GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL
Edward II Tomb & Harry Potter Hogwarts
The Cathedral of Gloucester is one of the great Gothic churches of England, and curiously owes much of its notoriety to the grisly murder of a king and its modern day life as a stand-in school for wizards. Gloucester Cathedral might not exist at all if not for a last minute interventions. It was saved from demolition twice in its history, and still fights the ravages of time and decay. The center of Gloucester on the Severn River at the edge of the Cotswold region had been a place of worship since the Anglo-Saxon king Osric established a church in 678. The Benedictines founded a monastery in the next 400 years, and the Abbey of St Peter.
Gloucestershire and South Wales grew in importance under the Normans and the Plantagenet King Henry III was crowed in the abbey in 1216, at the age of 9. The Abbey grew in importance over the next century, but it was the grisly murder (so the story goes) of King Edward II in 1327 which gave the cathedral its real status. The son of Edward I “Longshanks”, the builder of the Iron Ring castles of Wales (see Caernarvon Castle), the second Edward was conquered in battle and deposed by his queen, Isabella, and her ally Roger Mortimer to place his son on the throne. Held captive in nearby Berkeley Castle, the ex-king was notoriously killed with a hot poker (see Berkeley Castle Edward II Cell). Upon claiming his full regal rights in 1330, Edward III had his father buried in the abbey and erected a shrine-like tomb, where the Alabaster effigy of the unfortunate king, lies like the image of a chess piece king, his head held by angles, the scepter and orb of office in his hand, and the lion of England watchful at his feet.
The tomb of Edward II and the royal patronage of his descendants brought pilgrims and wealth to Gloucester. The abbey grew with the addition of and earlier bell tower, the first Lady Chapel and refectory. The presence of the royal tomb, one of the very few in the southwest of England saved the church from Henry VIII’s campaign to dissolve Catholic monasteries in 1540. The monastery was closed, but the abbey gained the position of cathedral as the seat of the Bishop of Gloucester. The cathedral was once again saved from destruction a century later by Oliver Cromwell, thanks to the tomb and the intervention of the town mayor.
In modern times the arches of the cathedral became the haunt of wizards, at least movie wizard students as part of the sets for the “Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry” in the Harry Potter films. Only the first two films were shot at Gloucester, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” and “The Chamber of Secrets”, where the Lavatorium fight with a giant Troll and the Cloister Walls can be easily recognized. At the end of the west aisle is the West Slype door, which sounds potteresque on its own, but was used at the doorway to the Gryffindor Common Room, guarded by the hinged portrait of the operatic Fat Lady. The later films moved to sound stages and the digital wizarding world of special effects (see Harry Potter Studio Tour).
The original part of the cathedral is the Norman center where the tomb of Walter de Lacy, the Norman Lord of Meath and builder of Ireland’s Trim Castle (see Trim Castle) can be found in County Meath. The massive nave is of the Norman style along with the crypt, aisles and chapels. The additions are Gothic, with the distinctive central tower completed in the 15th Century along with western front and the current Lady Chapel. A famously unique feature of Gloucester Cathedral is the Great East Window, of stained glass added by Edward III after his campaigns in France and success at the Battle of Crecy in 1350. Look for images of early games of golf in the window and a medieval version of foot ball.
Gloucester Cathedral has a number of fascinating effigies in curious poses, the husband and wife of Machern, Mayor and Alderman of Gloucester kneeling in Elizabethan costume, the Saxon King Osric, holding a model of the abbey he established, Margorie of Clent, asleep on his hand, and perhaps one of the most whimsical of tombs found at Gloucester Cathedral is the colorful reclining fugure Robert, Duke of Normandy, the oldest son of William the Conqueror, dressed in full armor with his legs crossed, relaxing for all eternity, who rather belies than he died as a prisoner at the hand of his younger brother Henry I, who had his eyes gouged out.
Visiting Gloucester Cathedral
The Gloucester Cathedral is located in the center of the city with its tower spire an easily seen landmark reference. Normal open hours are 7:30 am to 6 pm daily. There is no formal entrance fee, but a £5 donation is asked of adult visitors to help with the costs of continuing maintenance and restoration work. A £3 photography permit can be purchased at the gift shop. Guided Tours are available for visits to the crypt and explanations of the secrets of Gloucester, climbing the 369 steps to the top of the church tower and visit the bell chamber. For £2, go up to the Whispering Gallery for a close up look at the Great East Window and some medieval sound effects. © Bargain
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Gloucester Cathedral
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SEE ALSO:
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