Gloucester Cathedral
Aside from Canterbury Cathedral, which we are loyal to as it is our home one, this is the grandest cathedral we've been to so far. At the time it was our favourite, Ren had been on a meaningful trip here with friends a few years earlier, but since then the spot has been taken by Tewkesbury Abbey.
This cathedral, which has gone by the names of St Peter's Abbey, and Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, was established by a minster and founded by Osric, King of Hwicce in 679.
Control was then given to the Benedictine Order at the start of the 11th century which is when it received its dedication to St Peter. Sadly, a fire destroyed most of the abbey. In 1058 the Bishop of Worcester, Ealdred, decided to establish a brand new abbey that was ever so slightly further away to the original. However, this abbey was not a success. It was so unsuccessful that a mere 14 years later there were only 2 monks running the joint, 16 years after that a massive fire destroyed the majority of the building so a year later Abbott Serlo began building a fresh cathedral which is what stands today.
The newest version was a hit, but Serlo had already begun changing the cathedrals fortunes. William the Conqueror had chosen Gloucester Cathedral for his Christmas Court in 1085 which was where he ordered the Domesday Book to be compiled. From here on out the cathedral went from strength to strength, becoming so popular that Henry III was crowned here in 1216. Of course it helped that he couldn't be crowned at Westminster due to the French Louis fighting him for the English crown, so he was pulled from the safety of Corfe Castle when King John died and had his coronation here and then a second later at Westminster. Regardless, the choice was clear, Gloucester was fit for the job. Remember at the time it would still have been St Peter's Abbey and not a cathedral.
The ex-abbey is unfortunately no stranger to fire. The building caught alight again in 1222 and had to undergo an extensive refurb. Then came its next royal claim to fame, although less joyous than a coronation. Edward II had been murdered nearby at Berkeley Castle, he was in custody and it wasn't really a big surprise, but they decided to lay him to rest at St Peter's Abbey. This massively helped as people came from all over to see the elaborate tomb and even made pilgrimages here, not to mention the gifts left and donations made. Oh yes, the abbey's fortunes had changed. Then comes 1536 and The Big Bully King has decided to hell with all the monasteries and so he orders it to go, but help came and St Peter's Abbey was refounded as Gloucester Cathedral and so that is how it survived, some say that Edward being buried here heavily influenced Henry's allowance of the change in status!
The new cathedral's luck had carried it forward which enabled further building, it also somehow survived the English Civil War, then underwent further restorations and restyling right up until the Victorian era. We then return to royalty when the Coronation Chair was moved here for safe keeping due to WWII and the risk of bombs at Westminster.
The most notable recent developments at this 900+ year old site is that it was used to install the very first female Bishop within the Church of England, Rachel Treweek, AND as a stand in for Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies which made us quite happy. Plus the crypt featured in Sherlock: The Abominable Bride, so that's 2 out of Ren's fangirl list!
To further on the Abbey's transition into a Cathedral, there have been several burials here to elevate its status of importance. Obviously the founder, Osric, King of Hwicce is buried here, and we knew of Edward II. But among the various bishops, of whom we shall list below, the site holds some other important people and quite recently too. The last burial here was in 2008!
Also buried here is:
Robert Curthose, eldest son of William the Conqueror
John Wakeman, first Bishop of Gloucester, last Abbot of Tewkesbury
James Brooks, Bishop of Gloucester
John Bullingham, Bishop of Gloucester
William Nicholson, Bishop of Gloucester
Richard Cheyney, Bishop of Gloucester
Martin Benson, Bishop of Gloucester
Various members of the Hyett family
Richard Pate, MP for Gloucester
Thomas Machen, Mayor and one time MP for Gloucester
Dorothea Beale, Suffragist and Principal of Cheltenham Ladies College
Ralph Bigland, Garter Principal King of Arms
Miles Nightingall, British Army General
Albert Mansbridge, adult education pioneer
John Yates, Bishop of Gloucester
Walter de Lacy, landowner and Abbot
Our Ren came here when visiting her friends nearby after a very bad break up a few years ago. She wandered the halls taking it all in and it was a very reflective experience. A month after she returned home everything changed as she started seeing Jamie and now here we are nearly 3 years later! So this was an important return trip for us, a sort of thank you for providing hope in a dark time.
In terms of ghosts, the cathedral has a few. It is said Edward III haunts the area around his tomb, plus there have been several monk sightings, one of them bleeding. There's been reports of plague victims, disembodied voices, and even sightings of a 14 year old apprentice who fell from the scaffolding when the cathedral was being built. We didn't see anything, that's for sure. It just felt very peaceful here to us, peaceful and awe inspiring.
Plus it is dog friendly!!
DISCLAIMER: Now for the official bit. This blog does not receive any paid promotions from the places mentioned above. We have not been approached to promote or act as spokespersons for any attraction mentioned within this post and this is simply a post intended to act as a day in the life of a couple on a cute date. All photos included are taken by ourselves and as such the rights for these images are ours, no links, brands, or companies mentioned otherwise belong or are associated with Phantom Adventures UK. We are responsible only for this blog. Opinions are our own and not influenced by any third party source..
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