Gloucester

Glevum was established around AD 48 at an important crossing of the River Severn and near to the Fosse Way, the early front line after the Roman invasion of Britain. Initially, a Roman fort was established at present-day Kingsholm. Twenty years later, a larger legionary fortress was built on slightly higher ground nearby, centred on present-day Gloucester Cross, and a civilian settlement grew around it. Probably the Roman Legion XX Valeria Victrix was based here until 66 and then Legio II Augusta[6] as they prepared to invade Roman Wales between 66 and 74 AD, who stayed later until around 87.[7]

Gloucester became a Colonia in 97 as Colonia Nervia Glevensium, or Glevum, in the reign of Nerva. It is likely that Glevum became the provincial capital of Britannia Prima.[7]

Within about 15 years new privately constructed properties replaced the earlier barracks and public buildings, temples and bath houses were under construction in stone. Piped water began to be supplied. Drains and sewers were laid. On the site of the legionary principia an imposing central forum was laid out surrounded by colonnades and flanked on three sides by part-timbered ranges of shops. Closing off the south of the forum was the 100m x 40m Basilica. Many fine homes with mosaic floors were built in the town.

At its height, Glevum may have had a population of as many as 10,000 people. The entire area around Glevum was intensely Romanised in the second and third centuries with a higher than normal distribution of villas.

At the end of the 3rd century or the start of the 4th, major changes were made to the city's 2nd century wall. It was replaced in two stages by a stronger and higher one of stone resting on massive reused stone blocks. In the second stage, the blocks rested on deep timber foundation piles. Stone external towers were added; two parallel wide ditches were also cut in front of the new walls.

Remains of the Roman city can still be seen:[8][9]

• Many archaeological artifacts and some in-situ walls in the Gloucester City Museum & Art Gallery
• The remains of the Roman and mediaeval East Gate in the East Gate Chamber on Eastgate Street.
• Northgate, Southgate, Eastgate and Westgate Streets all follow the line of their original Roman counterparts, although Westgate Street has moved slightly north and Southgate Street now extends through the site of the Roman basilica.

Withdrawal of all Roman forces and many societal leaders in about the year 410 may have allowed leading families of the Dobunni tribe to regain power within the now Roman-influenced, interconnected and intermixed Celtic Brythonic local people. This intermix is reflected by the fact a large minority of basic words and available synonyms in Welsh have a Latin base. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Gloucester is shown as part of Wessex from the Battle of Deorham in 577. At some point afterwards, along with the rest of its shire excluding the Forest of Dean, Gloucester was part of the minor kingdom of the Hwicce. In 628, as a result of the Battle of Cirencester, that kingdom became a client or sub-kingdom of Mercia. From about 780, the Hwicce was no longer feigning any pretense as a kingdom and became part of Mercia. Mercia, allied by matrimony and sharing a desire to counter the Danish onslaught as had conquered swathes of the wider island at large, submitted to Alfred the Great's Kingdom of Wessex in about 877–883. A 20th century writer intuitively adds that Roman stem Gleu- Glev- was, doubtless, pronounced without any final consonant.[10] Claudia Castra is mentioned in the 18th century as a possible Latin name related to the city.[11]

The first bridging point on a navigable, defensive barrier, great river and the foundation in 681 of the abbey of St Peter by Æthelred of Mercia, favoured town growth; and before the Norman conquest of England, Gloucester was a borough governed by a portreeve, with a castle which was frequently a royal residence, and a mint. In the early 10th century the remains of Saint Oswald were brought to a small church here and shrine built there, a draw for pilgrims. The core street layout is thought to date to the reign of Æthelflæd in late Saxon times.[12]

In 1051 Edward the Confessor held court at Gloucester and was threatened there by an army led by Godwin, Earl of Wessex, but the incident resulted in a standoff rather than a battle.

After the Norman Conquest, William Rufus made Robert Fitzhamon the first baron or overlord of Gloucester. Fitzhamon had a military base at Cardiff Castle, and for the succeeding years the history of Gloucester was closely linked to that of Cardiff.

A unique coin, dated to 1077–1080, was discovered, just north of the city, in November 2011. It features the name of the moneyer Silacwine and its place of minting. The Portable Antiquities Scheme said that, until the coin was discovered, there had been no known examples of William I coins minted in Gloucester in this period.[13]

During the Anarchy, Gloucester was a centre of support for the Empress Matilda,[14] who was supported in her claim to the throne by her half-brother, Fitzhamon's grandson, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (also known as Robert of Gloucester). After this period of strife ended with the ascent of her son Henry to the throne Henry II of England, Henry granted Robert possession of Cardiff Castle, and it later passed to Mathilda's son Robert Curthose and his son, William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester. The story of the Anarchy is vividly told in a series of 19th-century paintings by William Burges at the Castle.

Henry granted Gloucester its first charter in 1155, which gave the burgesses the same liberties as the citizens of London and Winchester. A second charter of Henry II gave them freedom of passage on the River Severn. The first charter was confirmed in 1194 by King Richard I. The privileges of the borough were greatly extended by the charter of King John (1200), which gave freedom from toll throughout the kingdom and from pleading outside the borough.

In 1216 King Henry III, aged only ten years, was crowned with a gilded iron ring in the Chapter House of Gloucester Cathedral.[15]

Gloucester's significance in the Middle Ages is underlined by the fact that it had a number of monastic establishments, including St Peter's Abbey founded in 679 (later Gloucester Cathedral), the nearby St Oswald's Priory, Gloucester founded in the 880s or 890s, Llanthony Secunda Priory, founded 1136 as a retreat for a community of Welsh monks (now near the western bypass),[16] the Franciscan Greyfriars community founded in 1231 (near Eastgate Shopping Centre),[17] and the Dominican Blackfriars community founded in 1239 (Ladybellegate Street).[18] It also has some very early churches including St Mary de Lode Church, Gloucester near the Cathedral and the Norman St Mary de Crypt Church, Gloucester in Southgate Street. Additionally, there is evidence of a Jewish community in Gloucester as early as 1158–1159; they lived around present-day East Gate Street and had a synagogue on the north side.[19]

Gloucester Cathedral housed the Parliament between 1378 and 1406.

In the Middle Ages the main export was wool, which came from the Cotswolds and was processed in Gloucester; other exports included leather and iron (tools and weapons). Gloucester also had a large fishing industry at that time.

In 1222, a massive fire destroyed part of Gloucester.[20]

One of the most significant periods in Gloucester's history began in 1378 when Richard II convened Parliament in the city. Parliaments were held there until 1406 under Henry IV of England. The Parliament Rooms at the Cathedral remain as testimony to this important time.

Gloucester was incorporated by King Richard III in 1483, the town being made a county in itself.

Ancient Gloucester from Speed's map of 1610 with fortifications from Hall & Pinnell, ex Fosbroke's history. (contains inaccuracies)[21]

The City's charter was confirmed in 1489 and 1510, and other charters of incorporation were received by Gloucester from Queen Elizabeth I and King James I.[22] Princess Mary visited Gloucester in September 1525 accompanied by her ladies and gentlewomen. She was met by the Mayor, John Rawlins, at Quedgeley.[23] Her father Henry VIII and his then Queen, Anne Boleyn, visited in July 1535.[24] They used Gloucester as a base for hunting trips to Painswick, Coberley, and Miserden. They left Gloucester for Leonard Stanley, on their way to Berkeley Castle.[25]

Gloucester was the site of the execution by burning of John Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester, in the time of Queen Mary in 1555. In 1580, Gloucester was awarded the status of a port by Queen Elizabeth I.[26]

The 16th and 17th centuries saw the foundation of two of Gloucester's grammar schools: the Crypt School in 1539 and Sir Thomas Rich's School in 1666. Both still flourish as grammar schools today, along with Ribston Hall and Denmark Road High School.

During the English Civil War, the fall of nearby Bristol encouraged the reinforcement of the existing town defences. The siege of Gloucester commenced in 1643 in which the besieged parliamentarians emerged victorious. The Royalist's plan of bombardment and tunnelling to the east gate failed due to the inadequacy of the Royalist artillery and the besieged sniping and conducting artillery fire on the Royalist encampment.[27]

Jan Kip's West prospect of Gloucester, c. 1725, emphasises the causeway and bridges traversing the water meadows of the floodplain.

By the mid-17th century, only the gatehouse and keep of Gloucester Castle remained, the latter of which was being used as a gaol until it was deemed unsuitable and demolished in the late 1780s. By 1791, the new gaol was completed leaving no trace of the former castle.[28]

Map of Gloucester in 1805

In the 19th century the city grew with new buildings including Wellington Parade and the Grade II listed Picton House (c. 1825).[29]

The 1896 Gloucester smallpox epidemic affected some 2000 residents.[30]

During the Second World War, two petroleum storage depots were constructed in Gloucester. A Government Civil Storage depot with six 4,000-ton semi-buried tanks was constructed on the Berkeley Canal in 1941/42 by Shell-Mex and BP and connected to the pipeline that ran from the Mersey to the Avon. It was also connected to the Air Force Reserve Depot and a Shell Mex and BP facility for road and rail loading. Due to severe tank corrosion, it was demolished in 1971/2 and disposed of in 1976. The second depot was an Air Force Reserve Depot with four 4,000-ton semi-buried tanks constructed in 1941/42 by Shell, Shell-Mex and BP at the Monk Meadow Dock on the Canal. Originally, delivery was by road, rail and barge and pipeline. It was also connected to the docks and to the Shell Mex and BP installation for rail and road loading facilities and the civil storage site. It was transferred from the Air Ministry to the Ministry of Power in 1959, closed in the 1990s and disposed of in the later 2000s.[31]

Gloucester's most important citizens include Robert Raikes (founder of the Sunday School movement) who is still commemorated by the name of Robert Raikes' House in Southgate Street. Its most infamous citizen was Fred West.

In July 2007, Gloucester was hit badly by a flood that struck Gloucestershire and its surrounding areas. Hundreds of homes were flooded, but the event was most memorable because of its wider impact – about 40,000 people were without power for 24 hours, and the entire city (plus surrounding areas) was without piped water for 17 days.

In 2009, Gloucester Day was revived as an annual day of celebration of Gloucester's history and culture. The day originally dates from the lifting of the Siege of Gloucester in 1643, during which the city held out against Royalist forces during the First English Civil War.[32]

Left: the arms of the Clare family; centre: the arms of the Bishop of Worcester; right: the arms of the city of Gloucester

Gloucester is one of the few cities in England with two coats of arms. The first consists of three chevrons surrounded by ten roundels. The chevrons come from the arms of the Clare family, who were earls of Gloucester from the 12th to the 14th centuries, while the roundels come from the arms of the Bishop of Worcester, whose bishopric historically encompassed Gloucester. This coat is the older of the two, though it is usually termed the "Commonwealth coat", as it was not officially granted to the city until 1652, during the Commonwealth period. The crest and supporters (lions bearing broadswords and trowels) were also adopted at this time, along with the motto Fides Invicta Triumphat ("unconquered faith triumphs", in reference to the royalist siege withstood by the city in 1643).

The second coat, termed the "Tudor coat", was granted in 1538. It features the roses of York and Lancaster, the boar's head of Richard III, a ceremonial sword and cap, and two horseshoes surrounded by nails, to represent Gloucester's historical association with ironworking.

Although grants made by Commonwealth heralds were nullified after the Restoration, the Commonwealth coat continued to be used by the city rather than the Tudor coat. The Commonwealth coat, along with the crest and supporters, was legally granted to the city by letters patent dated 16 April 1945. This was reconfirmed in 1974 following the local government changes of that year.[33][34]

Gloucester was an ancient borough, being treated as a borough from Saxon times and being granted its first known borough charter by Henry II in 1155. In 1483 the town of Gloucester was given the right to appoint its own magistrates, making it a county corporate, administratively independent from the surrounding county of Gloucestershire. When the Diocese of Gloucester was founded in 1541, the town was given the right to call itself a city. The city was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. When elected county councils were established in 1889, Gloucester was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services, and so it was made a county borough, independent from Gloucestershire County Council.[36][37]

Gloucester Guildhall at 23 Eastgate Street was built in 1892 and served as the city's administrative headquarters until 1986, when the council moved to North Warehouse at Gloucester Docks.[38][39]

On 1 April 1974, the modern district of Gloucester was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the same area as the abolished County Borough of Gloucester.[40] The reforms also saw the city become subordinate to Gloucestershire County Council, losing the independence it had held since 1483. The parish of Quedgeley was subsequently transferred into Gloucester from Stroud District in 1991.[41] Quedgeley retains its own parish council, unlike the rest of Gloucester, which is an unparished area. In 2017, Quedgeley Parish Council changed its name to Quedgeley Town Council, making it a town within a city.[42]

The city itself contains no green belt; however it is bordered to the north east by the green belt in the surrounding Tewkesbury district, helping to maintain local green space, prevent further urban sprawl and unplanned expansion towards Cheltenham and Innsworth, as well as protecting smaller nearby villages such as Churchdown, Badgeworth, Shurdington, and Twigworth.

The M5 motorway, opened in 1971, runs east of the city bounds. Junction 12 serves south Gloucester and Quedgeley; junction 11a serves central Gloucester; and junction 11 serves north Gloucester. The A38 runs north–south through Gloucester, connecting the city with Tewkesbury and Bristol. The A40 runs west to east, connecting Gloucester with Cheltenham to the east (via a dual carriageway section known as The Golden Valley Bypass) and the Forest of Dean and South Wales to the West. The A46 and A4173 links Stroud, and the A417 links Cirencester in the south-east and Ledbury in the north-west. Gloucester has a network of cycle paths.

Until the construction of the Severn Bridge in 1966, Gloucester was the lowest road bridging point on the river and hence was an important settlement between South Wales and the southernmost counties of England including London. The Severn has a small anabranch here to reach Alney Island and then the main western bank. A bridge at Over, built by Thomas Telford in 1829, still stands, notable for its very flat arch, but its fragility and narrowness means it is disused; since 1974, it has been paralleled by a modern bridge. The Gloucester to Newport Line railway bridge is close to both, the lowest crossing of the UK's longest river until the Severn Railway Bridge 1879–1970, which was coupled with the Severn Tunnel in 1886, the present holder of that status.

Gloucester railway station has frequent trains to London Paddington, via Reading, Bristol, Cardiff Central, Nottingham and Birmingham. Gloucester was the site of the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company railway works, which have now closed. A Hunts Grove railway station has been floated on the southern edge of the city near Quedgeley as part of MetroWest plans to extend Bristol commuter services to the city.[70]

Most local buses are run by Stagecoach West centred at a depot on London Road with connections to Cheltenham, Stroud and Ross-on-Wye, as well as other smaller communities. For many years, there were both stopping and express services to Worcester and Birmingham operated by Midland Red and later Midland Red West, but this connection was lost due to service reductions.

National Express Coaches operate the 444 to London; previously an additional service to Heathrow Airport also operated.

Gloucester is linked to the Severn Estuary by the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, which is navigable by small coasters. The city is linked to the River Avon and Stourport-on-Severn by the navigable part of the River Severn, which is navigable by river craft of a few hundred tonnes' displacement. Gloucester Docks mark the Normal Tidal Limit (NTL) of the river.[71] Gloucester was formerly linked to Ledbury and Hereford by the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal; and subsequently by the Ledbury and Gloucester Railway, which used the southern section of the former canal, until it also closed in 1964. This canal is now being restored and the restored canal basin in the adjacent village of Over is a local attraction.

Commercial airports with scheduled services are Bristol, Birmingham and Cardiff International Airport 40–60 miles away; global hub Heathrow is about 100 miles by road and shares with Gloucester its main rail interchange at London Paddington. Gloucestershire Airport 8 miles east is a private and special charters airfield.

Gloucestershire Airport in 2017, looking east. On the left is the straight A40 road and at the bottom the M5 motorway. Innsworth and Gloucester are at the top.