Gloucester Cathedral Stellar Quality
by Russell Grant
If you want to read cheesy lines like the Jewel of Gloucester or Gloucester 's treasure or jargon about architecture and all that jazz, then you've the wrong book. There are plenty of publications that will O.D. you on clichés or fill your head with classical terms that go straight over mine.
I came to Gloucester Cathedral many years ago essentially for one reason; to worship. When you enter remember this marvel was built over the original wooden Anglo-Saxon abbey to glorify the new religion that was sweeping these lands; Christianity. For all the spiritual awe this glorious place can inspire, everything, even a garden folly, has its reason for being and St Peter's Abbey-cum-Gloucester Cathedral was no exception.
Before entering the great cathedral doors cast your eyes up to the gargoyles. The word "Gargoyle" shares a root with the words "Gargle and gurgle"; they both come from "gargouille" , a Norman French word for "Throat" . A gargoyle does precisely that; gulps down and spews out excess waters from the guttering along the roof. The brilliant mason (NAME needed) has sculpted brand new creatures, and as I write this book has already created some fascinating faces that wouldn't be out of place in a Hammer House of Horror flick or a Cumbrian gurning competition.
It is wonderful to know that we have craftsmen around in the 21 st century to carry on a tradition that began when ace designer and architect, Serlo, was sent for by William I (the Conqueror or Bastard) from Mont St Michel in Normandy to create a permanent stone building: work began on this hallowed spot in 1089. The abbey was consecrated on July 15 th 1100. There's a saying use it or lose it and thank heavens (quite literally) to the cathedral powers-that-be in this new millennium who are not just preserving but creating carvings that combines ancient and modern so beautifully. We nearly lost a religious building on this site when Osric's abbey burned down in 1088 and again when Henry VIII fought the Pope. Let us make sure we keep this cathedral in constant use so there is never a chance we will never come even close to losing it again.
Enter in. Once inside God's house, whisper a little prayer or light a candle, do what people have done for centuries. It takes a mason many hours to carve a gargoyle but it takes a much shorter time to carry on this compassionate and humbling ritual of worship.
There is much to see so I am only going to proffer you my favourites, so you can share in them and along the way discover your own.
Hot foot it round to the North Ambulatory. Edward II's tomb is incredible. Not only because it has been there since 1327 (it was his son, Edward III that had the pinnacled canopy put in the place with a tomb of alabaster and Purbeck marble) but because of the controversial life of this Plantagenet king, and the fact that he is one of few sovereigns buried outside of Westminster - even though the Plantagenets made more of a habit of it than most.
This unfortunate monarch born between two powerful macho men, Edward I and Edward III, was a bisexual who had his male favourites Piers Gaveston and Hugh le Despencer. In this dynastic drama the woman scorned, his wife, Queen Isabella daughter of the King of France was intent on taking power, and let's not rule out a spot of revenge too. She had a very well connected lover, Roger Mortimer, 1 st Earl of March, all of which contributed to Edward's eventual downfall and death. It is worth considering his murder, which is reputed to have been a poker thrust up where the sun don't shine, is just a myth for historians are now pretty confident that this was a ghastly rumour set about by the Tudors who were no friends of the Plantagenets. It is probable Edward was suffocated in Berkeley Castle not far from Gloucester , some say he never died there at all but escaped to Corfe Castle in Dorset where he was holed up then murdered or disguised as a hermit made good to the continent and settled in Milan where he lived out the rest of his life.
Which leads to the question whose bones are in the tomb if these tales are right? I was assured during my visit that the remains within are those of Edward II. Besides in medieval times, kings were embalmed which meant all kinds of intimate preparations were carried out before burial. Not easy to fake. Edward was laid in a coffin of lead which was then placed in one of wood. This was then handed over to the Abbot of St Peter's Abbey (which was to become Gloucester Cathedral in due course) and the king was laid to rest where you are now.
His son, Edward III transformed the tomb into a place for pilgrims by creating a candlelit spectacle, burnishing it with gold and brilliant colours that would wow the visitors like a pop icon or movie star, then, the royals, much like now were the celebrity of the age.
Almost opposite to Edward in the South Ambulatory is the tomb of Robert of Normandy with his strangely handsome but physically contorted effigy carved from Irish bog oak. As the eldest son of William I - who loved Gloucester - Robert had an unfulfilled life being beaten to the English throne by his brother who became Henry I, and in 1106 imprisoned by his bro; in all he spent 28 years captive in Cardiff Castle . Robert was interred in the abbey around 900 years ago yet looking at him it seems he will never be at rest, always at the ready to attack or defend, with hand on sword.
Head back to near Edward II's tomb and find Osric's. He may be little known but this Anglo Saxon royal is more important than his lack of fame would suggest. Osric was the ruler of the local tribe, the Hwicce, a lesser kingdom under the sway of either Wessex or Mercia , with Mercia eventually winning the tussle. Apart from being the Hwicce king or prince he became viceroy to King Ethelred of Mercia too. Although the tomb has been given a Tudor makeover, his life and times were crucially important to the cathedral as it was he who first brought Christianity to the Gloucester area. Osric is claimed as the founder of two monastic houses, Bath Abbey and in AD 681 Gloucester 's St Peter's Abbey. That is why he clasps the abbey's successor, a mini Gloucester Cathedral, to his bosom Tudor style of course.
It was having the three royal tombs here, all ancestors of Henry VIII, that saved the building. When Henry was involved in a battle of wills with the Pope in Rome he dissolved the monasteries to show who was boss in England and Wales . Gloucester Cathedral was saved as the bullish king did not want the building that housed his ancestor's bodies' to be destroyed after all he had declared himself Defender of the Faith so his word was now religious law. Cleverly he or someone close suggested that as the Diocese of Worcester (of which Gloucester was then a part) was so huge, the southern part be carved out, St Peter's Abbey given the prestige of cathedral status and the new diocese of Gloucester created job done, building saved and we can enjoy it today.
Look to the stained glass windows now: the great east window, this is one of the most stunning medieval windows in any building dating back to the time of the mid 1300s. The only time it has been in jeopardy was in World War II when each pane was stored in the crypt to keep it safe from bombing. However the dampness down below over a period of six years destroyed the numbers of each pane written on paper leaving a complicated jigsaw to be pieced together some say that only one mistake was made when it was returned after the war. Can you spot it? What was it? Who can say? Is there one or just a ruse to keep you looking and guessing!
On October 28 th 1216 Henry III was crowned in the cathedral at the age of 9 years old. Head back to the South Aisle near where you came in, look up to see the king in his glory being crowned with what is it? Because the ceremony was staged in a frenzied hurry due to political forces closing in on him, plus the small thing that King John had lost the crown jewels in wastes of The Wash (oh yes he did!) his politically active mum, Isabella of Angoulême, produced a piece of her jewellery (a bracelet or torque) and he was crowned short notice and not exactly a diadem, but it did the trick. Henry was king.
Across from Henry by the steps at the North Transept is a marble plaque commemorating the man who wrote the music for the American National Anthem. John Stafford Smith was born in 1750 and christened in Gloucester Cathedral. After his education at the Cathedral School he was a choir boy at the Chapel Royal in London . He studied under this dad, Martin Smith, who was organist at the cathedral for 42 years but soon gained a reputation of his own and was given membership of the select Anachreonic Society. Members have included J.S.Bach and Henry Purcell. In 1780 he composed the music for the society's club song. It was entitled "To Anachreon in Heaven". Inspired by the hedonistic lifestyle of the 5 th /6th century classical Greek poet Anachreon it celebrated the pleasures of wine and love and was sung at the Crown and Anchor Tavern in the Strand, London where they held their meetings.
The club song became popular both in Britain and America for probably all the wrong reasons! In 1812 Frances Scott Key wrote the words to what became officially in 1931 one of the most famous national anthems in the world. I bet when John Stafford Smith died in 1836 he never thought he would have made the top ten of the international hit parade.
Time for a break? Pop into the Cathedral shop, I so enjoy a wander choosing wee gifties. Sorry folks I know some people think souvenir shops are full of dust collectors but they are great places to buy a token that records the memory of visit that might never be made by me or you again AND you are making a financial contribution to the cathedral's upkeep. Good for all.
Out to the coffee shop for a cuppa with a display of tasty home made cakes and other fancies. Refreshed? Now prepare to be wowed. Take the route to the toilets, following the signpost to the Cloisters look up and around, isn't this something? Sit a while on a bench and drift back to how the monks would have lived and in wonderment at how ordinary men could have created such a work of art way back in the 14 th century.
The coffee shop is the bottom floor of the Parliament room above it is the room where Gloucester hosted Richard II's parliament in 1378. Gloucester became the administrative capital of England and Wales three times in its history. Now this room that once echoed to kings and nobles houses all kinds of functions from conventions to social gatherings.
There is much, much more to see in the cathedral than I have described but these are the attractions that appeal to me, and I am sure there is even more that will appeal to you personally.
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| Russell Grant interviews Susan Hamilton, to find out the facts about Gloucester Cathedral. Please feel free to download the audio files for your MP3 player or to listen to on your PC: |
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Russell interviews Greg Ward at Country House Hotel & Restaurant in Gloucester
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