Gloucester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester Gloucester (pronounced /ˈɡlɒstər/ GLOS-tər) 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 km) north-east of Bristol, and 45 miles (72 km) south-southwest of Birmingham, England The area now called England has been settled by people of various cultures for about 35,000 years, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant, 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 Simon Peter , sometimes called Simon Cephas (Greek: Σιμων Κηφᾶς, Symōn Kēphas; Aramaic: Šimʕōn Kêfâ; Syriac: ܫܡܥܘܢ ܟܐܦܐ, Sëmʕān Kêfâ) after his name in Hellenized Aramaic, was a leader of the early Christian Church, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. Peter was (dissolved The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their income, disposed of their assets and provided for their former by King Henry VIII Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) and claimant to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII).
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History
Gloucester Cathedral in 1828Foundations
The foundations of the present church were laid by Abbot Serlo (1072–1104), later to become the first Dean of Exeter Exeter Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter at Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city of Exeter, Devon in South West England. Walter Gloucester (d. 1412) the abbey's historian, became its first mitred abbot in 1381. Until 1541, Gloucester lay in the see of Worcester, but the separate see was then constituted, with John Wakeman, last abbot of Tewkesbury The Abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Tewkesbury in the English county of Gloucestershire is the second largest parish church in the country and a former Benedictine monastery, as its first bishop. The diocese covers the greater part of Gloucestershire The county town is the city of Gloucester, and other principal towns include Cheltenham, Stroud, Cirencester, and Tewkesbury, with small parts of Herefordshire The county is one of the most rural and sparsely populated in England, with a population density of 82/km² . The land use is predominantly agricultural and the county is well known for its fruit and cider production, and the Hereford cattle breed and Wiltshire Wiltshire is characterised by its high downland and wide valleys. Salisbury Plain is famous as the location of the Stonehenge stone circle and other ancient landmarks and as the main training area in the UK of the British Army. The city of Salisbury is notable for its medieval cathedral. Important country houses open to the public include Longleat,. The cathedral has a stained glass window containing the earliest images of golf Golf is a precision club-and-ball sport, in which competing players , using many types of clubs, attempt to hit balls into each hole on a golf course while employing the fewest number of strokes. Golf is one of the few ball games that does not require a standardized playing area. Instead, the game is played on golf "courses", each of. This dates from 1350, over 300 years earlier than the earliest image of golf from Scotland.[1] There is also a carved image of people playing a ball game, believed by some to be one of the earliest images of medieval football The game of football is any of several similar team sports, of similar origins which involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot in an attempt to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer". Unqualified, the word football.
Construction and architecture
The cathedral, built as the abbey church, consists of a Norman The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used for English Romanesque architecture. The Normans introduced large numbers of castles and fortifications nucleus (Walter de Lacy is buried there), with additions in every style of Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture. It is 420 feet (130 m) long, and 144 feet (44 m) wide, with a fine central tower of the 15th century rising to the height of 225 ft (69 m) and topped by four delicate pinnacles A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly used in Gothic architecture, a famous landmark. The nave is massive Norman with an Early English roof; the crypt In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a church usually used as a chapel or burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics, under the choir, aisles and chapels, is Norman, as is the chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room attached to a cathedral or collegiate church in which meetings are held. They can also be found in medieval monasteries. The crypt is one of the four apsidal cathedral crypts in England, the others being at Worcester Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, England; situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. Its official name is The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin of Worcester, Winchester Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe. Dedicated to the Holy Trinity, Saint Peter, Saint Paul, and Saint Swithun, it is the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and centre of the Diocese of Winchester and Canterbury Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site.
The south porch is in the Perpendicular style, with a fan-vaulted A fan vault is a form of vault used in the Perpendicular Gothic style, in which the ribs are all of the same curve and spaced equidistantly, in a manner resembling a fan. The initiation and propagation of this design element is strongly associated with England roof, as also is the north transept The transept is the area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture. The transept separates the nave from the sanctuary, whether apse, choir, chevet, presbytery or chancel. The transepts cross the nave at the crossing, which belongs equally to the main nave axis and to the transept, the south being transitional Decorated Gothic. The choir has Perpendicular tracery over Norman work, with an apsidal chapel on each side: the choir vaulting is particularly rich. The late Decorated east window is partly filled with surviving medieval stained glass The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works made from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings. Although traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also. Between the apsidal chapels is a cross Lady chapel A Lady chapel is a traditional English term for a chapel inside a cathedral or large church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Most large medieval churches had such a chapel, as Roman Catholic ones still do, and middle-sized churches often had a side-altar dedicated to Mary, and north of the nave are the cloisters A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a warm southern flank, usually indicates that it is not (or was once) part of a, the carrels or stalls for the monks' study and writing lying to the south. The cloisters at Gloucester are the earliest surviving fan vaults A fan vault is a form of vault used in the Perpendicular Gothic style, in which the ribs are all of the same curve and spaced equidistantly, in a manner resembling a fan. The initiation and propagation of this design element is strongly associated with England, having been designed between 1351 and 1377 by Thomas de Cambridge[2].
South cloisters with fan vaulted A fan vault is a form of vault used in the Perpendicular Gothic style, in which the ribs are all of the same curve and spaced equidistantly, in a manner resembling a fan. The initiation and propagation of this design element is strongly associated with England roof The cathedral from the south west in 1895The most notable monument is the canopied shrine of King Edward II of England Edward II, called Edward of Carnarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. He was the seventh Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II. Interspersed between the strong reigns of his father Edward I and son Edward III, the reign of Edward II was disastrous for England, marked by incompetence, who was murdered at nearby Berkeley Castle Berkeley Castle is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, UK (grid reference ST685989) (illustration below). The building and sanctuary were enriched by the visits of pilgrims to this shrine. In a side-chapel is a monument in coloured bog oak Bog-wood is wood from trees that have been buried in peat bogs and preserved from decay by the acidic and anaerobic bog conditions, sometimes for hundreds or even thousands of years. The wood is usually stained brown by tannins dissolved in the acidic water. Bog-wood represents the early stages in the fossilisation of wood, with further stages of Robert Curthose Robert Curthose or Robert II was the Duke of Normandy from 1087 until 1106 and an unsuccessful claimant to the throne of the Kingdom of England. His nickname, Curthose, comes from the Norman French Courtheuse, meaning short stockings (or in English - curt [short] & hose [stockings] ), as it is sometimes translated, Shortstockings. William of, eldest son of William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (c. 1027 or 1028 – 9 September 1087), also known as William I of England, was the King of England from Christmas, 1066 until his death. He was also William II, Duke of Normandy, from 3 July 1035 until his death. Before his conquest of England, he was known as "William the Bastard" because of the illegitimacy of and a great benefactor of the abbey, who was interred there. Monuments of Bishop Warburton and Dr Edward Jenner Edward Anthony Jenner was an English scientist who studied his natural surroundings in Berkeley, Gloucestershire. Jenner is widely credited as the pioneer of smallpox vaccine, and is sometimes referred to as the 'Father of Immunology'. Jenner's discovery 'has saved more lives than the work of any other man' are also worthy of note.
Between 1873 and 1890, and in 1897, the cathedral was extensively restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses.
Misericords
The cathedral has forty-six 14th-century misericords A misericord is a small wooden shelf on the underside of a folding seat in a church, installed to provide a degree of comfort for a person who has to stand during long periods of prayer and twelve 19th-century replacements by George Gilbert Scott. Both types have a wide range of subject matter: mythology, everyday occurrences, religious symbolism and folklore.
Music
Three Choirs Festival
An annual musical festival, the Three Choirs Festival, is hosted by turns in this cathedral and those of Worcester Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, England; situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. Its official name is The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin of Worcester and Hereford The current Hereford Cathedral, located at Hereford in England, dates from 1079. Its most famous treasure is Mappa Mundi, a mediæval map of the world dating from the 13th century. The cathedral is a Grade I listed building in turn.[3] The festival is the oldest annual musical festival in the world. Three Choirs Festival
Organ
Details of the organ from the National Pipe Organ Register
Organists
The known organists of the cathedral are listed below. In modern times, the most senior post has become known as Director of Music; only these names are recorded here.
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Assistant organists
Tomb of Edward II Edward II, called Edward of Carnarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. He was the seventh Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II. Interspersed between the strong reigns of his father Edward I and son Edward III, the reign of Edward II was disastrous for England, marked by incompetence,- William Hine 1707 – 1710 (later organist of Gloucester Cathedral)
- John Alexander Matthews 1862 - 1865
- Henry John Vaughan ? - 1873
- George Robertson Sinclair 1879 – 1880 (later organist at Truro Cathedral and Hereford Cathedral The current Hereford Cathedral, located at Hereford in England, dates from 1079. Its most famous treasure is Mappa Mundi, a mediæval map of the world dating from the 13th century. The cathedral is a Grade I listed building)
- A. Herbert Brewer 1880 - 1882
- George Washbourn Morgan
- James Capener
- A. Herbert Brewer - 1896
- Ivor Morgan 1898
- Ambrose Robert Porter 1907 – 1913 (later organist of Lichfield Cathedral)
- Harold C. Organ 1915 -
- Reginald Tustin Baker 1920 – 1926 (later organist of Sheffield Cathedral)
- William O Minay 1926 – 1927 (later organist of Wigan Parish Church)
- Arthur John Pritchard 1927 – 1932[5]
- (Alfred) Melville Cook 1932 – 1937[6] (later organist of Hereford Cathedral The current Hereford Cathedral, located at Hereford in England, dates from 1079. Its most famous treasure is Mappa Mundi, a mediæval map of the world dating from the 13th century. The cathedral is a Grade I listed building)
- W. Lugg 1938
- Peter Stuart Rodway
- Donald Frederick Hunt 1948 – 1954
- Wallace Michael Ross 1954 – 1958 (later organist of Derby Cathedral)
- John Sanders 1958 – 1963[7]
- Richard Latham
- John Francis Clough
- Andrew Millington 1975 – 1983 (later organist of Guildford Cathedral)
- Mark Blatchly 1983 – 1990
- Mark Lee 1990 – 1998
- Ian Ball 1998 – 2002
- Robert Houssart 2002 – 2008
- Ashley Grote 2008 – current
- This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
See also the List of Organ Scholars at Gloucester Cathedral.
Use by schools and as a film location
Locations for Harry Potter films
The cathedral has been used from 2000 as a location for filming the first, second and sixth Harry Potter Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry's quandary involving films, which has generated revenue and publicity, but caused some controversy amongst those who suggest that the theme of the films was unsuitable for a church.
Doctor Who
In 2008 the Cathedral was used by BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages as a location for the Doctor Who Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation . The programme depicts the adventures of a mysterious and eccentric humanoid alien known as the Doctor who travels through time and space in his spacecraft, the TARDIS (an acronym for Time And Relative Dimension In Space), which normally Christmas Special.
Academic use
University of Gloucestershire
Degree ceremonies of the University of Gloucestershire take place at the cathedral.[8]
The King's School
The cathedral is also used during school term-time as the venue for regular school assemblies, known as morning chapel by The King's School, Gloucester which is deeply historically and physically connected to the cathedral, and also for events by the High School for Girls (Denmark Road, Gloucester), the Crypt Grammar School for boys and Ribston Hall High School.
Timeline
- 678-9 A small religious community was founded here in Saxon times by Osric of the Hwicce. His sister Kyneburga was the first Abbess An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of an abbey of nuns.
- 1017 Secular priests expelled; the monastery given to Benedictine Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict around 529 monks.
- 1072 Serlo, the first Norman abbot The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery. The female equivalent is Abbess, appointed to the almost defunct monastery by William I William the Conqueror , also known as William I of England, was the King of England from Christmas, 1066 until his death. He was also William II, Duke of Normandy, from 3 July 1035 until his death. Before his conquest of England, he was known as "William the Bastard" (French: Guillaume le Bâtard) because of the illegitimacy of his birth.
- 1089 Foundation stone of the new abbey church laid by Robert de Losinga, Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.
- 1100 Consecration of St. Peter’s Abbey.
- 1216 First coronation of King Henry III Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for fifty-six years from 1216 to his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready. England prospered during his reign and his greatest monument is Westminster, which he made the seat.
- 1327 Burial of King Edward II Edward II, called Edward of Carnarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. He was the seventh Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II. Interspersed between the strong reigns of his father Edward I and son Edward III, the reign of Edward II was disastrous for England, marked by incompetence,.
- 1331 Perpendicular remodelling of the quire.
- 1373 Great Cloister begun by Abbot Horton; completed by Abbott Frouster (1381–1412).
- 1420 West End rebuilt by Abbot Morwent
- 1450 Tower begun by Abbot Sebrok; completed by Robert Tully.
- 1470 Lady Chapel rebuilt by Abbot Hanley; completed by Abbot Farley (1472–98)
- 1540 Dissolution of Abbey
- 1541 Refounded as a Cathedral by King Henry VIII.
- 1616–21 William Laud holds the office of dean of Gloucester.
- 1649–60 Abolition of Dean and Chapter, reinstated by Charles II.
- 1735–52 Martin Benson, Bishop of Gloucester carried out major repairs and alterations to the cathedral.
- 1847–73 Beginning of extensive Victorian restoration work (Frederick S. Waller and Sir G. Gilbert Scott, architects).
- 1953 Major appeal for the restoration of the cathedral; renewed
- 1968 Cathedral largely re-roofed and other major work completed.
- 1989 900th anniversary appeal.
- 1994 Restoration of tower completed.
- 2000 Celebration of the novecentennial of the consecration of St Peter’s Abbey
See also
- List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom
- Richard Pate whose tomb is in the cathedral
- Edward II who is buried in the cathedral
- The King's School, Gloucester
- Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England
- English Gothic architecture
- Romanesque architecture
- Church of England
Notes
- ^ "The first Golf record?". A Royal and Ancient Golf History video. Fore Tee Video. http://www.foreteevideo.co.uk/Gloucester.html. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
- ^ Harvey, John (1978). The Perpendicular Style. Batsford. ISBN 0713416106.
- ^ "Three Choirs Festival". http://www.3choirs.org/. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
- ^ "New Director of Music Announced". Gloucester Cathedral website. Dean and Chapter of Gloucester Cathedral. 2007-05-08. http://www.gloucestercathedral.org.uk/news.asp?id=95&page=1. Retrieved 2007-10-11.
- ^ Simmons (1962) Who's who in music and musicians' international directory p.168
- ^ Simmons (1962) Who's who in music and musicians' international directory p.45
- ^ Shenton, Kenneth (2003-12-31). "John Sanders". Obituaries (The Independent). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/john-sanders-549173.html. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
- ^ Information for the Ceremonies held at Gloucester Cathedral University of Gloucestershire website
References
- Simmons, D A (1962). Who's who in music and musicians' international directory (4th. ed.). London: Burke's Peerage Ltd. OCLC 13309419. Published in America as Simmons, David (1962). Who's who in music and musicians' international directory (4th. ed.). New York: Hafner Publishing Company. OCLC 12923270.
External links
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gloucester Cathedral |
- Official website
- A history of the choristers of Gloucester Cathedral
- A history of Harry Potter at Gloucester Cathedral
- Adrian Fletcher’s Paradoxplace – Gloucester Cathedral Pages – Photos
- Photograph of Gloucester Cathedral Cloister
- Three Choirs website
- Flickr images tagged Gloucester Cathedral
- Flickr group of photos of Gloucester Cathedral
- A photo album and description of the misericords at Gloucester Cathedral
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Categories: Gloucester | Churches in Gloucestershire | Anglican cathedrals in England | Monasteries in Gloucestershire | Visitor attractions in Gloucestershire | Benedictine monasteries in England | Grade I listed cathedrals | Grade I listed buildings in Gloucestershire | 681 establishments | Norman architecture | English Gothic architecture | Church buildings established in the 7th century
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