On Thursday 4th December, 27 members and villagers set out to visit Gloucester Cathedral and the city. On arrival 23 of us walked the short distance to the Cathedral, where we were welcomed with coffee and home-made cookies before splitting into two groups for tours of the cathedral and the crypt. The other four left us to explore the city by themselves.
The guides, without reference to any notes at all, told us all about the history of the Cathedral, from its origin as a twin minster founded in Saxon times by King Osric, King of the Hwicce in 678-9, and whose sister Kyneburge was the first abbess, its transition to a Benedictine monastery in the 11th century, and then to an abbey in Norman times. William the Conqueror held his Christmas Court in the chapter house in 1085, and his son, Robert is buried at Gloucester, commemorated by a magnificent effigy carved in bog oak about 100 years after his death in 1134.
The royal connection continued with the coronation of Henry III in 1216 after the death of his father King John of Magna Carta fame, and just over hundred years later in 1327, Edward II was buried at Gloucester after his mysterious murder at nearby Berkeley Castle.
One of the most striking things about looking around the cathedral was the enormous amount of Norman (or Romanesque) architecture remaining, including the Crypt, the East End, the Chapter House and the pillars in the Nave, many of which are covered in masons’ marks. The Nave was dressed with beautiful floral displays ready for Advent.
Gloucester is also the birthplace of Perpendicular Architecture, as Edward III sent the royal masons to experiment with a new French style for the burial of his father. You can see the results in the Quire and Presbytery. The Quire remained untouched for almost 500 years before undergoing extensive restoration work under the great Victorian architect Sir George Gilbert Scott. The cloisters, used in the filming of the Harry Potter films, are another example of wonderful medieval fan vaulting. We were very lucky to see the cloisters dressed for Christmas, with balloons on the theme of “The 12 Days of Christmas” hung from the ceiling, and wonderful floral arrangements in a variety of colours arranged along the sides of the corridors. The tour ended with a chance to go down through a big red door to see the crypt.
By this time 2 hours had flown by, and it was time for a much-needed buffet lunch in the Parliament Room. Then, everyone went their separate ways until it was time to return to the coach. Some went shopping, some to the Waterways Museum in the docks, and some never made it out of the Cathedral as there was still so much to see.
All in all, it was an excellent day out, and some people were spotted having a nap on the coach on the way back, a sure sign of a day well-spent!
