GLOUCESTER is an ancient city and county in itself, the seat of a bishopric and the capital of Gloucestershire, a county borough, head of a union, petty sessional division and county court district; it gives name to an archdeaconry and rural deanery, and is locally in the hundred of Dudstone and King's Barton, 49 miles north-east from Bath, 54 south-west from Birmingham, 37½ north-east from Bristol, 7 south-west from Cheltenham, 17 north-west from Cirencester, 32 south-east from Hereford, 26 north-east from Monmouth, 12½ north from Stroud, 26½ south from Worcester, 114 from London, via Great Western railway, 102 from Swansea, 113 from Exeter, 97½ from Derby, 113 from Nottingham, 190 from Hull, 44½ from Newport (Mon.), 56¼ from Cardiff, 71¼ from Bridgwater, 152 from Barnstaple, 166 from Plymouth, 132½ from Liverpool, 118¼ from Manchester, 66 from Wolverhampton, 82¾ from Stafford, 83 from Shrewsbury, 112 from Stockport, 125 from Chester, 142 from Sheffield, 146¼ from Lincoln, 150 from Doncaster, 184 from York, 270 from Newcastle and 170 from Leeds.

The city has conferred the title of Earl on the families of Clare, Audley, Despenser and Monthermer; and that of Duke on the Plantagenets, Stuarts and Guelphs.

Gloucester is a port as declared by Order in Council, January 20, 1882, the limits of which commence at Redwick Pill, in the county of Monmouth (being the eastern limit of the port of Newport), and extending thence in a straight line in a southerly direction across the river Severn until it meets another straight line drawn from and intersecting the Flat and Steep Holm Islands in the Bristol Channel, to the point at Aust in the county of Gloucester (being the northern and eastern limits of the Port of Bristol), as far as the site of the Severn Tunnel, then up the river Severn, including both banks as far as the south-west side of the Wheel Rock in that river, half a mile or thereabouts north of Sharpness Point and including all rivers, fields, creeks, channels, harbours and canals within the aforesaid limits. The port is on the east bank of the river Severn, from which it is reached by a ship canal 16½ miles in length; the entrance to this canal is at Sharpness, where the spring tides rise from 26 to 35 feet, and neaps from 10 to 18 feet. There is a capacious tidal basin with an entrance to the Severn 60 feet wide, and from this basin into the canal is a ship lock 320 feet long, 60 feet wide, and with 24 feet water over the sills. A constant depth of 24 feet is maintained alongside the quays at Sharpness, and 15 feet at Gloucester, irrespective of tides. There is ample warehouse, dry dock, and cranage space both at Sharpness and Gloucester, and the rates for handling cargoes are very reasonable.

The docks at Sharpness are connected by the Severn bridge with the coal fields of the Forest of Dean and South Wales, from which through railway rates are in force, admitting of the shipment of steam and other coal from those districts, and thus avoiding the shifting of cargoes to Cardiff, Newport &c. which has hitherto been such a drawback to the port of Gloucester. The coal-tips are of the most approved type, and include arrangements for double screening (when required) and for depositing the first part of a shipment in a vessel's hold without the excessive breakage attending ordinary modes.

Gloucester and Sharpness docks are connected with both the Midland and Great Western railways, while above Gloucester the splendid navigation of the Severn gives complete access by water to the manufacturing districts of Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Staffordshire, and to the general canal systems of the Midlands and North of England. The Worcester and Birmingham canal is the property of the company owning the docks at Sharpness and Gloucester, with the intervening ship canal, and has extensive canal basins and wharves at Worcester, Droitwich, Stoke Prior and Birmingham, the last-mentioned having warehouse and storage room for grain, timber, slate, ores and other merchandise, about 500,000 tons of which are annually carried over this canal. Midway between Sharpness and Gloucester there is also a junction with the Stroudwater canal, which gives access to the mills and extensive cloth and other manufactories of the Stroud Valley, and, by means of the Thames and Seven and Wilts and Berks canals, connects this county with the great agricultural districts of Wiltshire and Berkshire, and the navigation of the river Thames to London, thus employing a large number of boat and barge men.

Salt (the produce of the works at Droitwich and Stoke Prior) is exported both from Gloucester and Sharpness to the Continent, Australia and other parts of the world. Iron and iron and steel manufactured articles are also exported.

The principal imports are timber, deals, grain, cotton seed, flax or linseed, marble, ores, clay, refined sugar, general cargo and continental products (iron, steel, glass &c.).

The Gloucester Harbour Board was formed in 1890, for the maintenance, regulation and lighting of a harbour in the estuary of the river Severn, comprising the port of Gloucester.

The Birmingham and Bristol section of the Midland railway reaches Gloucester, and the South Wales branch of the Great Western railway, after diverging from the main line at Swindon, touches upon Gloucester and passes off to Cheltenham on the one hand, and to Ross, Hereford and South Wales on the other. The station of the Midland railway is near the Barton Street crossing, and is connected with the Great Western railway station by a covered way one-eighth of a mile in length.

The city is in the midst of a populous and fertile district, and has been an inland port for centuries, but the Severn was only navigable for a small class of vessels. In 1892 moorings were laid at Northwick Oaze, so that vessels of large tonnage can now lighten there, free of charge, and proceed to dock at Sharpness without having to wait for tide, which was previously the case. The importance of this port was considerably increased by the construction of the Gloucester and Berkeley ship canal, opened in 1827. This canal begins at Sharpness Point, on the river, about 2½ miles from Berkeley, and runs for 17 miles on a dead level, having no locks except at the ends, and terminates in three commodious docks, surrounded by extensive wharves and warehouses; the rails of the Midland and the Great Western Railway Companies run to the dock side; there are also two spacious dry docks; in 1874 another entrance from the river Severn was completed at Sharpness, about half a mile below the previous one: connected with this is a tidal basin and a floating dock; the former is 545 feet long and 300 feet wide, separated from the floating dock by a lock, which is divided into two portions by three pairs of massive iron gates, one portion being 150 feet and the other 170 feet in length, with a general width of 60 feet, and a depth of water, on its upper sill, of 24 feet: the floating dock is 2,200 feet in length, with a varying width of 200 to 450 feet, and a depth of water from 20 to 24 feet, and covers an area of 13½ acres: opening out of this dock is a graving dock for the repair of vessels, 350 feet long and 50 feet wide at the bottom and 80 at the top: a further cutting, of 720 feet in length and 150 in width, unites this extension with the existing canal, the total length being about three-quarters of a mile, not including the timber piers or jetties, which extend beyond the entrance into the river some 400 or 500 feet, for the purpose of guiding vessels in and out of the docks, and gradually widen from about 60 feet at the basin to between 300 and 400 feet, as they extend into the river; these works, executed at a cost of over £200,000, are immediately connected with the great railway bridge over the Severn near Purton, completed in 1879, which affords direct communication with the Forest of Dean and South Wales: various remarkable geological discoveries were made during the progress of the works.

This city, one of the most ancient in the kingdom, is supposed to have been a settlement of the Iberians, who named it "Glevum"; by the ancient Britons it was called "Caer Glow"; on the arrival of the Romans it became a military station, and was strongly fortified to resist the incursions of the Silures, a powerful Iberian people, who were seated on the western side of the Severn; in 584 it was one of the cities which formed part of the kingdom of the Middle Angles, or Mercia, and was of much importance, owing to its situation on the navigable river Severn: the Normans were not slow to appreciate the beauty and commanding situation of this stronghold, for William the Norman often held his court and spent his festive seasons here, attended by many of the nobles and clergy of the kingdom: in 1141 the Empress Maude took refuge here on her escape from Devizes Castle, and the people of Gloucester assisted her in endeavouring to wrest the crown from the usurper Stephen: in 1216 Henry III. thee ten years old, was crowned here: Parliaments were held here by Richard II. in 1378 and by Henry IV. in 1407; in 1483 Richard III. came to Gloucester after his coronation and thence issued the order for the murder of his two nephews, and Henry VIII. came here with his Queen Anne in 1535: on the outbreak of the Civil War, Gloucester early declared for the Parliament, and although summoned to surrender on August 10th, 1643, the citizens resolved to defend the place, and every effort made by the king to reduce the city was successfully resisted: Gloucester was visited by James II. in 1687; George III. in 1788; by George IV. when Prince of Wales, in 1807; and Queen Victoria, when Princess Victoria, abode one night at the late King's Head hotel, which stood in Westgate street. His late Majesty King Edward VII. visited the Royal Agricultural show held here 23rd June, 1909.

Gloucester is the seat of the assize and county quarter sessions, county court, consistory and probate court, and city and cconty petty sessions.

Under the Municipal Reform Act of 1835 (5 and 6 Wm. IV. cap. 76) it was included Schedule A amongst the boroughs, and formerly returned two members to Parliament; but, under the provisions of the "Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885", and the "Representation of the People Act, 1918", returns one member only: it has a commission of the peace and a court of quarter sessions. The city was divided into four wards, but under the Gloucester (Extension) Act, 1900, it has now ten, and is governed by a mayor, ten aldermen and thirty town councillors: it has also a high steward, sheriff, recorder, coroner and town clerk.

Gloucester, under the "Local Government Act, 1888" (51 and 52 Vict c.41), was constituted a "County Borough" for certain purposes. The Corporation was constituted the Sanitary Authority in 1849, and under their direction the city was thoroughly sewered and drained in 1854, at an outlay of about £16,000. Since the year 1873 the jurisdiction of this body has been extended over the customs port of Gloucester, the attendant expenses being shared between them and the rural sanitary authorities of Thornbury, Gloucester, Wheatenhurst and Dursley, in proportions fixed by the Local Government Board during the years 1876-8.

The police stationed here form a part of the county constabulary.

By the Gloucester City Extension and Improvement Act, 1874, the municipal boundary of the city was made conterminous with the parliamentary limits, as defined by the "Boundary Act, 1868", but by the Gloucester (Extension) Order, 1900, the city includes part of the parishes of Barnwood, Upton St. Leonards, Matson, Tufliey, and Hempstead, the civil parish of Tuffley entirely disappearing and being divided between the city and civil parishes of Whaddon and Hempstead.

The boundary of the Parliamentary City remains the same as defined by the "Boundary Act, 1868".

During the years 1876-8 a sum of upwards of £23,000 was expended in sewerage works and in furnishing an efficient water supply and a sum of ½15,000 in street improvements.

The modern part of the city is pleasantly seated on an eminence on the banks of the Severn; and from the Cross, where the principal streets intersect each other at right angles, as in most cities of Roman origin, it has an easy descent every way towards the suburbs. All the streets are well paved, and the main streets and roads are lighted by electricity and the remainder with gas, supplied by a company from works at Hempstead. New offices have been erected for the company at the lower end of Eastgate. Tramways have been laid along some of the principal thoroughfares.

Under the Gloucester Corporation Light Railways Order, 1903, electric light railways have been constructed in place of the old horse tramways, and, with extensions within the city, making a total of 7 miles of route and 12 miles of single track. The Corporation have also leased the light railways constructed under the County of Gloucester (Gloucester and Brockworth) Light Railways Order, 1903 (2 miles of route and about 2½ miles of single track), which are run in connection with the city light railways.

Under the Gloucester Corporation Electric Supply Order, 1896, electricity works were opened in July, 1900, from which power is supplied for working the light railways and for lighting the principal streets and light railway routes. A refuse destructor has been erected in connection with the electricity works.

By an Act of Parliament passed in 1855, the Corporation were empowered to purchase of the Gloucester Water Company, the waterworks at Robins Wood Hill, and to construct further waterworks and reservoirs at Great Witcombe, about 5 miles south-east: these reservoirs comprise an area of about 46 acres, and upwards of £100,000 has been expended in obtaining and furnishing a supply of water for this city.

In 1882 the town council constructed a tunnel about 620 yards in length in the hills above the reservoirs at Witcombe, in order to obtain an increased supply of water; and have also introduced Deacon's system of meters for detecting waste. In 1896 a well 170 feet deep was sunk in the Red Sandstone at Newent, for the purpose of augmenting the supply.

See of Gloucester. - The sees of Gloucester and Bristol were united in 1836, but in August, 1884, an Act was passed providing for their separation and the establishment of a separate diocese of Bristol as soon as the necessary funds should be provided, and this having been accomplished, a scheme for the re-formation of the diocese of Bristol was approved by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1897, and confirmed by Order in Council.

The Cathedral of Holy Trinity was from 1022 till 1539 the church of the Benedictine mitred abbey of St. Peter, which had replaced an establishment of secular canons founded about 821 by Beornulf of Mercia. It is a magnificent structure, embracing, in varied and elegant designs, combined with singular ability and taste, examples of the different styles of ecclesiastical architecture which prevailed between the latter part of the 11th and the early part of the 16th century: it consists of a nave of nine bays with aisles and south porch, transepts with eastern apsidal chapels, choir of five very unequal bays, with aisles and eastern semicircular ambulatory, opening on either side into polygonal chapels, a cruciform lady chapel projecting eastwards from the ambulatory, and a superb central tower of two storeys, containing 8 bells and the clock bell, called "Great Peter", which used to be rung up for service by six men standing in the choir, but this practice was discontinued by order of the Chapter April 2nd, 1857: on the north side are the cloisters, reached at the south-west angle by a narrow passage or slype, and attached to the eastern alley is the rectangular chapter house, between which and the north transept is the abbot's, or lesser, cloister. The early Benedictine minster, having been completed, was consecrated October 7, 1058, but, in consequence of serious injury by fire in 1088, was rebuilt by Abbot Serlo, and consecrated anew July 15, 1100: in 1122, and in four subsequent years, fires again occurred, but on September 16, 1237, the church was dedicated to St. Peter by Walter de Cantilupe, Bishop of Worcester: between 1228-43 the vaulting of the nave was finished, and the misereres of the choir executed by the monks' own hands: the south aisle of the nave was built in 1318 by Abbot Thokey, during whose abbacy the body of King Edward II. which had been refused interment by the abbeys of Malmesbury, Kingswood and Bristol, was reverently brought hither from Berkeley, and buried in the church: this event led to a great increase in the revenues of the abbey, and enabled the abbot to begin a series of works which now form some of the most interesting portions of the fabric: under Abbot Wigmore (1329-37) the Norman walls of the south transept, or St. Andrew's aisle, were cased with tracery in the Earliest Perpendicular style: the vaulting of the choir, with the stalls on the prior's side, was carried out by Adam de Stanton (1337-51), and the succeeding abbot, Horton, erected the lower part of the tower, the stalls on the abbot's side and the presbytery: he also cased the north transept, or St. Paul's aisle, and in 1375 began the cloisters: the west front, south porch and two western bays of the nave were the work of Abbot Morwent (1420-37): the central tower, continued on Horton's work by Abbot Seabrooke (1450-7), was finished by Robert Tully, afterwards Bishop of St. David's: the lady chapel, begun by Henley, abbot, 1457-72, was completed by Abbot Farley before 1498, and the cloisters were finished by Walter Frocester, abbot, 1381-1412: the seclilia and tiling date from 1455-76: the ground plan of the Norman church, with the addition of the lady chapel and cloisters, still remains to a great extent as in the early part of the 12th century, and the various portions of this date belong either to the church erected by Abbot Serlo or to the reconstructions effected after the fire of 1122; but the most remarkable architectural characteristic of the building is the extremely skilful and unique manner in which the Norman portion of the transepts and choir have been recased and altered, affording the finest existing specimen of very Early or "anticipative" Perpendicular.

The nave consists of nine bays, all of which, with the exception of the two westernmost, are Norman to the top of the triforium, which has two arches in each bay, subdivided into four smaller ones: the lofty circular piers, thirty feet in height and six in diameter, support bold round arches enriched with zigzag ornament; the existing groined vaulting was erected and the clerestory reconstructed after the fire which destroyed the Norman wood roof, but some traces of the original Norman clerestory still remain: the Early English vaulting springs from Purbeck marble shafts, and is plain quadripartite, with a central rib, and bosses at the intersections: the two western bays are Perpendicular, and were the work of Abbot Morwent, who entirely removed the Norman west front, which had two towers or turrets, rebuilt in the Early English period: the westernmost bay is wide: and its arch higher than the other; there is no triforium to either, but the clerestory is continued and the vaulting enriched with lierne work and bosses of foliage: the great west window of nine lights is a memorial to Dr. James Henry Monk, Bishop of Gloucester from 1830 to 1836, and of the united sees of Gloucester and Bristol from 1836 to 1856, and was erected in 1858 at the sole expense of the late Rev. Thomas Murray Browne, hon. canon of Gloucester: the space below the window is occupied by a plain doorway, with panelled arcading on either side, and above a string of quatrefoils. The north aisle corresponds architecturally to the nave, but its Late Norman window openings, with their zigzag mouldings and side shafts, are filled with Perpendicular tracery, continued on the wall below, along which runs a stone bench; at either end of this aisle is a fine processional doorway opening into the cloisters; that at the west end, which has a crocketed canopy and panelling, being for the monks, and the other, in the easternmost bay, for the abbot: the ribbed vaulting of this aisle is Norman: at the west end is a stained window, erected in 1862, and depicting the story of the British King Lucius, who is traditionally said to have been buried in the church of St. Mary de Lode: the remaining windows, all of which are stained, include two of ancient date, lately restored. The south aisle was recast, refaced and groined in 1318, in the Early Decorated style, by Abbot Thokey, but the interior and some portion of the interior Norman wall, with its half piers, remains: all the windows are stained, and of these one represents the coronation of Henry III. in Gloucester cathedral, and another, various scenes from the closing years of the life of Edward II.; the two western bays are the work of Abbot Morwent, and include the south porch, which is of two stages, with six canopied niches above the doorway, angle turrets and a pierced embattled parapet of rich workmanship.

In the transepts, both within and without, the original outline of the Norman work is complete, and the eastern transeptal chapels, rising into the triforium, unite with the choir aisles: the open screen work or traceried panelling which now covers the walls was added in the 14th century, but whereas at Winchester the walls were re-cased anew with Perpendicular masonry, here they were allowed to remain intact, and the later work was laid upon them, the forms of the arches being changed from round to pointed, although in the triforium the Norman arches remain: this change, it appears, was first begun in the south transept, for the character of the work there is distinctly of the Transitional period between Decorated and Perpendicular: below the windows runs an open arcade, and at the south-west angle is a Norman staircase turret leading upwards to the triforium: on the south side are two doorways, now blocked, one of which has mutilated figures of armed warders at the sides: the eastern entrances to the presbytery and crypt are pierced through a screen, and over the latter is a bracket for an image and two lights, shaped like a mason's square and supported by two figures of workmen: the roof has plain lierne vaulting without bosses: the north transept, by the angularity of its mouldings, and the greater richness of the roof, up to which the mullions are continued, shows that at the time of its refacing the development of the Perpendicular style was complete: against the north wall is an Early English structure, in three arched compartments, with a doorway in the centre and windows on either side, enriched with foliage and shafts of Purbeck marble: the interior is groined, and is said to have been used as a reliquary or treasury: on the east side seven steps lead up to a chapel with a Perpendicular reredos, and on the south side, under the tower arch, is a screen of the same date inclosing what was once a chapel, but is now a vestry; both transeptal chapels have double piscinæ: the north transept has also a fine memorial window erected by Lord St. Aldwyn to Caroline Susan (Elwes), his first wife, who died August 14, 1865: a handsome clock was placed in the north transept in 1905 by the Price family in memory of the Rev. Canon Bartholomew Price D.D. late master of Pembroke College, Oxford: St. Andrew's chapel, on the south side, is beautifully decorated with frescoes, designed and chiefly executed by the late T. Gambier Parry esq. of Highnam Court, to whose memory the large window on the west side of the south transept was filled with stained glass in 1889; below this window is a monument to the late Barwick Lloyd Baker esq. of Hardwicke Court, and founder of the first reformatory for boys; on the north side is a brass to His Honor the late Judge Sumner M.A. d. 1885.

The choir, as in most Norman churches, extends one bay into the nave, and is separated from it by a heavy organ screen, erected by Dr. Griffiths in 1820; the organ, built by Harris in 1670, was improved by Willis in 1847, and again renovated in 1889 at a cost of £1,000: the whole of the choir walls are overlaid with traceried panelling and screen work, covering, but still preserving, the outline of the Norman arches and rising to the vault, which is supported on clustered shafts disposed at intervals, and spreads out into a lierne groined roof of exquisite lightness and grace: the arches of the tower are filled with drop tracery, and the vaulting being much higher than the roof of the nave, admits of a western window, through which the setting sun finely illuminates the elaborate vaulting of the choir: on either side of the window are niches, and over the arch the legend following:-

The choir stalls, sixty-two in number, are of Perpendicular date, with rich projecting canopies, the northern range being the work of Abbot Staunton, and those on the south side of Abbot Horton: the carved misericords represent knightly deeds, the foresters' craft and grotesques: on the south side are four sedilia, which, together with the heraldic tiling of the sacrarium, which displays armorial bearings of the Plantagenets, Clares and Despensers, are probably of the early 16th century; the east end of the original Norman choir was semicircular, but in order to insert the great east window the two easternmost bays were removed and the walls made to slope outwards, and the window, 72 by 38 feet, the largest in England, consequently extends beyond the side walls which appear to contain it: the exquisite stained glass inserted in 1348-50, represents the coronation of the Virgin, and the introduction in the lower lights of the arms of lords and knights connected with this county who served in the French campaign of 1346, leads to the inference that it was presented by Thomas, first Lord Bradestone, a knight banneret, and governor of Berkeley Castle, who died in 1360: the stone work of the close window was repaired in 1862 at a cost of £1,400, and the glass releaded at a further expense of £600, under the superintendence of Mr. Winston: the windows of the choir clerestory are of the same date as the east window, and partially contain figures and canopies: the floor is of marble and encaustic tiles, and is: illustrative of subjects from the Old Testament; a reredos, the gift of the Freemasons of the Province, was erected from designs of the late Sir G.G. Scott B.A. in 1873; it is divided into three principal compartments, in which are groups of figures representing the Nativity, the Entombment and the Ascension of Our Saviour; figures of Moses, St. Peter, St. Paul and David occupy the minor niches at the sides of these compartments, and in the small niches above are nine figures of angels bearing the emblems of Our Lord's Passion; and about 1894 it was splendidly coloured and gilt: the magnificent altar cloth was worked and presented by several ladies in the county: the north choir aisle is Norman, of the same date as the choir, the low massive piers of which are here well seen, but the windows are insertions of the Perpendicular period; at the north-east angle of this aisle is an apsidal chapel, converted into a memorial to Abbot Boteler (1437-50), and inclosed by a Perpendicular screen; it has an elaborate reredos of the same date, with niches and canopies, containing figures of the Apostles, and shields of arms of benefactors to the monastery, all enriched with colour; at the west end of the aisle is a stone lectern: the south choir aisle resembles the preceding in its general features, but the corresponding south-eastern chapel retains a larger proportion of its original Norman work; the triforium of the choir, reached by staircases at the north-west and south-west angles of the transepts, originally extended completely round the choir; it is of Late Norman character, modified by alterations made during the Decorated period: the apsidal chapels of the transepts, and those of the east end of the choir aisles, have all corresponding chapels in the triforium above them, and as there are precisely similar chapels in the crypt, there are here, as it were, three churches one over the other: the chapel over that of the south transept has Decorated windows and a double piscina and canopied brackets, of the same period: the south-east and north-east triforium chapels are both Norman, with later windows, and in that adjoining the north transept is a beautiful double piscina: at the back of the ambulatory is the vestibule of the Lady chapel, constructed out of the eastern Norman chapel, which, on the conversion of the choir and the erection of the great window, was allowed to remain almost entire, both in the triforium and below; it is vaulted and has cruciform pendants; in place of the removed eastern triforium, there is now a passage, running across the window and carried on two bridges: the wonderful acoustic properties of this passage, which drew forth the admiration of Lord Bacon, have procured for it the name of the "Whispering Gallery", since the lowest whisper, or the slightest movement, is distinctly heard from one end to the other, the total length being 75 feet, width 3 feet, and height 8 feet; in the centre, above the vestibule, it opens into a chapel, which formed part of the eastern triforium chapel, altered on the erection of the Lady chapel, into which it looks.

The Lady chapel, projecting from the east end of the choir and reached by the vestibule above mentioned, is a magnificent cruciform structure of rich Perpendicular design, erected by Abbots Hanley and Farley, 1457-1499, and consists of five bays, with transeptal chapel of two storeys, and a square elevation eastward: each bay contains a lofty window of four tiers, and the intervening wall space is panelled with brackets and canopies, and includes vaulting shafts from which springs the very fine lierne groined roof, profusely enriched with foliaged bosses: the east window, of nine lights, retains original glass of the latter half of the 15th century, but the tabernacled reredos below it has been nearly destroyed; on the south side are three canopied sedilia, and much of the ancient tiling still remains; both the chapels have a groined roof and upper chapels or oratories, with lierne roofs, and sloping book-desks of stone: in the Lady chapel King James II. touched 103 persons for the evil; in the year 1897 it was thoroughly cleared of whitewash, including the groined roof and bosses &c. and the original glass of the east window re-set; most of the windows are now filled with stained glass.

The crypt, which dates from 1089-1100, and is entered from the south transept, extends under the whole of the choir, its aisles and chapels, and under those of the transepts; it was first restored in 1847 by Mr. F.S. Waller, when the first restorations were begun by Dr. Francis Jeune, canon and treasurer, and subsequently Bishop of Peterborough, 1864-8, and consists of a central portion, encircled by massive piers and arches, and surrounded by an ambulatory opening into the various chapels; the central portion is divided longitudinally by two rows of small columns, from which springs the groining supporting the floor of the choir; the vaulting of the ambulatory is enriched in some parts with zig-zag mouldings, and springs from semi-circular pillars, built round the earlier piers: all the chapels have remains of altars and piscinæ; the walls, about 10 feet thick, are pierced by small splayed windows, now glazed, and the interior has been cleared of soil and the original floor of rough concrete laid open.

The monuments in the cathedral include a mutilated effigy of an abbot, probably Foliot; the superb canopied tomb, with alabaster effigy of King Edward II. murdered at Berkeley Castle, Sept. 21, 1327 (tomb repaired by Oriel College, Oxford, in 1737, 1789 and 1798); chantry, containing effigy of Abbot Seabroke, ob. 1457; effigies of a knight and lady, brought from Llanthony Abbey, believed to represent members of the Brydges family, early 15th century; 7-panelled altar-like chest or cenotaph of oak, with recumbent oaken effigy, to Robert Curthose, eldest son of the Conqueror, who died in 1134, and was buried in the chapter house: chantry, with effigy of Abbot Parker, ob. 1539; altar-tomb, repaired in 1648, to Thomas Fitzwilliams, 1579; monument of Elizabethan character to Richard Pates, 1588; a high tomb, with effigy, crowned and carrying the model of a church in the left hand, under a canopy of Perpendicular date, to Osric, the reputed founder of the abbey, 681, erected, it is said, in the time of Abbot Parker (1515-39); (this tomb was opened about 1894 and the legend of its being a cenotaph refuted, the coffin with some remains being found within it); altar-tomb, with effigy, to Bishop Godfrey Goldborough, 1604; memorial to Thomas Machen. alderman of Gloucester, ob. 16i4; high tomb, with alabaster effigies, to Alderman Blackleech, 1639, and Gertrude, his wife; monument with effigy to Elizabeth (Williams) daughter of Bishop Smith, 1622; another to Bishop Nicholson, 1671; life-sized statue to Sir John Powell kt. judge, 1713; monument by Sievier, to Sir John Onesiphorus Paul, 1820; one by Rickman, to the Rev. Richard Raikes, son of Robert Raikes, founder of Sunday schools, 1823; a statue by Sievier, to Dr. Jenner, the discoverer of vaccination, 1823; one by Flaxman, to Mrs. Morley, 1784; and others to John Jones, registrar to several bishops, alderman and thrice mayor, 1630; and to John Bower, 1615, and family; in the north aisle of the nave is a memorial to Canon Tinling, d. 1897; and on the wall of the south aisle a memorial tablet has been erected to Sir Hubert Parry, late organist and director of the Royal College of Music; it was unveiled during the 1922 festival by Viscount Gladstone P.C., G.C.B. several portions of the cathedral retain remains of ancient decoration in colour; the capitals of the piers in the choir display the white hart lodged, the badge of Richard II.; in the triforium is a panel painting of the "Last Judgment", of the with century.

The cloisters (1351-1412), begun by Abbot Horton and completed by Abbot Frocester, are the very finest in England, both for extent and the elaborate character of the tracery which adorns them; the north and south alleys are 144 feet in length, the east and west sides being 147 feet; the general width about 12 feet and the height 18 feet; the walls are panelled and the spacious window filled with Perpendicular tracery; in 1897 the north and west alleys underwent a thorough repair; the magnificent fan-vaulted roof, the earliest existing specimen in the country, is covered with panelled groining, highly enriched; each alley is divided into ten bays or compartments, and in the southern alley are the "Carols", a series of arched and embattled recesses, twenty in number, running below the main windows; these were intended as places for writing, illuminating or study, and each has a small window of its own: on the north side are the lavatories, which are also fan-vaulted and project into the cloister-garth; under the windows runs a long trough for water, once supplied from Robins Wood hill, and opposite, in the cloister wall, is a recess for towels: in the east walk are memorial windows to the Rev. H. Burrup, John Plumptree D.D. a former dean of Gloucester, Archdeacon Timbrell, Dean Rice, the Rev. Thomas Evans D.D. Miss Mary Davies, Dr. Claxson, Dean Luxmoore, Archdeacon Wetherell and the Rev. Canon Bankes. The Dean's garden, within the cloisters, was laid out afresh about 1897, and replanted by Dean Spence-Jones. The original monastic well of the 14th century and other early medieval work also within the cloisters has now been uncovered. The chapter house, entered from the east walk, is a rectangular Norman structure, erected 1088-95, and consists of four bays, three of which are Norman, and the easternmost Perpendicular; the Norman portion is arcaded, and the roof forms a pointed arch, with bold vaulting ribs dividing each bay: at the west end is an enriched Norman doorway and windows: Roger de Clare, Earl of Hertford, ob. 1173; Walter de Lacy, a Norman knight, and Richard de Clare, the famous "Strongbow", second Earl of Pembroke, ob. 1176, were buried here; between the chapter house and the north transept is a slope or passage, over which is the library, of Late Perpendicular date, 86 by 18 feet, with a roof of dark oak; it contains a transcript of "Abbot Frocester's Lives of the Abbots of Gloucester" from the foundation of the monastery to 1381; a register of documents made by the same abbot, and another register compiled by Parker, the last abbot: at the north-east angle of the cloisters is a doorway leading to a groined Early English passage, which opens into the cloister of the infirmary, around the cloister garth, or Dean's garden; six arches of the hall, the west doorway and some fragments of the south side remain; adjoining the cathedral, and partly built over the Norman slype leading from the cloisters, is the Deanery, anciently the Prior's dwelling, and containing several Norman and Early English chambers: the stone vaulted room over the slype, at present used as the Dean's library; is a splendid example of Early Norman work: there is also a staircase with a large stone lantern, and on the north a timber-framed building of the 15th century; the western gate-house is Early English, and a Late Perpendicular gateway, which formed the entrance to the abbot's lodge, remains in Miller's Green, now called Palace yard.

The general outline of the Cathedral, owing to the depression of the nave below the line of the choir, is not favourable to effect, but the unrivalled beauty and elegance of the majestic central tower, "a pharos to all the hills", amply redeem[s] every defect, while at the same time the variety produced by the splendid Perpendicular choir, the chapels of the transepts and choir aisles, the half-detached Lady chapel, with its projecting chantries, and the numerous lofty pinnacles, is unusually picturesque: the whole building, except the transepts, is embattled, the bays being divided by buttresses, which, save in the choir, terminate in pinnacles, rising above the parapet; the turrets at the angles of the transepts are Norman, with two tiers of arcading near the top and spirelets of later date: the east end, above the great window, is finished with panelling and a graceful open parapet and pinnacles: the tower is of two stages, divided by a band of quatrefoils, and is lighted by richly crocketed windows in each stage; the upper stage is finished with a bold string-course, and a pierced embattled parapet, and at the angles rise square open pinnacles of singular lightness and grace; it forms a square of about 40 feet, the total height being 225 feet: the Cathedral is, internally, 408 feet in length, the exterior limit reaching 423 feet; the nave is about 83 feet wide by 67 high; the choir, on the other hand, being 86 feet in height with a breadth of about 34 feet; the whole transept is 128 feet long: extensive repairs and restorations were effected during the period 1873-90, at an expenditure of about £13,000, under the direction of the late Mr. F.S. Waller, from the designs of the late Sir G.G. Scott R.A. and funds, estimated at £10,000, have been raised for further restoration. The Cathedral registers date from the year 1661.

The episcopal palace, the residence of the bishop of the diocese, was entirely rebuilt in 1862, in the Gothic style of the 15th century; it contains portraits of Queen Elizabeth, Bishop Warburton, Bishop Ellicott and others: the Abbot's hall, of the Decorated period, has been new roofed.

St. Aldate's church is in the street of that name; the original building stood upon the city wall, near the site of the present church, but was taken down and the materials used for erecting St. Michael's-at-the-Cross: the present church, erected about 1730, is a plain brick structure in the Early English style, consisting of nave, west porch and a turret containing one bell: the stained east window was the gift of Mr. H. Bruton, as a memorial to his deceased wife; and another window on the south side commemorates the Rev. Francis Bayly, a former rector: a new organ was provided in 1908, at a cost of £131: the church was restored in 1883-91, at a cost of £500, and again in 1907, at a cost of £286, and affords 250 sittings. The register dates from the year 1571, but is not continuous. The living is a rectory, net yearly value £190, in the gift of the Bishop of Gloucester, and held since 1922 by the Rev. Arthur Harold Powell M.A. of St. John's College, Oxford.

The church of St. John the Baptist, Northgate street, rebuilt, with the exception of the tower and spire, in 1734, is an edifice of stone in the heavy Classic style of that period, consisting of nave, aisles and a tower with spire of the 13th century, containing 6 bells: a new organ was erected in 1892: Sir Thomas Rich kt. father of the founder of the Gloucester Blue Coat School, was a benefactor to the church, and is buried here, as also are some members of the family of Rudhall, famous as bell-founders in the 18th century: there are handsome monuments in the chancel to Major Price, 1678; and his daughter, and to the Naylors and other old families of the city; the communion plate of silver-gilt, and dated 1659, was presented by Sir Thomas Rich: the church was restored in 1882, at a cost of £650, and the tower, erected in the 14th century, was thoroughly repaired in 1916 at the cost of £1,000, bequeathed by Mrs. Piffe Brown, of Gloucester: there are 350 sittings. The register dates from the year 1560. The living is a rectory, net yearly value £245, with residence, in the gift of the Lord Chancellor, and held since 1881 by the Rev. Alfred Collet Eyre M.A. of Caius College, Cambridge, hon. canon of Gloucester Cathedral, rural dean of Gloucester, and surrogate. The Rev. T. Stock, cofounder with Robert Raikes of the first Sunday schools, was rector here from 1787 to 1804.

St. Mary-de-Crypt, Southgate street, is an ancient cruciform building in the Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel with aisles of two bays, nave of three bays, transepts and a central tower with pinnacles containing 8 bells; it was erected by Robert Chichester, Bishop of Exeter, 1138-55, and derives its name from having two crypts beneath it: the chancel is separated from its aisles by handsome stone screens, and from the nave by a screen of oak: the whole interior is seated with old carved oak benches: in this church Whitfield was baptized; here he preached his first sermon, and here his son was buried: here also is the tomb of Robert Raikes, the founder of Sunday schools, who died at Gloucester 5th April, 1811, and that of Jimmy Wood, the eccentric banker: in the south vestry is a fine marble monument with life-sized symbolical female figures, by Scheemaker, to Dorothy Snell, d. 1746: in the north vestry is a monument, with kneeling effigy, to Daniel Lysons, ob. 1681; there are also memorials to Sir Thomas Bell kt. ob. 1567; and the Rev. John Grubb M.A. author of "St. George for England": in the north transept are brasses with effigies and incomplete triple canopy to John Cook and Joan, his wife, ob. 1544, founders of the school, now called St. Mary-de-Crypt school, formerly carried on in a building adjoining this church: a handsome reredos of Caen stone and Venetian mosaic, with figures of our Saviour, St. Paul, St. John, Nicodemus and St. Mary Magdalene, was erected about 1889; the church was restored in 1877, at a cost of £1,009, and again in 1908, at a cost of £3,000, and affords 500 sittings. The register dates from the year 1653, and contains the entry of the baptism of Mr. Raikes and various entries relating to his family. The living is a rectory, with the vicarage of St. Owen and the rectory of All Saints, the churches of which have long been demolished, net yearly value £200, with residence, in the gift of the Lord Chancellor, and held since 1908 by the Rev. Edward William Jones B.A. of St. David's College, Lampeter.

The church of St. Owen stood on the site now occupied by the Southgate Congregational chapel, and that of All Saints' stood opposite to St. Michael's, on the spot now occupied by a Bank.

St. Mary-de-Lode (formerly called also S. Mary Ante Portam), in St. Mary's square, seems to have been the only parish church in the city from Roman times till after the Conquest; it is a building of stone in the later Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, north and south porches and a low massive Norman tower containing 6 bells: the arch between the nave and chancel is much admired; S. Lucius. a British Christian king, and founder of the original church, is supposed to have been buried here: in the chancel is a 13th century tomb of an unknown priest, said to be William de Chamberlayne: much interest attaches to the site of this church, which, on the rebuilding of the nave in 1826, was found to have been previously occupied by a Roman building: the chancel has been carefully restored, and has a stained east window: there is a wooden 15th century pulpit of some interest, and 500 sittings. The register dates from the year 1557. The living is a vicarage, with that of Holy Trinity annexed, net yearly value £252, with 25 acres of glebe and residence, in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester, and held since 1922 by the Rev. William George Pritchard M.A. of Clare College, Cambridge.

St. Catharine's church, WOTTON, erected in 1915 at an expense, including site, of about £15,000, by the Gloucester Church Extension Society in place of the old church in Priory road, is an edifice of stone occupying a commanding position on the summit of Wotton hill: there are 650 sittings. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £270, with £60 for a curate, and residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Gloucester, and held since 1903 by the Rev. Samuel Richmond Robertson, hon. canon of Gloucester, and surrogate.

The church of St. Mary Magdalene, Wotton, was removed, with the exception of the chancel, in 1861, but care was taken to preserve a beautiful Norman arch which existed in the old building, and which is now built into the disused chancel.

St. Margaret's chapel, attached to the United Hospitals of St. Margaret, St. Mary Magdelene and St. Kyneburgh, at Wotton, is a building consisting only of chancel and nave. The chaplaincy, yearly value £80, is in the gift of the Charity Trustees, and has been held since 1890 by the Rev. Samuel Richmond Robertson, hon. canon of Gloucester cathedral and vicar of St. Catharine's.

St. Michael's church, at the Cross, is a modern building in the Decorated style, consisting of nave and south aisle with embattled parapet and pinnacled buttresses, and an embattled western tower of Late Perpendicular character containing 10 bells: there is a brass with effigies to William Henshawe, bell-founder, five times mayor (1503-20), and his wives, Alys, ob. 15 19, and Agnes: there are several stained windows: the canopied reredos, of richly carved stone work, designed by Mr. F.S. Waller, was erected in 1883 at a cost of £1,000 by Mrs. Symes, a late resident, in memory of her parents: in the south aisle is a stone figure of a knight, and the ancient memorial tablets inserted in the west wall of the aisle are of interest: the communion plate was presented in the 17th century, and its aggregate weight is nearly 300 ounces: a handsome oak screen was erected in 1894: the church was restored about 1885, at a cost of £2,250, and has 400 sittings. The register dates from the year 1553. The living is a rectory, with the perpetual curacy of St. Mary de Grace annexed, net yearly value £285, with residence, in the gift of the Lord Chancellor, and held since 1906 by the Rev. Herbert Morris Braithwaite M.A. of University College, Oxford, and surrogate.

St. Nicholas, Westgate street, is an ancient building of stone in the Early Norman and Early English styles, with Perpendicular insertions, and consists of chancel, nave of six bays, aisles, west porch and a fine western tower with truncated embattled spire containing 6 bells and a clock, dated 1612: in the south aisle, near the chancel, is an altar tomb, with effigies, to John Walton, alderman, 1626, and Alice, his wife: the south doorway has a fine Norman arch, and the door retains a fine specimen of a sanctuary knocker: in the walls which separate the chancel from the aisles there is an hagioscope with four openings: the church, the floor of which is now several feet below the street level and approached by steps, was restored in 1866: there are about 800 sittings. The register dates from the year 1558. The living is a perpetual curacy, net yearly value £300, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Gloucester, and held since 1877 by the Rev. John James Luce, M.A. of Trinity College, Dublin.

St. Luke's parish was formed July 10th, 1868, from the parishes of Hempstead, St. Mary-de-Lode, North Hamlet and South Hamlet, Upton St. Leonard, St. Michael and parts of the former extra-parochial places and Wotton Vill. The church, in St. Luke's street, Southgate street, erected in 1841, is an edifice of brick, consisting of chancel and nave: the east window, chiefly filled with mediæval Flemish glass, represents incidents from the New Testament: the church was restored in 1875 and again in 1914: there are 400 sittings. The register dates from the year 1841. The living is a perpetual curacy, net yearly value £290, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Gloucester, and held since 1915 by the Rev. Claude William Janvrin M.A. of FitzWilliam Hall, Cambridge.

St. Luke's the Less parish was formed October 10th, 1910, from the parishes of St. Luke's, St. Paul's and Hempstead. The church, in Linden road, was erected in 1910, and consists of chancel, nave and side chapel, and seats 512 persons. The living is a perpetual curacy, net yearly value £270, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Gloucester, and held since 1910 by the Rev. David Austin Fisher B.A. of St. David's College, Lampeter.

All Saints' parish was formed May 26, 1876, from the parish of St. James: the church, in Lower Barton street, erected in 1875, at a cost of £8,600, is a building of stone in the Decorated style, erected from designs by the late Sir Gilbert Scott R.A. at a cost of about £8,000, a considerable portion of which was given by the family of the Rev. T. Hedley, first vicar of the parish, and consists of chancel with south aisle, nave of four bays and aisles; there are five stained windows: in 1887 a large vestry or church room was added on the north side: there are 701 sittings. The registers date from the year 1875. The living is a perpetual curacy, net yearly value £425, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Gloucester, and held since 1922 by the Rev. George Francis Helm M.A. of Exeter College, Oxford, M.C.

The Good Shepherd Mission Church, in Derby road, is a chapel of ease for All Saints' parish, built in 1892 at a cost of £1,500, and will seat 300.

The Parish Hall (Allington Hall), in Derby road, was built in 1905, and will hold 200 persons; it is now used as a working men's club.

Christ Church parish was formed Nov. 30, 1877, out of the parish of St. Owen, the hamlet of Littleworth, part of the South Hamlet, and part of the hamlet of Barton St. Mary; the church, in Brunswick square, is an edifice of brick in the Classic style, consisting of chancel and nave and a western turret containing 2 bells, recast during the restorations of 1899-1900: the chancel, originally a small apse, was enlarged in 1865; in 1884-5 the whole church was restored, the flooring re-laid, the interior re-pewed, 14 new windows inserted, and a pulpit of stone and alabaster provided; in 1899-1900 the chancel was extended, a barrel-vaulted roof constructed throughout, and a new west front, comprising two large rooms, built. There are 523 sittings. The register dates from the year 1823. The living is a perpetual curacy, net yearly value £310, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Gloucester, and held since 1917 by the Rev. William Rayner Williams M.A. of Wadham College, Oxford.

St. James' parish was formed in 1842 from the parishes of St. Catharine, St. Mary-de-Lode, St. Michael and Upton St. Leonard: the church, in Upton street, consecrated in 1841, is a plain edifice of stone in the Lancet style, standing north and south, and consists of chancel, nave, eastern aisle, north porch and a turret at the north end containing one bell: there is a reredos of marble with shafts of Bath stone: the church was restored and enlarged in 1879, at a cost of £2,550, when the aisle and chancel were added, and in 1891 a reredos was erected at a cost of £60: there are 650 sittings, of which about 400 are free. The register dates from the year 1841. The living is a perpetual curacy, net yearly value £300, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Gloucester, and held since 1916 by the Rev. John Martin, of the London College of Divinity. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners allow £120 yearly for the services of a curate. There is a mission chapel at Tredworth. The parish has a charity derived from J. King's estate, which furnishes 4s. to each of thirty deserving persons not in receipt of parish relief, and is distributed yearly on St. Thomas' day; the rent of three houses, called "Hedley's charity", is applied towards the maintenance of St. James' National school: there is also a sum of £178 left by Mrs. Mary Comley in 1883, and invested in Consols; the interest is distributed to deserving persons on St. Thomas' day.

St. Mark's parish was formed Feb. 10, 1846, from the parishes of St. John the Baptist, St. Mary-de-Lode and St. Catharine and part of the extra-parochial place of South Hamlet: the church, in Kingsholm, erected in 1847, is a building in the Early English style, consisting of chancel with south aisle, nave, aisles, vestry and a western tower, with spire, containing one bell: the chancel screen was added in 1896, in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the church: in 1900 the chancel aisle was fitted as a chapel: a memorial window at the west end was the gift of Mr. R.V. Vassar-Smith, and one at the east end was erected in 1895: there are also memorial windows to Mr. T.H. Washbourn (1902) and to Mrs. H. W. Bruton (1905): the chancel was raised, enlarged and improved in 1888 and 1891, at a coat of £1,310: the church affords 400 sittings: a new organ was provided in 1907 at a cost of upwards of £1,000 to commemorate the diamond jubilee of the church. The register dates from the year 1847. The living is a perpetual curacy, net yearly value £290, in the gift of the Bishop of Gloucester, and held since 1921 by the Rev. Herbert Finzel Hayward M.A., L.Th. of Hatfield Hall, Durham. A parish hall was built and a working men's club adjoining was enlarged and opened in 1903.

St. Paul's parish was formed in 1884 from the ecclesiastical parishes of St. Luke and St. James: the church, in Stroud road, was erected at a cost of £7,600, and is built of Painswick stone, with Bath stone dressings, in the Early Geometric style, consisting of chancel, lofty nave, aisles, transepts, western and south-east porches and a turret containing one bell: there are 550 sittings. The register dates from the year 1883. The living is a perpetual curacy, net yearly value £339, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Gloucester, and held since 1908 by the Rev. Herbert Edgecumbe Hadow M.A. of Oxford University.

The Mariners' church, in the Docks, is a building of stone in the Early English style, erected in 1849 by public subscription, and has ever since been maintained in substantial repair out of the fund raised by voluntary contributions from the merchants and others interested in the welfare of the Docks: in 1920 a white marble tablet was erected as a memorial to the six men connected with the church killed during the Great War, 1914-1918; and two stained windows from old St. Catherine's church were placed in this church in memory of Mr. Thomas Marling and Miss Elizabeth Walker: there are about 200 sittings. The chaplaincy, yearly value £180, in the gift of trustees, has been held since 1905 by the Rev. William Henry Whalley.

The Mission hall, in Llanthony road, connected with the Mariners' chapel, was opened in 1886, and has sittings for 300 persons. There is a small reading room in connection with the hall, opened in 1907, for the use of boatmen and sailors.

The Diocesan Mission undertakes the training of laymen for service in the various mission chapels of the diocese. The regular mission staff consists of a canon missioner and two diocesan missioners, besides 21 honorary assistant diocesan missioners licensed by the bishop; the Lenten teaching staff numbers about 100 members, and there are lecturers on Church History; Canon missioner, Rev. Francis Peacock, canon of Gloucester.

Gloucester is within the Roman Catholic diocese of Clifton.

The Roman Catholic church, dedicated to St. Peter ad Vincula, built about 1789, and rebuilt in 1868, from the designs of Mr. Gilbert Blount, architect, is an edifice in the Decorated style, consisting of chancel, nave of four bays, aisles extending the whole length of the church, and a tower, with spire about 159 feet in height, containing a clock and one bell. The interior was decorated in 1885. The Very Rev. Canon Joseph Bernard Chard is the priest.

There are Presbyterian, Congregational, Wesleyan, Baptist, Primitive Methodist, United Methodist and Unitarian chapels, the Plymouth Brethren, and two meeting houses for the Society of Friends. The Baptists also hold services in the Corn Exchange.

The Town Council was constituted a burial board by an order of the Privy Council, dated 4th April, 1856, under the provisions of the 17 and 18 Vict. cap. 87. The cemetery, situated on the Painswick road, was opened in 1857 and extended in 1875 and 1912, the area now being 350a. 1r. 4p.; about two-thirds of the land is appropriated to the Church of England and the remainder is divided between the Roman Catholics and Nonconformists: there are two mortuary chapels.

Sunday schools were originated and first put into practical operation by Mr. Robert Raikes, a philanthropic printer, of this city, in the year 1781: Raikes, who was born at Gloucester in 1735, was educated at Cambridge, and died 5th April, 1811.

The Raikes Memorial Sunday schools, in the Brunswick road, were erected in 1884.

At College Green stands the memorial erected to the officers and men of the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars Yeomanry who fell in the Great War, 1914-1918; the lower portion of the memorial contains eight low relief panels in bronze, four representing scenes in the Great War and four bearing the names of the fallen; above is a super-base surmounted by a magnificent cross, which is itself 18 feet in height; the panels were designed by Capt. Adrian Jones R.A. and the architects of the whole were Messrs. Cash and Wright, of London; the unveiling of the memorial was carried out in April, 1922, by Lieut.-Gen. Sir Philip W. Chetwode Bart. K.C.B., K.C.M.G., D.S.O.

The Shire Hall, opened August 26, 1816, is a building of Bath and Leckhampton stone in the Classic style, from designs by Sir Robert Smirke R.A.; it is 82 feet wide and 300 feet in length, and has two frontages, the principal one in Westgate street and the other at the rear in Bear Land: the Westgate street front is a copy of a temple on the Ilissus; the centre portico is supported by four Ionic columns, 32 feet high, resting on an elevated base, and is approached by steps, which extend along the whole width of the building; the principal entrance opens into a vestibule about 16 feet wide and 100 feet long, from which the offices for the county are approached: opposite the main entrance is a stone staircase, leading to the gallery of the Crown court, and to large rooms used for various public purposes. The assizes, quarter sessions, county council meetings and general committees are held here. In 1896 a new council chamber, grand jury room and rooms for the county treasurer, witnesses and others, besides new offices and strong rooms for the use of the clerk of the peace and the county surveyor, were erected at a cost of £10,750: in 1920 a tablet of Hoptonwood stone was erected in the Council chamber as a memorial to the seven men of the staff killed during the Great War, 1914-1918. The Shire Hall was considerably extended in 1909-11, at a cost of £16,000, so as to bring the various county offices into one building. Petty sessions are now held in the new sessions court, adjoining the Police Station in Bear land, at the back of the Shire Hall.

At the Cross, where the four principal streets meet, once stood the High Cross, taken down in 1650.

The Guildhall, erected in 1890-92, at a cost of £31,000, occupies a site in Eastgate street, where formerly stood Sir Thomas Rich's school: the foundation stone was laid by Henry, 8th Duke of Beaufort K.G. 23 May, 1890, and the building was opened 12 July, 1892; it is constructed of Monk's Park stone and brick, in the Renaissance style, from designs by Mr. G.H. Hunt F.R.I.B.A. of London, and contains a public hall, 80 feet in length by 40 wide, council chamber, committee rooms, town clerk's, surveyor's, accountant's and other municipal offices, cloak and retiring rooms, kitchens, and rooms for the caretaker.

In the Guildhall are now hung the portraits removed from the Tolsey; these include Charles, Duke of Norfolk, his late Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester, Sir Thomas Rich, Alderman John Cooke, 1529, and Joan, his wife, 1544; Sir Thomas Bell kt. 1567; and Col. Edward Massey, Parliamentary officer, 1643; there is also a picture of "the siege of Gloucester", presented in 1877 by John Joseph Powell esq. Q.C.; and in 1882 a portrait of Samuel Bowley esq. of Gloucester, by Jerry Barrett, was presented to the Corporation by his representatives. The insignia of the Corporation include two pairs of silver-gilt maces, feet 5 inches in length, made in 1652, and converted into royal maces at the Restoration: there are also two state swords; the earlier, probably of the 15th century, has been blackened for use as a mourning sword and has a black velvet scabbard dated 1677, the other sword of the 17th century has a Solingen blade and the royal and city arms on the pommel: the scabbard is covered with crimson velvet with silver-gilt mountings, and has the date 1660.

The Tolsey, or old Town Hall, a building of stone and brick, in the Italian style, erected in 1749, at the Cross, has been pulled down.

The Corn Exchange, Southgate street, is a building of stone, the front of which, taken down and enlarged in 1893, is now occupied as the Cross branch post office; the facade is relieved by four Corinthian pillars, and surmounted in the centre by a colossal figure of Ceres; in the rear is a spacious and lofty hall, used for concerts and public meetings, and seating 600 persons.

The Public Library, situated in Brunswick road, and adjoining the Municipal Technical Schools, was erected from designs by Mr. F.W. Waller, at a total cost of £6,000, including fittings, and first opened to the public 31st May, 1900. The interior arrangement includes news, magazine and reference rooms and a lending department, with reference book store above the magazine room. The books and pamphlets number 67,695, and include a very large collection of works dealing with the history and topography of the county. The libraries of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, the Cotteswold Naturalists' Field Club and the Gloucestershire Engineering Society are deposited here. Persons not resident in the City may borrow books for home reading on payment of an annual subscription of five shillings, two books being allowed at a time. Hours: lending library, 10 a.m. till 8 p.m.; reading rooms, 9 a.m. till 8.30 p.m.

The Gloucestershire Engineering Society holds monthly meetings at the Lecture Theatre of the Technical Schools in Brunswick road; their library has been deposited in the Public Library.

The Schools of Science and Art and the County Museum are contained in a single building in the Brunswick road, and form a considerable pile in the Gothic style of the 13th century; there are lecture, glass and masters' rooms, a library, laboratory and rooms for the curator, and the museum includes an excellent geological collection. The schools were transferred to the control of the Gloucester municipal authorities in 1896.

Adjoining the schools is the Price Memorial Hall, now the Public museum, an edifice of native stone in the Renaissance style, from designs by Mr. F.W. Waller, architect, of College green, given to the Science and Art Society, at a cost of £5,000, by the late Mrs. Price, of Pen Moel, near Chepstow, and opened Nov. 23, 1893.

There are Agricultural, Archæological, Horticultural and Medical Societies, and a Choral Society, formed with the object of training singers for the churches of the city. The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archæological Society, founded in 1876, has its head quarters in Gloucester, the Society's library being housed at the Public Library.

The Gloucestershire Rose Society, founded in 1888, holds an annual show at Gloucester in July, when medals and prizes are awarded, and the Gloucestershire Root, Fruit and Grain Society hold their show annually on the 9th November.

Gloucester is well known for its musical festivals, which are held triennially, conjointly with Worcester and Hereford, for the benefit of the widows and orphans of the clergy of the diocese: the first celebration took place in Worcester Cathedral, August 17, 1722.

Gloucester Saline Chalyheate Spa, discovered in 1814, is situated to the south-east of the city, and has a good pump-room; an analysis of the saline and sulphur springs made in 1905 by George Embrey F.C.S. city analyst, gave the following as the constituents of an imperial gallon of 70,000 grains:-

The Public Baths, in Barton street, opened July 30, 1891, at a cost of about £14,000, are of red brick, relieved with Bath stone dressings, and comprise a central block with main entrances, offices and manager's apartments, and two wings containing private baths and a Turkish bath. In the rear are two swimming baths, each 80 feet by 37 feet, the depth of water varying from 4 to 6 feet; attached to the baths is a public gymnasium.

The Cattle Market is within 2 minutes' walk from the Great Western and Midland railway stations. The weekly markets are held on Saturdays (store stock), Mondays (fat stock), and are abundantly supplied. There are separate spaces for horses, cattle and sheep. Lairs are provided for accommodation of cattle previous to sale. Markets falling on Bank Holidays are held on the following days. Fruit markets are held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Great stock fairs are held on 1st Saturday in April (horse and bull fair); 1st Saturday after Whit Monday (horse and cattle fair); 1st Saturday in July (horse and cattle fair); 1st Saturday in September (cattle and sheep fair); 28th September (Barton fair) (great sheep, horse and cattle fair); last Saturday in November (horse and cattle fair); Christmas fat stock market about 2nd Monday in December.

The Provision and General Market, Eastgate street, established in 1856, is opened daily.

There are six banking establishments, breweries, maltings, railway carriage and wagon works in which a large number of hands are employed, steam flour, saw and planing mills, engineering works, brass and iron foundries, a match factory and brickyards, and rope sail, sack, brush and pin factories; boat and barge building are also carried on, and there are manufactories for agricultural implements and railway fittings, marble, slate, enamelled slate and chemical works, and a large trade is done in timber and corn.

The County Council Dairy School was established in 1892.

The Gloucester Conservative Club, ConstitUtion House, was established August 7, 1883; the premises contain a reading room, lecture room, public room, two billiard rooms and a bar, and there are nearly 550 members.

The Gloucester Liberal Club, established July 1st, 1877, at Ladybellgate House, is now removed to more commodious premises at Suffolk House, Greyfriars, and also includes the offices of the City Liberal Association. The large assembly room is also used for balls, concerts and meetings of the Women's Liberal Association, and there is a coffee room, a billiard room, and reading, smoking and card rooms.

The Gloucester Women's Liberal Association was formed about 1890; the members meet at Suffolk House, the headquarters of the Liberal Club.

The Gloucester Club, Westgate street, has now (1922) over 200 members. Secretary, Cyril Taynton esq.

The Cotteswold Naturalists' Field Club, founded in 1846, holds its meetings at the Science School, the club's library being housed at the Public Library; Douglas E. Finlay M.B., B.S., F.Z.S. hon. sec. 57 Park road, Gloucester.

The Young Men's Christian Association have now acquired spacious premises in Southgate street, formerly the Ram hotel in the entrance hall oak panels have been erected bearing the names of the men of the city killed during the Great War, 1914-1918: the official opening of the building and unveiling of the panels was performed by H.R.H. Princess Helena Victoria.

His Majesty's Prison, Barrack square, built in 1791, at a cost of £35,000, stands in the north hamlet, on the site of the old castle, and was the first prison erected on the plan suggested by John Howard for the separation of hardened criminals and juvenile offenders; it will hold 200 prisoners.

The old County and City Mental Hospital, opened July 21, 1823, is at Wotton, and stands on a rising ground about half a mile from the centre of the City; the grounds extending over 45 acres, afford extensive views of the surrounding country; the centre of the building is in the form of a semicircle, and originally presented a frontage of 250 feet; additional buildings, including a chapel, have since been erected.

The second County Mental Hospital, in the parish of Barnwood, will be found described under that heading.

The Royal Infirmary, in Southgate street, with which is amalgamated the Gloucestershire Eye Institution (formerly in Market parade), is a structure of brick, the central portion of which was erected in 1755 from designs by Mr. L. Singleton: the south wing, erected in 1827, is assigned to the treatment of medical cases only, and the north wing, opened in 1871, to surgical cases, accidents and out-patients; the original centre block is reserved for surgical and ophthalmic cases, and contains also the children's ward: there are beds for 140 patients, an X ray department, an electrical and massage department, surgery, dispensary and medical officers' rooms: the nurses' home was opened in 1904; the average number of in-patients admitted is 1648, and of out-patients 8,065.

The Provident Dispensary, in Barton ,street, originally established in 1831, and reopened in Longsmith street in 1872, is maintained on the provident principle, by means of which, through small and regular payments, the poor have the advantage of consulting some of the leading medical men of the city and have their medicine free. In 1894 the premises in Barton street were presented by William Long esq. J.P. and occupied by the Dispensary 1st June, 1895: they were considerably enlarged in 1921.

The Home of Hope, Great Western road, was established in 1874 for the destitute and friendless, and is partly industrial and partly supported by voluntary subscriptions.

The Church Army Labour Home was established in 1897, and occupies the Newton House, London road; the home is partly self-supporting.

The United Hospitals of St. Mary Magdalen, St. Margaret and St. Kyneburgh, to which has been united the charity of John Garn, form a handsome pile of buildings, situated in the London road, the ancient almshouses having been pulled down. St. Kyneburgh's Hospital was founded by Sir Thomas Bell, who built five tenements on the site of a more ancient hospital, and endowed it for the maintenance of ten poor people. The hospital of St. Mary Magdalen and St. Margaret was a lazar house, founded in the 13th century. These united hospitals are now under the management of the Charity Trustees; the number of inmates is 31, viz. 13 men and 18 women, each of whom receives from 3s. to 10s. per week, with medical advice, and sometimes a gift of coals at Christmas: there is a chapel attached, dedicated to St. Margaret, of which the Rev. Canon Samuel Richmond Robertson has been chaplain since 1890.

St. Bartholomew's Hospital, in The Island, Westgate street, was founded in the reign of Henry III.; candidates for admission must be over the age of 60, and must have resided within the municipal limits for the five years immediately preceding, and not have been in receipt of parochial relief for the preceding three years: the number of inmates is 41, each couple receiving 10s. per week, and each single inmate 8s. per week, reducible by amount of 5s. old age pension on attaining age of 70, medical advice, and coals at Christmas; there are also about 44 out-pensioners, who each receive a varying amount up to 10s. per week, reducible by old age pension of 5s. on attaining age of 70; attached to the hospital is a chapel, in which divine service is conducted twice a week: this charity is also under the management of the Charity Trustees.

St. Lucy's Home of Charity, Hare lane, is under the care of the Community of St. John Baptist, Clewer, near Windsor, whose work is to tend the sick, comfort the dying, teach the ignorant and to minister peace to those in trouble. The Girls' Orphanage and Industrial Home in connection with this charity provides a home for the children of poor parents, left orphans or exposed to evil influence, and trains them for service; when proficient and at a suitable age, situations are provided for them, with an outfit of clothes when their conduct has been satisfactory; 32 girls are at present maintained: there is also a ward for 13 incurables, as paying patients. The government is vested in the visitor, the council, a warden, a sister superior, treasurer and trustees.

The Magdalen Training Home, established in Blackfriars in 1827, was removed in 1900 to Picton House, Wellington parade, as a temporary refuge for fallen women of any age, who are subsequently transferred to other institutions; the institution is managed by a committee of gentlemen. There is an endowment, but the Training Home is chiefly supported by voluntary contributions.

The Free Hospital for children of the poor, pleasantly situated at Kingsholm, was founded in 1867 by the late T. Gambier Parry esq. M.A., D.L., J.P. of Highnam Court, and has 30 beds; it is entirely dependent on voluntary contributions for support; children requiring hospital treatment are admitted from any part of the country, no letters of recommendation being required, the poverty of the parents and the suffering of the child being regarded as a sufficient title to admission; the limited means of the hospital makes it absolutely necessary that the patients should be bona fide the children of such poor as are unable to pay for medical advice; parents, or persons, therefore, seeking admission for children must sign a declaration of poverty, which declaration must he countersigned by the clergyman of their parish, or by some minister of religion, as testifying to the poverty of the applicant; boys up to the age of 12 are admitted, and girls to 16 at the out-patient department, which adjoins. The Bishop of the diocese is visitor at the hospital, which is under a committee of management. From Oct. 2nd, 1867, to Dec. 31st, 1921, there were 8,022 in-patients and 61,165 out-patients.

The Gloucester District Nursing Society was established in 1880 to provide the services of trained nurses for the sick poor in their own homes; the premises in Clarence street were presented to the society in 1900 by William Long esq.

The parish of St. John has charities as follows: Hayward's of £41, and Burgess's of £30 yearly, for the support of almshouses, derived from Consols, one half to be given on the birthday of the donor, and the remainder on the anniversary of his wedding day, in coals and bread; £48 yearly for church purposes, and £4 a year derived from land at Walham, given in bread at Christmas. The parish of St. Mary-de-Crypt has £41 3s. yearly for distribution among the poor. St. Michael's parish has property producing £130 yearly, which is applied to church purposes; and several small charities are also distributed among the poor. St. Nicholas' parish has charities of about £76 yearly for distribution, and about £81 derived from rents for church purposes. Holy Trinity parish derives £22 from rent of land and cottages, which is given to the poor at Christmas; the other parishes have each small sums yearly.

The Park was opened to the public in July, 1862, under an arrangement made in 1861 between the Town Council and the proprietors of the Spa, by which that establishment, with its walks and pleasure grounds, were presented to the council on condition of a public park being provided: the Corporation then appropriated about 17 acres of land adjoining for that purpose. The grounds are well laid out, and there is an orchestra, erected at the cost of Charles Walker esq. and a fountain, constructed at the expense of C.J. Monk esq. M.P. The cricket and lawn tennis grounds adjoining were transferred to the municipal authorities in 1896: the former has a pavilion holding nearly 1,000 persons.

The Kingsholm Pleasure Ground was opened in 1893. The Saintsbridge Recreation Ground was taken over by the Corporation in 1900 and the Priory Road Recreation Ground was opened in 1901.

The Gloucester Football and Athletic Ground Company Limited have a ground of about seven acres at Kingsholm, set apart far football, cricket, athletic sports and other recreations; part of the ground is also let for fetes, flower shows and outdoor entertainments generally.

Among the eminent natives of this place may be named Sir John Powell kt. a Justice of the Queen's Bench in 1702, who died at Gloucester June 14, 1713, and is buried in the cathedral; John Moore, archbishop of Canterbury, 1783-1805; John Taylor, the "Water Poet", born here about 1580; John Lightfoot M.A., F.R.S. a distinguished botanist, 1735-88; and the famous Rev. George Whitfield M.A. born at the Bell inn, 16th December, 1714.

John Hooper, the Protestant martyr, born in Somersetshire in 1495, and Bishop of Gloucester 1550-54, was burnt here as a heretic 9th February, 1555: a statue to his memory was erected in 1861 by public subscription on the spot in front of St. Mary's square where he met his death.

On the road from Gloucester to Hempstead stand the ruins of the second priory of Llanthony, founded in 1136 by Milo de Bohun, afterwards Earl of Hereford and constable of Gloucester, as a cell to the priory of the same name in Monmouthshire; like the elder foundation, it was appropriated to canons of the Augustinian order, and was dedicated to SS. Mary and John the Baptist: this monastery eventually rivalled the original establishment, and despoiled it of its treasures, and held, besides the rich land around, stretching towards the Severn, the grange or farm of Podesmead, about two miles distant, and property in some fifty different parishes in the counties of Hereford and Gloucester. The priory church was demolished on the construction of the ship canal in the last century, but there still remains a fine old barn with double bays of ashlar work, strengthened and ornamented with stone buttresses of admirable outline, and a noble embattled gateway of the Decorated period, adorned with shields of arms. In 1852 several stone effigies of the 12th century, supposed to represent members of the de Bohun family, were discovered: 200 Dutch prisoners of war were confined at the farm in June, 1781. To the east of the church of St. Mary-de-Crypt are remains of the Grey Friars monastery, founded by Thomas Lord Berkeley, before 1268: westward, and to the south of the same church, are remains of the establishment of Dominicans or Black Friars, consisting of the dormitory, 75 feet long, with open timber ceiling, and the refectory, 100 feet long; under the Fleece inn is a crypt of the 12th century, and the "Saracen's Head" retains a vaulted cellar of Perpendicular date; the New inn, in Northgate street, is a timber house of chestnut wood, erected for the use of pilgrims, by John Twining, a monk of the abbey, between 1450 and 1457.

The area of the extended Municipal City and civil parish is 2,290 acres of land, 25 of water and 9 of tidal water; rateable value, £282,943; the population in 1911 was 50,035, including 299 inmates and 16 officials in the Union Institution and hospital, 93 inmates and 58 officials and their families in the Royal Infirmary and 77 prisoners and 3 officials in H.M. Prison, and in 1921, 51,330.

The number of electors on the Parliamentary register in Nov. 1922, was 25,784.

The several parishes comprising the ancient city were amalgamated for civil purposes into the one parish of Gloucester, under the provisions of the "Gloucester Corporation Act, 1894", the consolidation taking effect from March 25, 1896. Under the same Act, that part of Wotton St. Mary Within, outside the city, and comprising the Gloucester County Mental Hospital, was formed into a new civil parish called Wotton Vill. By the Gloucester (Extension) Order, 1900, the civil parish was enlarged by the additions of parts of the parishes of Barnwood, Upton St. Leonards, Matson, Tuffley and Hempstead.

The population of the ecclesiastical parishes in 1911 was:- St. Aldate, 451; St. Catharine, 3,704; St. John the Baptist, 1,893; St. Mary-de-Crypt, St. Owen and All Saints or All Hallows, 324; St. Mary-de-Lode with Holy Trinity, 3,964; St. Michael with St. Mary-de-Grace, 1,393; St. Nicholas, 1,973; All Saints, 6,690; Christ Church, 1,950; St. James, 7,110; St. Luke, 3,936; St. Luke the Less, 3,689; St. Mark, 3,306; St. Paul, 10,057.

PARISH CLERKS.

All Saints, George Ellis, 1 Charles street.
St. Luke, Benjamin Lewis Harding, 149 Southgate st.
St. Mark, Arthur Harris, 86 Worcester street.
St. Michael, J. William Hale (verger and sexton), 10 College green.
St. Paul, William Groves, 11 Forest ter. Stroud road

Tuffley, or Tuffleigh, formerly an independent parish, has now been divided between the city of Gloucester and the parishes of Hempstead and Whaddon.

WOTTON VILL is a civil parish not included in the municipal borough. The area is 42 acres; rateable value, £2,246; the population in 1911 was 745, including 661 inmates and 84 officials and their families in the County Mental Hospital.