in the financial crisis of 2008, most of the company was sold in parts, with only insurance activities...
and Detica
Detica
Detica is an international business and technology consulting firm owned by BAE Systems. It specialises in collecting, managing and exploiting information to reveal actionable intelligence...
.
Sport and leisure
- Kingsholm Stadium is the ground of Gloucester RFCGloucester RFCGloucester Rugby are a professional English rugby union club situated in the west country city of Gloucester. The club plays in the domestic Aviva Premiership...
, founded in 1873, one of EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
's top rugby unionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
clubs and a member of the Aviva Premiership. - Meadow Park was the home of Gloucester City A.F.C.Gloucester City A.F.C.Gloucester City Association Football Club is an English semi-professional association football club currently based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire in South West England, via groundshare agreement....
, founded in 1883, of the Blue Square North. The club currently play matches at arch rivals Cheltenham Town's Whaddon RoadWhaddon RoadWhaddon Road is a football stadium in Cheltenham, England. It is the home ground of Cheltenham Town F.C. and shared with Gloucester City A.F.C.. It has a total capacity of 7,066, with a mixture of seating and terracing...
Stadium in CheltenhamCheltenhamCheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
due to the 2007 Floods and have been homeless since then. - The Gloucester Cricket FestivalGloucestershire County Cricket ClubGloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
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 MatsonMatson, Gloucester- History :Unlike neighbouring villages, such as Brookthorpe and Upton St Leonards, Matson is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. It appears to have been a part of Kings Barton at the time of the survey...
district is home to Gloucester Ski and Snowboard Centre dry slope skiingArtificial ski slopesA dry ski slope or artificial ski slope is a ski slope that mimics the attributes of snow using materials that are stable at room temperature, to enable people to ski where natural slopes are inconvenient or unavailable....
facility (with two slopes of 220m and 150m respectively down the side of Robinswood Hill) and an 18 hole golfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
course. - Gloucester City Swimming ClubGloucester City Swimming ClubGloucester City Swimming Club is a swimming club based in Gloucester, United Kingdom, which was founded in 1910. Its home pool is GL1. It is one of the most successful clubs in the United Kingdom....
competes in county and national swimmingSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
championships, head coach is Graham Brookhouse, who won a Bronze Medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics1988 Summer OlympicsThe 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...
. - Bentham Domes on the outskirts of Gloucester boasts one of the largest 5-a-side leagues in Europe.
- The Gloucester Banshees American FootballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
are based in the city at Oxstalls Tennis Centre, and play at a national level in the British American Football LeagueBritish American Football LeagueThe British American Football League was the United Kingdom's primary American Football league from 1998 until 2010. It was formerly known as the British Senior League until 2005. BAFL was the trading name for Gridiron Football League Ltd incorporated as a Company limited by guarantee.... - The Gloucester Vipers (seniors) & Gloucester Boxers (junior) Skater Hockey Club. Compete in BIPHA (puck) & BISHA (ball) leagues.
Media
The CitizenThe Citizen (Gloucester)
The Citizen is a daily newspaper in Gloucester, England, that covers Gloucester, Stroud and the Forest of Dean.The paper was first published on 1 May 1876 and today it is part of the Northcliffe Media group. The current Editor is Ian Mean....
, published by Northcliffe Media
Northcliffe Media
Northcliffe Media Ltd. is a large regional newspaper publisher in the UK and Central and Eastern Europe, owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. The company's name was changed to Northcliffe Media from Northcliffe Newspaper Group in 2007.It operates from over 30 publishing centres, and also...
is Gloucester's main daily newspaper, which shares some content with the Gloucestershire Echo
Gloucestershire Echo
The Gloucestershire Echo is a daily paper produced by Gloucestershire Media, part of Northcliffe Media. It was founded in 1873.The newspaper is based in St James' House in the centre of Cheltenham...
and the weekly Forester covering the Forest of Dean and Chepstow.
BBC Radio Gloucestershire
BBC Radio Gloucestershire
BBC Radio Gloucestershire is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Gloucestershire, which started on 3 October 1988. It broadcasts from its studios in London Rd, Gloucester on 95 , 95.8 , 104.7 FM, 1413 in the Cotswolds & Forest of Dean AM and over the internet.-Transmitters:The...
has its studios on London Road. Heart Gloucestershire, previously Severn Sound, is based in Eastgate Shopping Centre. Gloucester FM
Gloucester FM
Gloucester FM is a community radio station in Gloucestershire. It broadcasts countywide on 96.6 FM & online The stations strapline is 'Serving the Community', Gloucester FM prides itself on being the only local radio station in the City of Gloucester providing Music, News, Information &...
is a community radio station specializing in black and urban music. Local radio is broadcast from transmitters on Churchdown Hill (Chosen Hill), and for television reception Gloucester is in a transmitter overlap area between Ridge Hill (Midlands) and Mendip (West), although the West regional broadcasts best covers the city.
A number of TV and film productions have been filmed in Gloucester; most notably at the Cathedral and Docks. These include three of the Harry Potter movies, Doctor Who and Outlaw.
Culture
The Three Choirs FestivalThree Choirs Festival
The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held each August alternately at the cathedrals of the Three Counties and originally featuring their three choirs, which remain central to the week-long programme...
, 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
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
and Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
. Gloucester hosted the festival in 2010, and it is next due in the city in 2013.
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, hosts concerts and has a larger capacity than the Guildhall.
The annual Gloucester International Rhythm and Blues Festival takes place at the end of July and early August. http://www.gloucesterblues.co.uk 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.
The main museum in the City is the Gloucester City Museum & Art Gallery
Gloucester City Museum & Art Gallery
Gloucester City Museum & Art Gallery in Brunswick Road is the main museum in the City of Gloucester. It has recently been extensively renovated following a large National Heritage Lottery Fund grant and it reopened on Gloucester Day, 3 September 2011....
but there are several other important museums.
Nature in Art
Nature in Art
Nature in Art is a museum and art gallery at Wallsworth Hall, Twigworth, Gloucester, England, dedicated exclusively to art inspired by nature in all forms, styles and media...
is a gallery dedicated to the display of works of art inspired by the natural world.
Notable people
Notable residents of Gloucester have included:- Hubert Cecil BoothHubert Cecil BoothHubert Cecil Booth was a British engineer who invented the first powered vacuum cleaner.He also designed Ferris wheels, suspension bridges and factories. Later he became Chairman and Managing Director of the British Vacuum Cleaner and Engineering Co.-Early life:Booth was born in Gloucester, England...
(1871–1955), inventor of the vacuum cleanerVacuum cleanerA vacuum cleaner, commonly referred to as a "vacuum," is a device that uses an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dust and dirt, usually from floors, and optionally from other surfaces as well. The dirt is collected by either a dustbag or a cyclone for later disposal... - Alastair CookAlastair CookAlastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...
(b. 1984), cricketer - Stuart FleetwoodStuart FleetwoodStuart Keith Fleetwood is an English-born Wales under-21 international footballer who plays as a striker for Luton Town.-Early life:...
(b. 1986), footballer - Marcel GarveyMarcel GarveyMarcel Garvey is an English rugby union player. He is first generation British born with Jamaican parents, Almando and Glasmie Garvey. He went to St Peter's High School, Gloucester, the same school as former Gloucester team-mate Ryan Lamb....
(b. 1983), rugby player - Tom GoddardTom GoddardTom Goddard was the fifth highest wicket taker in first-class cricket....
(1900–1966), cricketer - Phil GreeningPhil GreeningPhil Greening is a former English rugby union footballer. Greening finished his rugby career with London Wasps in 2005. During his career he earned 24 caps for England, as well as going to Australia with the British and Irish Lions in 2001.His rugby career started at his place of birth, Gloucester...
(b. 1975), rugby player - Paul GrovesPaul GrovesPaul Groves is an English former footballer who notably captained and managed Grimsby Town. He was naturally a central midfield player, but later in his career was used as a central defender...
(b. 1947), poet - Ivor GurneyIvor GurneyIvor Bertie Gurney was an English composer and poet.-Life:Born at 3 Queen Street, Gloucester in 1890, the second of four children of David Gurney, a tailor, and his wife Florence, a seamstress, Gurney showed musical ability early...
(1890–1937), composer and poet - Andy HazellAndy HazellAndy Hazell is an English rugby union player who plays at flanker for Gloucester Rugby.He took up the game aged 12 when he joined Old Richians, where he stayed for four years before joining another of his local teams, Gloucester Old Boys. His first representative game was for the South West U16s...
(b. 1978), rugby player - William Ernest HenleyWilliam Ernest HenleyWilliam Ernest Henley was an English poet, critic and editor, best remembered for his 1875 poem "Invictus".-Life and career:...
(1849–1903), poet, critic, and editor - Thomas MachenThomas MachenThomas Machen was a mercer who was mayor of Gloucester three times and sat in the House of Commons in 1614 .Machen was the son of Henry Machen and his wife, whose surname may have been Baugh or Brayh. He was possibly the Thomas Machin who in 1562 supplicated for his MA at Oxford University,...
(c. 1541–1614), mayor of Gloucester three times and MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
once - Tina MayTina MayTina May is an English female jazz vocalist who has recorded several albums on the 33 Records label, born in Gloucester, U.K.. She lived in Frampton-on-Severn when she was young, and attended Stroud High School. Her ex-husband, Clark Tracey, appears on most of her albums for the label. May has...
(b. 1961), jazz vocalist - Simon PeggSimon PeggSimon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. He is best known for having co-written and stared in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film...
(b. 1970), actor, comedian, and writer - Robert Raikes the ElderRobert Raikes the ElderRobert Raikes the Elder was a British printer and newspaper proprietor. He is noted as a pioneer of the press who was instrumental in bringing printing out of London and to the provinces.- Biography :...
(1690–1757), "the printer of Gloucester", founder of the Gloucester Journal, early pioneer of press freedom, buried in church of St Mary de CryptSt Mary de Crypt ChurchSt Mary de Crypt Church, Southgate Street, Gloucester GL1, is an Anglican house of worship, which was first recorded in 1140 as The Church of the Blessed Mary within Southgate. It is in the Diocese of Gloucester and is located adjacent to the ruins of Greyfriars. It has also been known as Christ... - Robert RaikesRobert RaikesRobert Raikes was an English philanthropist and Anglican layman, noted for his promotion of Sunday schools...
(1735–1811), English philanthropistPhilanthropistA philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
and Anglican layman, noted for his promotion of Sunday schoolSunday schoolSunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
s - Thomas RaikesThomas RaikesThomas Raikes was a British merchant particularly trading from London with Russia, a banker and newspaper proprietor...
(1741–1813), banker and merchant in London, who as Bank of EnglandBank of EnglandThe Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
governor issued the first £1 and £2 English pound notesSterling banknotesSterling banknotes are the banknotes in circulation in the British Islands , denominated in pounds sterling . One pound is equivalent to 100 pence....
in 1797 - Scott ReddingScott ReddingScott Christopher Redding , is an English Grand Prix motorcycle racer who currently rides in the 600cc Moto2 class for team Marc VDS Racing Team. He holds the distinction of being the youngest rider in the history of Grand Prix motorcycle racing to ever win a race, breaking Marco Melandri's 10-year...
(b. 1993), motorcyclist - John Stafford SmithJohn Stafford SmithJohn Stafford Smith was a British composer, church organist, and early musicologist. He was one of the first serious collectors of manuscripts of works by Johann Sebastian Bach....
(1750–1836), composer of the American national anthem - Nathan Sykes (b. 1993), youngest member of British boyband The Wanted.
- Mike TeagueMike TeagueMichael Clive Teague is a former England and British Lions rugby union footballer.-Early life:Teague was born and raised on a pig farm a few miles outside Gloucester...
(b. 1960), former England rugby unionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
footballer - Wayne Thomas (b. 1979), footballer
- Fred WestFred WestFrederick Walter Stephen West , was a British serial killer. Between 1967 and 1987, he alone, and later, he and his wife Rosemary, tortured, raped and murdered at least 11 young women and girls, many at the couple's homes. The majority of the murders occurred between May 1973 and September 1979 at...
(1941–1995) and Rose West (b. 1953) serial killers who tortured, raped and murdered at least 12 young women. - Charles WheatstoneCharles WheatstoneSir Charles Wheatstone FRS , was an English scientist and inventor of many scientific breakthroughs of the Victorian era, including the English concertina, the stereoscope , and the Playfair cipher...
(1802–1875), scientist and inventor - George Whitfield (1714–1770), Church of EnglandChurch of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
minister and a leader in the Methodist movement - John Clarke WhitfieldJohn Clarke WhitfieldJohn Clarke Whitfield , English organist and composer, was born at Gloucester, and educated at Oxford under Dr Philip Hayes....
(1770–1836), organist and composer - Dick Whittington (1350–1401), in the real story of Dick Whittington
- Jemmy WoodJemmy WoodJames Wood was the owner of the Gloucester Old Bank who became nationally known as The Gloucester Miser...
(1756–1836), legendary miser and owner of the Gloucester Old BankGloucester Old BankThe Gloucester Old Bank was founded in 1716 by James Wood. The bank was said to have been the oldest private bank in Britain, having survived the financial consequences of the Napoleonic Wars when many other banks went out of business. The claim was wrong as both C. Hoare & Co and Child & Co...
.
Twin cities
Gloucester is twinned with MetzMetz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
, France, since 1967; Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
, Germany, since 1957; Saint Ann, Jamaica, since 1987; and Gouda
Gouda
Gouda is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Gouda, which was granted city rights in 1272, is famous for its Gouda cheese, smoking pipes, and 15th-century city hall....
, Netherlands, since 1972.