Another day, another cathedral!

Gloucester Cathedral

“Gloucester Cathedral has been a place of Christian worship continuously for over 1,300 years, since Osric, an Anglo-Saxon prince, founded a religious house here in 678-9 AD. Little is known for certain about the communities which worshipped here or the buildings they used over the next 400 years although it is believed that the Benedictine Rule was introduced here early in the 11th century.

At the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066, the monastery was not thriving and in 1072 King William I appointed Serlo, a monk from Mont St Michel in Normandy to be its Abbot. An energetic, charismatic and devout man, Serlo built up the wealth of the monastery to the point where in 1089 he was able to start building the magnificent abbey church which so impresses the visitor today.

Most importantly for the subsequent history of this place, in 1327, King Edward II who had died in Berkeley Castle (in suspicious and, traditionally, gruesome circumstances) was buried here. A shrine-like monument was erected over the tomb of the dead king. Royal patronage and popular devotion led to funds flowing into the abbey, and these enabled the magnificent remodelling of the east end to be carried out in the very latest “Perpendicular” style.” www.gloucestercathedral.org.uk


After the trials and tribulations of yesterday, decided to treat myself to a train ticket to Gloucester today. I’d thought about heading here on the bus but when I looked at timetables it would have been a return journey of 9 hours! After a guided tour of the cathedral, cloisters and crypt, a picnic lunch in the gardens and one or two photos, there was only time for a very quick look around the cathedral precinct and town before heading back to the station and home; Gloucester Docks will have to wait until another day…

For me, the most impressive aspect of the cathedral are these magnificent Norman columns that confront you as you enter the building. So out of the 200 photos I took, this is my favourite and my blip for today!