Gloucester’s Gifts: How an Ancient City Helped Change the World

“A city assaulted by man and saved by God” is Gloucester’s proud boast. A creation of first-century Rome, it’s outlived the Empire, survived Viking attacks, a civil war siege, and multiple facelifts. Despite challenge after challenge, it has not only survived, but also given the world some of the greatest inventions and literary characters in British history.

This walking tour takes you through Gloucester’s tumultuous history and the characters that helped shape the city and the world around them.

The tour starts at the Cross, the centre of the Roman city, where you’ll learn about Gloucester’s imperial beginnings. You’ll follow the line of the Roman and medieval walls to hear about the siege of Gloucester, where a tiny Parliamentarian army stood to their last three barrels of gunpowder against the might of Charles II’s royalist troops.

You’ll pass the famous Blackfriars Priory and The Dick Whittington pub, where you’ll hear the story of the Gloucester men and women among the first fleet of convicts to Australia. In the Cathedral Quarter, I’ll tell you about the religious upheaval and a long-dead king who helped save the building from destruction.

Passing St Oswald’s Priory we learn about Aethelflaed, the Lady of the Mercians, and her daring raid into Viking territory. The tour ends outside the magnificent south front of Gloucester Cathedral, recognisable for its portrayal of Hogwarts’ corridors.

Along the way, you’ll have a chance to:

• Explore the remains of the wealthy medieval city, the Priories of Greyfriars, Blackfriars, and St Oswald, and the huge Norman Cathedral, once the church of St Peter’s Abbey
• Head through the arch of the Crypt School, where so many of Gloucester’s most famous sons were educated
• See the unique galleried New Inn, a Pilgrim haunt and possibly witness to Shakespeare and his players
• Hear about Gloucester Castle turned Gloucester Prison where a ghost put the frighteners on some of England’s toughest criminals
• Follow in the footsteps of real people who inspired literary legends such as Scrooge, Long John Silver, and the Tailor of Gloucester
• Drink in the sight of the Pelican, an inn allegedly built from the timbers of the Golden Hind, an English galleon in which Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe
• Marvel at the men who gave us vacuuming parties, the allies’ first combat jet, the Enchanted Lyre, the US national anthem, echo and reverb

This 120-minute tour will reveal the secrets behind modern Gloucester and show you a history longer than Britain has been a nation.