We are jumping back to the autumn of 2022 for this post. What can I say..I need to write more and travel less...naaa....
While I went to Gloucester (pronounced "Gloster") it was to trace my roots My grandfather was born in the Gloucester area and I visited various sites from his childhood as well as visiting graves of his family. That will be a different post though.
So welcome to Gloucester which is the county town of Gloucestershire with a population of around 120,000 in the city itself. This "walk" will be a combination of what I saw rambling around the city.
I had booked an Airbnb just a ten-minute walk out of the city centre. I didn't meet the owners until the end of my nine-day stay as they were away on a holiday. My room and the facilities were great but I did miss having a television.
A "do it yourself" breakfast awaited me every morning. I loved that blue tea kettle!! A long-term guest who is a medical student at the local university was in charge of the house while the host family was away and we had some pleasant conversations if we happened to be in the kitchen at the same time.
On the first day as I headed into town I happened to glance right down a side street and saw this...
In the summer of 2020 local artist Tash Frootko transformed (with the owners' permission) forty of the fifty-four houses on St Mark's Street with bright colours. It is now known as Rainbow Street. There are a couple of other streets that have been done up the same - I loved it! The original colour is a dreary grey. I'm sure in the depths of the pandemic lockdown this would have provided some cheer to the residents.
My very first stop was the beautiful Gloucester Cathedral. There was an Abbey on this site since 681 and the present building was dedicated in 1100.
I approached the Cathedral through this gate and of course I had to pop into the Beatrix Potter shop.
Gloucester Cathedral was featured in one or more of the Harry Potter movies so I'm told. The cloisters are the earliest surviving of that type in England and date from the 14th century.
This is the tomb of Robert the Duke of Normandy who was Edward the Conquerer's son.
This is a monument to Elizabeth Williams who died in childbirth in 1622 at the age of 17. Her baby (who lived just long enough to be baptized) is beside her. She was the daughter of Miles Smith, Bishop of Gloucester from 1612 to 1624. Her sister Margerie Clent also died in childbirth and if that wasn't enough three out of four of the Bishop's sons died in 1647 fighting for Charles I. This monument is referred to as The Tragic Sisters even though it features only one of them.
The picture above was taken in the Chapter House where the monks would meet to discuss the business of the monastery. The Chapter House itself dates from the Norman period although the stained glass is more contemporary.
Okay let's go outside and get some fresh air.
This gargoyle on the outside of the cathedral looks like it has a soother in its mouth!!! From the look on its face I don't think I'd want to tell it that!
The grounds of the Cathedral were quite lovely as well.
These buildings were gorgeous as well but not much going on inside them. I'm sure it would cost a fortune to restore them.
This is the Bishop Hooper memorial. John Hooper was a Bishop who travelled the continent promoting Protestantism and suffered a horrific death when burned at the stake under the reign of "Bloody Mary". Ah religion...so very peaceful isn't it.
Time for lunch! While the chips were good this giant yorkshire pudding won't go into the records as one of the best ones I've had.
These are the remains of a Tudor-era church of Franciscan "Grey Friars". The church was founded in 1231 but rebuilt in the mid-16th century. Once again these are in the middle of the city and people walk by every day like it is nothing. Sometimes my head wants to explode with all the history around me in Britain and Europe.
Comments