Description
Gloucester (popularly Gloster'), a city and a parliamentary, municipal, and county borough, the head of a poor-law union and county court district, a port, and the seat of a bishopric. The city stands on the river Severn and on Ermine Street, 7 miles SW of Cheltenham, 17 NW of Cirencester, 26^ S of Worcester, 32 SE of Hereford, 37^ NNE of Bristol, and 114 by rail from London. The Severn is navigable past it, a ship-canal gives aid to its commerce, a canal connects it with the Thames, and the Bristol and Birmingham branch of the M.R., and the South Wales branch of the G.W.R., give it communication with all parts of the kingdom.
History.-The original town on the city's site was called by the ancient Britons Caerglou, signifying the " bright fort;" by the Romans Glevum, which was a corruption of Gloeu; and by the Saxons Gleawancester, Gleawecester, or Glew-cester. The ancient Britons were doubtless the founders of the original town, but at what date is not known. The Romans took possession of it soon after the invasion under the Emperor Claudius in 44, and they established here a great station, with a colony, called Colonia Glevum, to check the incursions of the Silures, who inhabited South Wales.£ Gloucester was captured by the Saxons in 577 after the battle of Dearham, and was eventually included in the kingdom of Mercia. Under the kings of Mercia it became " one of the noblest cities in the kingdom." Wulphere, the first Christian king of Mercia, partly rebuilt it, and founded a monastery here in 679. The Danes plundered it in 836, 877, and 997. Athelstan died here in 940. Kings Edgar, Edmund Ironside, and Edward the Confessor resided in it. Edmund Ironside and Canute made a treaty here in 1016, 45* dividing all England between them. Edward the Confessor gave magnificent entertainment here,in 1051 to the Earl of Bologne, who had married his sister. William the Conqueror often held his court here, always spent the festive seasons here attended by the principal nobility and clergy of the kingdom, and made great extensions of the city's fortifications for defence against the Welsh. William Rufns drew disaster on the city in 1087 by contest with Robert Curt-hose, his elder brother; and he here, in 1093, met Malcolm III. of Scotland for adjustment of differences on the English and Scotch borders. The citizens about the 12th century struck boldly for the cause of the Empress Maud, and made strenuous but vain efforts to overpower Stephen. Henry III. was crowned here in 1216 at the age of ten years, and his rebellious barons, under the Earl of Leicester, afterwards took possession of the town, but were dislodged in 1263 by his son Prince Edward. The citizens, in the Civil War of Charles I., took sides with the Parliament, and under Governor Massie resisted a siege by an army under the personal command of the king, provoking such resentment on the part of Charles II. that, in punishment of their successful bravery, the fortifications of the city were entirely demolished soon after the Restoration. Synods were held here in 804 and 1189, witenagemotes in 896 and 1053, and Parliaments in 1234, 1278, 1320,1378, 1403, 1407, 1417, and -1420. The Parliament of 1278 is notable for the passing of Acts concerning the liberties and franchises of the nation, known as the "Statutes of Gloucester." William II. visited the city in 1099, Henry L in 1123, Henry IL in 1175, Henry IIL in 1234, Edward I. in 1278, Edward IL in 1319, Richard IL in 1378, Henry VL in 1430, Richard III. in 1483, Henry VIL in 1485, Henry VIII. in 1535, James II. in 1685 and 1687, George IIL in 1788, George IV. when Prince of Wales in 1807, and the present Queen when Princess Victoria.
Site and Structure.-The city stands in a beautiful valley, sheltered on the E by a range of hills, and it occupies a gentle eminence rising from the Severn at its division by the Isle of Ainey. The surrounding scenery and the various approaches are for the most part highly ornamental. Gardens, orchards, parks, and villas adorn the environs, and pleasant villages, agreeable hamlets, good farms, and much good scenery are in the neighbourhood. The approach from Cirencester is the line of Ermine Street, and has for a considerable distance been built on. Views of the city, from the best vantage-grounds in its vicinity, show the summits of its rich ecclesiastical architecture, striking upward from surrounding wood in a magnificent group of towers and spires, whilst the near sheltering hills, cultivated to their tops-the most conspicuous being " the famous hill of Robin Hood"-display unusual variety.
The main streets of the ancient city are four, in cruciform arrangement, leading toward the cardinal points, and named Eastgate, Westgate, Northgate, and Southgate, but all except Westgate have been prolonged far beyond their original terminations. Numerous modern streets and lanes branch off. Other streets, a handsome square, a number of villas, and the general features of a fashionable quarter, arose in the S after the discovery of a spa there in 1814. A new street,'from Southgate to the docks, an enlargement of the docks themselves, the formation of a new basin, and the erection there of several large warehouses and many new dwellings followed the previous extension, and took great impulse from the opening of the railways; and a sweeping course of improvement throughout the ancient city and all around it, in the removal of nuisances, the effecting of drainage, the demolition or-renovation of old buildings, and the erection of numerous new structures, both public and private, has gone on till the present day. The general appearance of the city has been completely changed. The old houses built of wood with projecting storeys have almost entirely disappeared; the old streets, which formerly were very narrow and disagreeable, though still irregular and far from straight, are now in general broad, well-paved, picturesque, and pleasing; and the atmosphere of the place is kept pure by means of good drainage and a plentiful supply of water. The architectural remains of the middle ages are numerous and extremely fine ;. the architectural features of the modern edifices' on the whole exhibit considerable variety and no small taste. 35£
Public Buildings,-The city walls and other fortifications destroyed after the Restoration were partly of high antiquity, and the eastern and north-eastern portions of them most probably included masonry of the Roman station which was at Kingsholm. Roman coins, urns, coffins, beads, lamps, and a very fine steelyard have been found there. The gates of the city were four, stood at the termination of the four ancient streets, were allowed to remain after the demolition of the walls, and did not disappear till the 18th century. A castle was built by William the Conqueror on the site now occupied by the county gaol, and figured in the military events down to the time of Charles I., but has left no vestiges. The royal palace, inhabited or visited by so many kings, stood at Kingsholm. An octangular cross, 64^ feet high, stood at the intersection of the four chief streets, was erected in the time of Richard III., had eight niched statues of monarchs and a column supporting a globe, and was taken down in 1749. A gate of the Tudor period stands at the ancient entrance of the Cathedral precinct, and is near a bridge of five arches built in the time of Henry II. The New Inn in Northgate Street probably occupies the site of a very ancient hospice, was built by John Turning, a monk of the 15th century, served for the accommodation of pilgrims, belongs now to the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester, and has " two tiers of galleries leading to dormitories still fit to receive an audience of Chaucer's pilgrims, or display the mummeries of a band of Shakespeare's carriers."
The Tolsey or Town Hall, formerly situated at the intersection of the four ancient streets, has been removed and its, place filled with modern business buildings. The Shire Hall, in Westgate, was built in 1816. The Guildhall, in East-gate Street, was opened in 1892. The various offices requisite for the working of the corporation business are all placed on the ground floor for facility of access. The council chamber, committee rooms, mayor's parlour, and public hall are placed upon the first floor, so that they may be used separately or together according to requirements, without interfering with the offices on the ground floor. The council chamber on the first floor is arranged in a central position, and has a carved and panelled ceiling. The hall (40 feet by 80 feet), placed next New Inn Lane, occupies the whole width of the site. The main front of the exterior next Eastgate Street is executed in Monk's Park stone, and is designed in the Renaissance style, somewhat severe in treatment. The other fronts, towards New Inn Lane and the courtyard, are executed in brickwork with stone strings and cornices, and kept quite plain. In the interior, polished Hopton Wood stone has been largely used for the columns, mantelpiece, and balustrading; the joinery generally is in oak, vitreous mosaic paving has been used in the hall, and the whole of the floors throughout are fireproof. The gaol was erected in 1791, at a cost of £35,000, and is situated in North Hamlet, on the site of the old castle. The court of probate was erected in 1861, after designs by Fulljames and Waller; is a heavy edifice of mediaeval aemi-Italian character, and has an enormous roof. The registrar's office adjoins this; was built previously to it, and is of similar style. The corn exchange, a handsome structure of stone, with a large hall used for concerts and public meetings, was constructed in 1863. Part of the building has been transformed into a new General Post Office, which was opened in 1893. Two handsome bridges give communication across the Severn. The railway stations, on the M.R. and the G.W.R., which adjoin, are commodious. The spa, discovered in 1814, possesses considerable medicinal virtues, and gave occasion for the erection of a handsome pump-room and hot, cold, and vapour baths. It became, in 1861, the property of the corporation, who laid out the grounds as a public park. There are also a theatre and assembly rooms. A monument to Bishop Hooper, erected in 1863, on the spot of his martyrdom, adjacent to the church of St Mary de Lode, is in the Early Decorated style, 18^ feet wide at bottom and 45 feet high; has a gable and crocketed canopy, supported on pinnacled buttresses and clustered columns; and contains, under the canopy, a Portland stone statue of the bishop, in the attitude of preaching.
The Cathedral.-Gloucester Cathedral was originally and long a monastic church. The earliest ascertained building on its site was a nunnery, founded by Osric, viceroy under 854:
Ethelred king of Mercia, in 679, and this was carried on and finished by Ethelred, who became a monk. The first superior of it was Kyneburg, Kineburg, or Knieburg, wife of Aldred, king of Northumbria. It flourished only till about 767; was then, in a time of war, abandoned by its nuns; continued to be unoccupied and neglected till about 823, and was then made into a house for secular priests. King Canute, in 1022, converted it into a Benedictine abbey, and Aldred, bishop of Worcester, soon afterwards altered the site of this abbey, and rebuilt its church where the cathedral stands in our time. The Saxon church was burnt or else pulled down in 1087 by Robert Duke of Normandy, and was rebuilt by Abbot Serlo, the first Norman abbot, on a greater scale and in the style of architecture introduced from Normandy, 1088-1100. It suffered again from fire in 1122 and subsequent years, but it underwent successive restorations and extension, till it acquired all the parts of the eventual cathedral about 1498. The abbots had great wealth and power, and sat in parliament as peers. The number of resident monks in 1104 was 100. The abbey church was connected with many public events so early as the times of the Norman kings. Here was buried Robert, the eldest son of the Conqueror, after his long imprisonment at Cardiff; here Anselm was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by William Rufus, receiving his consecration in the abbey church; and here in 1216 Henry III. was crowned at the age of nine, while London was in the hands of Prince Louis of France and the revolted barons. The murder of Edward II. at Berkeley Castle gave occasion to a vast increase of the abbey's celebrity and wealth. The abbots of Bristol, Keynsham, and Malmes-bury refused to receive the king's body, but Abbot Thoky of Gloucester begged that the body of the king might be laid in his holy house of Gloucester, and obtaining the desired permission, marshalled his monks and retainers in procession, went to Berkeley, brought away the royal corpse beneath a gorgeous pall, and buried it in the abbey church. Within a few months the aspect of English politics was completely changed.' Queen Isabella, suspected of having instigated the murder of her husband, was imprisoned. Edward III. was seated on the throne of his father, to whom he erected a magnificent tomb at Gloucester, which he visited in person, founded a chantry there, and presented gifts for enriching and extending the abbey. Thousands of pilgrims afterwards resorted to the shrine, made costly offerings, and thereby added to the abbot's means for increasing splendour. Thoky was now old, and resigning his chair, was succeeded as abbot by Wygmore, who entered enthusiastically on a scheme for remodelling the church. The roofs were removed, and the walls carried to a greater height and closed in with a vaulted roof of stone. The original Norman windows were enlarged, and in fact rebuilt in the style now called Perpendicular, and filled with richly coloured glass. So splendidly did the abbots embellish their ancient church that it stood possessed of all the characters of a suitable cathedral at the time of the institution of the bishopric by Henry VIII. on his suppression of the monasteries.
The cathedral stands in a secluded enclosure, and occupies one side of an area called College Green. It consists of a Perpendicular south porch, a nave with aisles, closed at the eastern end by a great stone screen now supporting the organ, transepts with eastern apsidal chapels, choir with aisles, continued round the altar and opening into apsidal chapels on either side, a cruciform Lady chapel, and a central tower, and has cloisters and a chapter-house. The nave is 174 feet long, 84 feet wide, and 67 1/4 feet high; the transepts are 128 feet long, 43^ feet wide, and 86 feet high in the S, 78 feet in the N; the choir is 140 feet long, 34 1/4 feet wide, and 86 feet high; the Lady chapel is 92 feet long, 24^ feet wide, and 46^ feet high; the tower is 42^ feet in one direction, 40^ feet in the other direction, and 225 feet high; the cloisters are 146 by 145 feet long, 19 feet wide, and 18^ feet high; the chapter-house is 68 feet long and 35 feet wide; and the entire edifice is outwardly 423 feet long, inwardly 406 feet.
As the cathedral is approached from the street the first portion seen is the south porch, near the western end of the south aisle, which, curiously, forms the main entrance to the building. The porch is a two-storied structure in the Perpendicular style, and belongs to that part of the churchwhich was rebuilt by Abbot Morwent in the 15th century along with the entire west front and part of the nave. This front is almost entirely filled by a single great window in the later Perpendicular style, leaving room only for a small west door beneath it. It is divided by a system of uprights and cross bars into nine series of tall but narrow lights, and is rendered impressive chiefly by its size. The ancient glass unfortunately has perished, and been replaced with modern material. The nave, if we except the end window and two bays rebuilt by Morwent, still remains mainly Norman. On each side it has seven round pillars 30 feet in height, from which spring semicircular arches with Norman ornamentation ; above these is a low triforium with four small Norman arches in each bay, arranged in pairs under wider semicircles, and above these again rises the clerestory, which has evidently been rebuilt when the vaulted roof of the church was erected by Abbot Wygmore. The vaulting shafts, consisting of two clusters of little marble columns, placed one above the other, which are now seen above each pillar, are additions of the same period. The windows, however, of the nave have been remodelled by the insertion of Perpendicular tracery, scarcely harmonizing with the round arches by which it is surmounted on the northern side; but the southern aisle has had its outer wall renewed, and the richly decorated windows have been erected with it, but the ancient glass which they once fitly framed has perished.
The transepts, the choir, and the Lady chapel differ from the nave as much as if they formed a totally separate structure. The choir itself projects in Norman fashion across the intersection of transepts and nave, and into the latter far enough to fill up the last bay, where it is ended by the rood-screen which now supports the organ. The transept arms are exceptionally short, and from the eastern side of each there opens a polygonal chapel, while the eastern end of the church is itself polygonal in form. The choir is shut off from the transept arms as well as from the ends of the nave aisles by solid walls, and with the presbytery may be likened to a church within a church. When it is entered through the opening in the rood-screen, one seems indeed to be in another building. The structural features are still Norman, but these have been overlaid by a rich covering of shafting, moulding, and tracery in the Perpendicular style, applied in such a way as always to simulate the effect of a Perpendicular building, which is heightened by the fact that the clerestory and the vaulted ceiling are wholly Perpendicular, as well as the great east window. The result has been described as presenting so " ingenious a transformation that the eye can scarcely realize the fact that here, over the solid parts, at a distance from their surface to soften and enrich, has been dropped a network of mullions, arches, and tracery, like a veil of lacework drawn over some stately figure, or gossamer tangled in bushes that tuft themselves on solid rock." The windows of the clerestory, each filling its entire compartment, are divided into elongated rectangular lights with arched and trefoiled heads, and the same design is continued downwards to the floor, not only over the wall spaces, but over the openings also. Those of the triforium and the pier arcades are treated like unglazed windows filled in with this network of panelling, while the columns are faced with groups of slender shafts and capitals which seem to support the elaborate tracery of the ceiling. The entire eastern wall of the presbytery has been removed, and its end closed in by the great Perpendicular east window, a single window to the eye, though .bent to a three-sided shape, a wall of glass 72 feet high and 38 feet wide. It is the largest window in the world, and happily the original glass with which this great frame is filled has been preserved to us through five stormy centuries.
The upper portion of the tower, which forms so striking a feature in the external view of the cathedral, was the work of Abbot Seabroke, who succeeded Morwent, and whose chantry-tomb is still seen at the east end of the south aisle, near the base of a colurnn which supports the structure. The carved woodwork of the stalls is Perpendicular, evidently of the same period as the transformation of the interior, but the reredos under the great window is modern.
Originally the polygonal aisle which encloses the presbytery had three apsidal chapels opening off it, of which two yet reiriain, but about the middle of the 15th century the centre one was removed to make way for the Lady chapel, which now occupies its place. This chapel is to all intents a separate building. From within the cathedral it is not visible, the entrance being a low arch beneath the east window. The chapel itself is cruciform in shape and Perpendicular in style, the windows occupying so great a share of the wall space as almost to suggest a house of glass. Its western window faces, on a lower level, the east window of the cathedral, and the space between is curiously bridged by continuations of the cathedral triforium, forming an upper connection between the two buildings, and popularly known as the whispering gallery, from the fact that the slightest sound produced at one end is' clearly heard at the other. The crypt, originally a distinct church, but unused as such for centuries, retains its original Norman features. A new reredos, the gift of the Freemasons of Gloucestershire, and designed by Sir Gilbert Scott, was erected in 1873 ; and a new font, after a design by Sir Gilbert Scott, was presented in 1878.
Of the monuments within the cathedral, the most interesting are that of Osric, the founder of the original convent, which lies to the north of the altar-a somewhat rudely sculptured figure under a 16th century canopy; the tomb of Eobert, Duke of Normandy, eldest son of the Conqueror, which originally stood in the chapter house, but was broken up during the civil wars, and subsequently re-erected in the north-east apsidal chapel; and that of the murdered king, Edward II., a lofty base with recumbent sculptured figure, and a graceful canopy in the Late Decorated style, which was long an object of pilgrimage from all parts of England, and the chief cansef of the wealth and magnificence of Gloucester. There is also a bracket tomb and figure of the Norman abbot Serlo in the south side of the choir, and the chantry-tomb already mentioned of Abbot Seabroke at the eastern end of the south aisle.
The cloisters were commenced in 1375, and 'finished before 1412; they form nearly a quadrangle about 148 feet in internal diameter, the walks being 13 feet wide and 19 high; they exhibit the earliest known examples of fan vaulting in their ceiling, and they have sculptured recesses (called t{ the Carols") constructed for the writing of manuscripts, in as complete and fresh a state as when first erected. Another interesting feature is the lavatory in the N walk, with a long stone trough for the water and a recess for towels. A door at the north-east angle leads, through a groined Early English passage, into a small cloister called the abbot's cloister. The chapter-house, entered from the east walk of the cloisters, was mainly built in 1088-95; has an east end and vaulting, added in 1242, and is of oblong form. Over the abbot's cloister Ls the library, containing fragments of an Anglo-Saxon manuscript of the 10th century, a Coverdale Bible, &c. The episcopal palace stands in a very quiet part of the city, not far from the cathedral; was rebuilt in 1860-63 at a cost of nearly £10,000 ; occupies the site of the previous palace, retains its great hall, and includes much of its material in the masonry; forms two wings eastward and westward of the great hall; measures 180 feet in length and 60 in width, and is in several varieties of Pointed architecture, with tracery windows in two styles, and some other parts in other characters. The deanery, attached to the N side of the nave of the cathedral, was the abbot's house.
Ancient Monasteries.-Monastic and other religions institutions were anciently so numerous in this city as to give rise to a monkish proverb, " as sure as God is in Gloucester." A priory in honour of St Oswald, king and martyr, was founded in 909 by Ethelred, Earl of Mercia and his countess, the Princess Ethelfleda, daughter of King Alfred; contained the remains of St Oswald, brought to it from Bardney in Lincolnshire; was afterwards converted into a college of secular priests, exempt from episcopal jurisdiction; was ^iven by William Eufus to the Archbishop of York in lieu of some claims in Lincolnshire; appears to have been much enlarged and beautified during the Norman period; was pulled down and rebuilt at large cost, with repair of St Oswald's tomb by Thurlstan, Archbishop of York; went into neglect and decay during the subsequent periods of disturbance and war; portions of its walls were built into Sfc Catherine's Church. An Augustinian canonry was founded in the neigh-bourhood, at Llanthony, in 1187, by Milo of Gloucester, as a I cell to Llanthony Abbey in Monmouthshire; was given at the dissolution to the Scudamores, passed to the Porters, and then to the Duke of Norfolk, and is now represented by a cruciform barn, a 15th century stable, and part of the gatehouse. A monastery of Franciscan or Grey Friars was founded in the city by Sir Thomas Berkeley in the time of Henry III., and had for one of its abbots Cantelupe, a native of Gloucester; slight remains of it exist near the church of St Mary de Crypt. A Dominican or Black Friars monastery was founded about 1239, and has left extensive remains, which have been incorporated in houses.
Parishes and Churches.-The parishes within the borough are All Saints (population, 5859), Christchurch (2194), St Aldate (5H), Sfc Catherine (3511), St James (5840), St John the Baptist (2237), St Luke (4392), St Mark (3097), ' St Mary de Crypt, with All Saints and St Owen (1125), St Mary de Lode, with Holy Trinity (3938), St Michael, with St Mary de Grace (1874),^St Nicholas (2851), St Paul (5156). There are also within the borough the extra parochial tracts of Littleworth, Pool Meadow, and part of South , Hamlet. The livings in the city, or connected with it-all in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol-are the rectory of , St Aldate, the rectory of St Mary de Crypt with All Saints and St Owen; the rectory of St Michael, with the perpetual curacy of St Mary de Grace; the vicarages of St Mary de Lode with Holy Trinity, St Catherine, Sfc John the Baptist, and St Nicholas; the ecclesiastical parishes of All Saints, Christchurch,. St James, St Luke, St Mark, and St Paul, I which are all vicarages, and the chaplaincies of St Margaret's chapel and the Mariners' chapel. Value of St Aldate, net, £141; of St John the Baptist, net, ££250; of St Michael, with St Mary de Grace, gross, £340 with residence; of St Mary de Lode, with Holy Trinity, net, £203, with residence; of St Catherine, gross, £342 with residence; of St Nicholas, net, £264 with residence; of All Saints, Barton Street, net, £310; of Christchurch, gross, £344; of i St James, net, £265 with residence; of St Luke's, gross, £250 with residence; of St Mark's, net, £180 with rest- ' dence; of St Paul's, net, £125 with residence; of St Margaret's Chapel, £80; of the Mariner's Chapel, net, £175. Patron, of St Aldate's, St Catherine, St Nicholas, All Saints, Barton Street, Christchurch, St James', St Luke's, St Mark's, and St Paul's, the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol; of St John the Baptist, St Mary de Crypt, and St Nicholas, the Lord Chancellor; of St Mary de Lode, the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester; of St Margaret's and Mariners' Chapels, Trustees.
Eleven ancient parochial churches besides the cathedral, the chapels of monasteries, and other ancient chapels, were formerly in the city; but a number were either destroyed at the siege in 1643, or afterwards taken down, and only the ancient parochial churches of Sfc Mary de Crypt, St Mary de Lode, and St Nicholas now remain. The church of St Mary de Crypt stands in Southgate Street, is cruciform and Perpendicular, with Early English and Decorated portions; has a lofty central tower, and contains the tomb of Robert Raikes, and several monuments, and is interesting as being the church in which Whitfield preached his first sermon; it was restored in 1845. The church of St Mary de Lode- sfcands near the cathedral, has an ancient square tower with pinnacles, is itself Early English, but was almost rebuilt in 1826, and contains an effigy fabled to be that of King Lucins. The church of St Nicholas stands in Westgate Street; exhibits various characters from Norman downward ; comprises nave, aisles, and chancel; has a truncated steeple, which formerly rose. into a beautiful spire; contains some monuments, and was renovated in 1865. The church of St Aldate was built in 1730 on the site of a previous church. The church of St John the Baptist occupies the site of an ancient church, ascribed to King Athelstan, and was rebuilt in 1734. St Catherine's Church in Priory Road was erected in 1867-69 to replace the old church, which was attached to the priory of St Oswald. St Michael's Church, at the Cross, rebuilt in 1851, consists of two equal aisles, with a Perpendicular tower, and contains a brass of 1519. All Saints' Church, in Lower Barton Street, is a handsome modern church, designed by Sir Gilbert Scott. The other churches are modern, and do not call for special notice. There are Roman Catholic^ Presbyterian, Congregational, Baptist, Wesleyan, New Connexion Methodist, the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, and Unitarian chapels, and meeting-houses for Plymouth Brethren and the Society of Friends.
Schools and Institutions,-The College School, or Cathedral School, was founded by Henry VIII.; occupied what was previously the library of the abbey, and has been rebuilt. The Crypt Grammar School was founded and endowed by Joan Cooke in the time of Henry VIII.; has an exhibition at Pembroke College, Oxford, and now occupies an edifice in the Italian style of red brick with stone dressings in Barton Street, built in 1862. Rich's blue-coat school or hospital in Eastgate was founded in 1666 by Sir Thomas Rich, and rebuilt in 1807-9 of brick with freestone front. These two schools, with a girls' school in Barton Street, are administered as the United Endowed Schools by a board of governors under a scheme of the Charity Commissioners. There are several Board, National, Wesleyan, and Roman Catholic schools, a school of art, and a school of science. The Gloucester Theological College was founded in 1868 by the Bishop of the diocese. Gloucester was the cradle of the Sunday-school system, which originated with Mr Robert Raikes, the proprietor of the Gloucester Journal. There are a literary and scientific association, a museum, a working-men's institute and reading rooms, and agricultural, horticultural, medical, ornithological, and choral societies, a subscription library and reading-rooms, and commercial reading-rooms. A musical festival is held triennially in the cathedral.
St Bartholomew's Hospital, near Westgate Bridge, dates from a remote period, not later than the time of Henry III., was rebuilt in 1809, and gives residence and maintenance to 20 men and 20 women, and has 30 out-pensioners. St Mary Magdalene's or King James' Hospital, without the city, beyond the site of the Northgate, was anciently a religious house, apparently a cell of Llanthony Abbey. St Margaret's Hospital at Wootton, appears to have been a religious institution in connection with the Benedictine abbey, now the cathedral. St Kymebnrgh Hospital in Southgate, founded in the time of Henry VIII. by Sir. Thomas Bell, has an endowed income of £534. A new suite of almshouses for these three hospitals was built in London Road in 1861 at a cost of £4000, serves for the three hospitals under one roof and one management, is on a rectangular plan in the Gothic style, with central courtyards and two gable towers, and contains rooms for 31 men and women.
The county infirmary in Southgate Street was built in 1755 and enlarged in 1826 and 1872, is a plain but commodious and well
