What's on in Gloucestershire

Gloucester Cathedral

Daily

Cost: Free (recommended donation £3)
Guided tours available

Hours: 7.30am-6pm

Gloucester Cathedral is one of Britain's oldest and most beautiful religious buildings. The medieval architecture boasts the added attraction of having featured in the Harry Potter films as Hogwarts School.

The building can date its beginnings back to 1000, and until the Reformation was known as St Peter's Abbey. In 1216, Henry III was crowned here, and in 1327 Edward II was buried.

The Reformation saw the dissolution of the monasteries in 1540, and Henry VIII's establishment of cathedrals the following year. In 1649, with the defeat of the monarchists in the Civil War and the establishment of Cromwell's republic, the Dean and Chapter were abolished. Eleven years later, with the Restoration of Charles II they were re-established, and in each of the subsequent centuries there have been major periods of restoration.

Most recently, the building was largely re-roofed, with the tower fully restored in 1994 (if you want to climb up, there are 269 steps). In 2000 the cathedral celebrated the 900th anniversary of the consecration of St Peter's Abbey.

Visitors should take the opportunity to view the Great East Window, the Whispering Gallery and the Treasury, with its display of gold and silverware from the cathedral and other Gloucestershire churches. The restaurant serves coffee, lunch and afternoon tea and there is a shop at the west end of the Nave.

Gloucester Cathedral