St Mary de Lode Church is a Church of England [1] church immediately outside the grounds of Gloucester Cathedral. It is believed by some to be on the site of the first Christian church in Britain. The church is in the Diocese of Gloucester and Grade I listed by English Heritage. [2] It has also been known as St. Mary Before the Gate of St. Peter, St. Mary Broad Gate and St. Mary De Port. [3]
The word "Lode" is from the old English word for water course or ferry and in this case it refers to a ferry that once crossed a branch of the River Severn to the west of the church, which no longer exists. [1]
In 1979, archaeological excavations in the nave showed that the church is built over two Roman buildings. The first, probably a baths building erected in the second century, was destroyed in the fifth century and replaced by a timber mausoleum containing three burials. The mausoleum was destroyed by fire and followed by a sequence of buildings interpreted as churches, culminating in the medieval church of St Mary. It is suggested that the original church was a post-Roman British foundation, before the Anglo-Saxons occupied this area. [4]
The earliest reference to a church in written records dates from the late eleventh century. It then comprised a nave, chancel and tower which was destroyed by fire in 1190. A new chancel was built in the thirteenth century. [1] [5]
A local legend, first recorded in the eighteenth century, holds that the church was the burial place of the legendary King Lucius, first Christian king of Britain, who was said to have established a bishopric in Gloucester in the second century A.D. [1] [6] This legend combined with the results of the archaeological work has apparently inspired the local belief that the church was built on the site of an ancient Roman temple, and was the first Christian church in Britain. [7]
A tomb effigy in the north wall of the chancel formerly pointed out as marking the grave of King Lucius is of fourteenth-century date, and shows a tonsured priest, perhaps William de Chamberleyn who was vicar in 1302–5. [8] [2]
In March 1643 and also in 1646, during the English Civil War, the church was used as a prison to hold royalist soldiers captured by Sir William Waller and Lieut. Col. Edward Massey. [3]
The church has a Norman central tower of about 1190. The nave was rebuilt in 1826 in early Gothic Revival style with cast iron columns, by James Cooke, a local monumental mason. A Norman arch leads from the nave into the tower, which is barrel-vaulted and connected through a thirteenth-century arch with the chancel. The chancel was begun like the tower in about 1190 but extended and vaulted in the thirteenth century. Further restorations to the church took place in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the west part of the nave was converted for use as a church hall in 1980. There is an octagonal pulpit, apparently made up of fifteenth-century carved wooden panels, and an eighteenth-century organ brought in 1972 from the now-redundant church of St Nicholas, Westgate Street. [2] [9] [10]
There are stained glass windows commemorating the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars and the Gloucester poet Ivor Gurney. [1]
In the grounds is a monument to Bishop John Hooper, who was burnt at the stake in Gloucester.
St Mary de Lode remains a functioning church with regular services and a Sunday School. [1] The parish is now combined with those of St Swithun's, Hempsted, and St Mary de Crypt. [11]
The church is the regular venue for concerts by the Gloucester Music Society. [12]
Gloucester is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west; it is sited 19 miles (31 km) east of Monmouth and 17 miles (27 km) east of the border with Wales. Gloucester has a population of around 132,000, including suburban areas. It is a port, linked via the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal to the Severn Estuary.
Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity and formerly St Peter's Abbey, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishment of a minster, Gloucester Abbey, dedicated to Saint Peter and founded by Osric, King of the Hwicce, in around 679.
The Church of St Mary the Virgin, widely known as St Mary Redcliffe, is the main Church of England parish church for the Redcliffe district of the city of Bristol, England. The first reference to a church on the site appears in 1158, with the present building dating from 1185 to 1872. The church is considered one of the country's finest and largest parish churches as well as an outstanding example of English Gothic architecture. The church is so large it is sometimes mistaken for Bristol Cathedral by tourists. The building has Grade I listed status, the highest possible category, by Historic England.
Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with thatch for roofing. No universally accepted example survives above ground. Generally preferring not to settle within the old Roman cities, the Anglo-Saxons built small towns near their centres of agriculture, at fords in rivers or sited to serve as ports. In each town, a main hall was in the centre, provided with a central hearth.
A fan vault is a form of vault used in the Gothic style, in which the ribs are all of the same curve and spaced equidistantly, in a manner resembling a fan. The initiation and propagation of this design element is strongly associated with England.
Lower Oddington and Upper Oddington are a pair of adjoining villages in the English county of Gloucestershire. Together they form the civil parish of Oddington. In 2010 the parish had an estimated population of 477, decreasing at the 2011 census to 417.
St Mary's Priory Church, Deerhurst, is the Church of England parish church of Deerhurst, Gloucestershire, England. Much of the church is Anglo-Saxon. It was built in the 8th century, when Deerhurst was part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. It is contemporary with the Carolingian Renaissance on mainland Europe, which may have influenced it.
St Mary's Church is an Anglican church at the end of a lane to the south of the village of Nether Alderley, Cheshire, England. It dates from the 14th century, with later additions and a major restoration in the late-19th century. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.
The Parish and Priory Church of St Mary is located in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, south east Wales. Parts of the building, including its ornate west doorway, date from the late 11th century and are contemporary with the nearby Norman castle. The church is a Grade I listed building.
St James' Church is the Church of England parish church of Longborough, Gloucestershire, England. It is in the deanery of Stow, the archdeaconry of Cheltenham and the diocese of Gloucester. Its benefice is combined with those of St David, Moreton-in-Marsh, St Mary, Batsford, St Thomas of Canterbury, Todenham, and St Leonard, Lower Lemington. It contains fabric from the 12th century and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.
St Michael's Church is an Anglican church in the Cotswold village of Duntisbourne Rouse, Gloucestershire, England. It dates from no later than the 11th or 12th century and, since 1958, has been designated a Grade I listed building. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of Gloucester, the archdeaconry of Cheltenham and the deanery of Cirencester.
St Nicholas Church is a historic church in Westgate Street in the city of Gloucester, England, under the care of The Churches Conservation Trust. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. Its truncated spire is a landmark in the city centre.
St Mary de Crypt Church, Southgate Street, Gloucester, is an Anglican Church, which was first recorded in 1140 as The Church of the Blessed Mary within Southgate. It is in the Diocese of Gloucester and is located adjacent to the ruins of Greyfriars. It has also been known as Christ Church and St. Mary in the South. St Mary de Crypt is a Grade I listed building.
St Michael's Tower, Gloucester, stands at The Cross, where the four main streets of Gloucester meet. The Cross is also the highest point in the city. The Tower is on the corner of Eastgate and Southgate Streets and the entrance is in Southgate Street. It was built in 1465 on the site of the previous St Michael the Archangel. It is no longer used for religious ceremonies. It became a Grade II* listed building in 1952.
St Mary's Church is in Church Avenue, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Leyland, the archdeaconry of Blackburn, and the diocese of Blackburn. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
St James Church is a Church of England church in School Lane, Quedgeley, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England. It was designated as a Grade II listed building in January 1955.
Saint Nicholas Church is a grade I listed building located in Hardwicke, Gloucestershire. It practices Christianity through the Church of England denomination.
St Paul and St Stephen Church is a Church of England church located in Stroud Road, Gloucester, Gloucestershire. St Paul church was built between 1882 and 1883. St Stephen church was built between 1898 and 1900. St Stephen church was closed in 2010 and the church was merged with St Paul's which became St Paul and St Stephen church. Closely associated with the church is St Paul's Church of England Primary school located in New Street, Gloucester which opened in 1870.
The Anglican Church of St Leonard at Bledington in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England, was built in 12th century. It is a grade I listed building.
The Anglican Church of St Mary the Virgin at Kempsford in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England was built in the 12th century. It is a grade I listed building.
51°52′07″N2°14′57″W / 51.8685°N 2.2492°W
Buildings and structures in Gloucester | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Religious |
| ||||||||||
| Civic | |||||||||||
| Hospitals |
| ||||||||||
| Transportation |
| ||||||||||
| Education |
| ||||||||||
| Houses |
| ||||||||||
| Shopping complexes | |||||||||||
| Sports venues |
| ||||||||||
| Libraries | |||||||||||
| Hotels |
| ||||||||||
| Banks |
| ||||||||||
| Pubs | |||||||||||
| Art and theatres |
| ||||||||||
| Museums | |||||||||||
| Priories/friaries/abbeys |
| ||||||||||
| Gatehouses | |||||||||||
| Former castles | |||||||||||
| Other | |||||||||||
| Lists | |||||||||||
