City of Gloucester

The views above are over Gloucester docks.  Gloucester is still today a seaport, and it is England's most inland one.  Today however, most of the boats that use the harbour are pleasure boats as little commerical traffic remains.

History

At some time in the late 40's or early 50's AD the Roman Army built a fortress at the first place the River Severn could safely be crossed.  Approximately 10 years later the Romans decided to invade nearby Wales and the original fortress was replaced one that is closer to the present city centre.  This new fortress served the army as a base for many forays into Wales.  Eventually, as they pushed the Welsh further, they also moved their army base further into Wales (Caerleon) and the fortress at the river was gradually converted into a sort of retirement community of the first century for time expired legionaires.

The next mention of the area was during the reign of Roman Emporer Nerva (AD 96 - 98) when he granted the settlement the title of "Colonia Nervia Glevensis."  A Colonia was the highest statu a Roman provincial town could attain and it became an administrative centre governed by a council. It was more popularly known as "Glevum" and the new city rapidly expanded and by the second century could boast such things as a "planned" street layout, impressive buildings and a piped water supply.  Many Roman villas sprang up in the surrounding areas much like the present day suburbs.  Modern day excavations show that Glevum posessed a Forum, Basilica and some of the most luxurious homes and villas of second century England.

Sadly, the gradual decay of the Roman Empire meant the Romans departed in the fifth century, never to return and the invading Anglo-Saxons made short work of Glevum.  A battle was recorded in 577 which ended when three British kings were captured and slain.  Nearby Roman Cirencester and Bath suffered the same fate, and the whole area lost a great deal of "civilisation."

In 679, Osric, king of the Hwicce (of the Saxons) founded a monastery at Gloucester dedicated to St Peter very near the site of the present day cathedral.

By the tenth century, Gloucester was a key city in the ancient kingdom of Mercia and was refortified and replanned by Queen Aethelflaeda (daughter of Alfred the Great).  This was due to the Danish who were sending armies from Brittany.  Today's street plan is very close to the Queen's layout.  She also dedicated the new minster church of St Oswald around 900.  The king and Saint were interred in the church and the place became a national shrine.

During the reign of Edward the Confessor, Gloucester became a meeting place of the Witanagemot and this made Gloucester easily as important as Winchester or London.

It was all to change in 1066 when William the Conqueror of Normandy took the English throne (his descendants are still on the throne).  William took a liking to Gloucester and continued to hold meetings and important councils at Gloucester.  It was at one such meeting in 1085 that he called for the great survey of the kingdom which resulted in the famous Domesday Book.  Many Gloucester sites can find their roots in the Domesday Book, copies of which are still to be found in Britain.  Nearby, the abbey of St Peter was suffering from neglect, and William appointed a monk Serlo of Bayeux to restore the abbey.  Serlo began by rebuilding a great deal and he is credited with the great nave of Gloucester cathedral which is of course in the Norman style.  William also built a motte and timber castle on a nearby high point (which they made a bit higher) overlooking the river crossing.

In the twelfth century, the castle was replaced by a large stone keep and also had stone walls and a deep moat.

Henry the first granted Gloucester a charter in 1155 which afforded it the same status as London and Winchester.  During this period it could be said that Gloucester was certainly one of the top five cities in Britain in terms of importance.

On 28 October 1216 nine year old Henry III was brought to St Peter's abbey to be crowned.  To this day he is the only Engish monarch (since 1066) to be crowned outside of Westminster Abbey.  This was done for political reasons as many saw a nine year old as being unfit for the throne and would seek to take the throne for themselves.  By crowning him immediately, anyone else with ambition would be accused of treason.  Fortunately for Gloucester, Henry was a very religious man and contributed to the growth and fortunes of Gloucester and the abbey during his reign.  He granted huge oak trees from the nearby Royal Forest of Dean to be used in the construction and expansion of the abbey as well as several other friaries in town.  Remains of two friaries (Blackfriars and Greyfriars) survive today.  The third friary, Whitefriars was destroyed and no trace of it remains today.

By a twist of fate, Henry III was also later held prisoner at Gloucester in 1263 during the Baron's War.

An event occured in 1327 when the abbot of St Peter accepted for burial the body of slain king Edward II.  Edward was slain at nearby Barclay Castle by his own family members.  The king's tomb became a shrine for his loyal supporters and modifications were made to the cathedral area where the tomb is to accomodate the pilgrims.  The pilgrims came for over two centuries.

By the 1470's, the abbey of St Peter neared its present size.  In 1535, King Henry VIII and new wife Anne Boleyn visited Gloucester and stayed as guests of the abbot.  Later this same year Henry passed the infamous Act of Supremecy which made him (and not the pope) head of the church of England.  By 1540 most monasteries and abbeys in England had been destroyed by the dissolution but the abbey of St Peter was spared the destruction but not the dissolution.  Probably due to the two royal connections, the abbey was retained as the Cathedral of Gloucester and became an Anglican church which it remains today.

One of Henry VIII's descendents, "Bloody" MaryTudor attempted to convert the country back to Catholicism but was unsuccessful.  Many Protestants were martyred during this time and in Gloucester, the outspoken Bishop John Hooper, second bishop of Gloucester, was burnt at the stake in St Mary's square on 9 February 1555.  A monument stands there today.

Mary's successor, Elizabeth turned the country back into a Protestant one, and also granted Gloucester the status of a royal port city.  This meant foreign vessels could legally travel to Gloucester to unload their wares and a customs house was built at the docks.

In 1642, civil war broke out in England.  Gloucester was on the side of the parliamentary forces and therefore an enemy of the King (Charles I).  On 10 august 1643, a royalist army commanded by the king himself laid seige to Gloucester.  The city was commanded by a 23 year old Colonel Edward Massey.  He had two about 1500 men to defend the city against an estimated 30,000 royalists.  The city resisted the bombardment for 26 days when the king withdrew.  During this time, the largest seige engine built on site, fell over and got stuck in the mire of the city ditch and fortunately for the city could not be used.  The locals nicknamed the siege engine Humpty Dumpty and made up a rhyme about it that survives to this day.

Since this time period, Gloucester has continued to slowly prosper and produce famous people.  The area became a centre for pin manufacturing and bell founding.  In 1827 the Gloucester/Sharpness canal was completed and was the widest and deepest canal in the world for the time.  The canal enabled ships to sail into and out of Gloucester at any time or day instead of relying on the tides.  This resulted in a large expansion of the docks, most of which survives today.

In the twentieth century, Gloucester became famous as the birthplace of the jet engine.

Famous sons and daughters

George Whitefield - 1714 / 1777

Famous Methodist orator and philanthropist, co founder of Harvard University and Princton University

Robert Raikes the Younger - 1736 / 1811

Champion of the poor, established Sunday schools throughout England

William Earnest (W.E.) Henley - 1849 / 1903

writer, playwright and poet. 

It was William's daughter Margaret who inspired J.M. Barrie to name the character Wendy in Peter Pan.  Margaret could only remember "my friendly" (pet name for JM Barrie) as fwendy.

Ivor Gurney - 1890 / 1937

poet and composer, author of Severn and Somme, WWI book of poems

Sir Charles Wheatstone - 1802 / 1875

Inventor and scientist, likely true inventor of the telephone and phonograph.  Invented device to measure resistance (Wheatstone Bridge), and rotating mirror first used to measure speed of light.  Close friend to a very young Alexander Graham Bell.  Also invented stereoscope for viewing 3d photographs and one of the first telegraphs.  Pioneer in laying first transatlantic cable (telegraph) and was knighted for this work.

John Stafford Smith - 1750 / 1836

composer, singer, organist

John Smith was a member of the Anachreon society and composed a tune for them named Anachreon To Heaven which became very popular on both sides of the Atlantic.  During the second year of the war of 1812, a young attorney Francis Scott Key was on board the attacking British warships in Baltimore harbour attempting to negotiate the release of some American prisoners.  While waiting out the night on the ships, he watched the ships unsuccesful attack on the fort throughout the night and composed a short poem based on one of his favourite songs.  In 1931 the US Congress adopted The Star Spangled Banner as the US National Anthem.

Bishop John Hooper - 1495 / 1555

outspoken Protestant, bishop of Gloucester, martyred by Mary Tudor

Gloucester Cathedral

One of my favourite places in Gloucester is the cathedral.  Built on much older old Roman remains it is around 1000 years old.  Originally a Catholic Cisterian Abbey, it was taken by the crown during the reformation.  While most medieval abbeys were ordered torn down by King Henry VIII, Gloucester survived to become a cathedral because one English king was crowned there, and another one was buried there.  Due to the familial connection the king spared the church and converted it into Gloucester cathedral of the Anglican church of England.

The Cathedral will soon be featured in the upcoming Henry Potter film due out in summer 2001 where it will be the Hogarth school of witchcraft.

Looking toward Gloucester and the Vale of Severn.

Gloucester is positioned on the River Severn and as such is in the valley of the river.  It is a wide valley and stretches from the Cotswold hills to the Black hills on the west side.  Following are a few views over the valley taken from the nearby hill around Birdlip.

Other links:

The River Severn has the second largest tidal bore in the world.  Don't know what a tidal bore is?  Read all about this natural phenomenon on this web page. 

http://www.higgins.force9.co.uk/severn.htm

Our local newspaper has a link to events and happenings in the county at

www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk