The Westgate area of Gloucester is centred on Westgate Street, one of the four main streets of Gloucester and one of the oldest parts of the city. The population of the Westgate ward in Gloucester was 6,687 at the time of the 2011 Census. [1]
The Westgate area of Gloucester is centred on Westgate Street, one of the four main streets of Gloucester and one of the oldest parts of the city. The population of the Westgate ward in Gloucester was 6,687 at the time of the 2011 Census. [1]
St. Nicholas' Church, a redundant Anglican church and Grade I listed building is situated at the far end of Westgate Street with Gloucester Folk Museum almost opposite. Gloucester Cathedral is not far away and the main entrance to the Cathedral precincts is via College Green from Westgate Street.
Next to St. Nicholas' Church is the Dick Whittington Tavern, known originally as St. Nicholas House, a 15th-century town house once owned by the Whittington family of the Tale of Dick Whittington and his Cat fame. The house was restored by Gloucester Civic Trust and Gloucester Historic Buildings Ltd in the 1980s. [2]
Just outside the western entrance to the Cathedral precincts is St. Mary de Lode Church in Archdeacon Street, reputed to be built on the site of the first Christian church in Britain and next to it, the monument to Bishop John Hooper, burnt at the stake there in 1555.
Just off Westgate street is the House of the Tailor of Gloucester, used by Beatrix Potter as the setting for the story of the same name.
The original part of Gloucester Shire Hall, opened 1816 and designed by Sir Robert Smirke, fronts Westgate Street. [3]
On the north side of Westgate Street is the former site of the Theatre Royal where Charles Dickens, Sir Henry Irving and Ellen Terry once played. The site is now a Poundstretcher discount store. [4]
Pubs include:
Jemmy Wood, the legendary Gloucester Miser ran his Gloucester Old Bank from a medieval timber building at 22 Westgate Street, that remained until the nineteenth century. The building occupied by the bank was subsequently replaced by a Victorian Gothic building and more recently by a new building.
Further down the street is the home of the young Charles Wheatstone, the physicist - pioneer of telecommunications and cryptography (not to mention music acoustics etc.) [9]
The Westgate Bridge over the River Severn was once the longest in England. [10] It has been replaced several times over its history.
The original medieval bridge had five great arches. In 1542 Sir Thomas Bell and his wife Joan assigned property on a sale and leaseback arrangement to the City Corporation to be used after their deaths for repairing Westgate Bridge and causeway. [11]
In 1816, the medieval bridge was replaced by a single-span bridge designed by Sir Robert Smirke, architect of the British Museum, who also designed Gloucester Shire Hall, also in Westgate Street.
Until the first Severn Crossing was opened near Chepstow in 1966, the Westgate Bridge was the most southerly crossing point on the Severn for road traffic to or from Wales. [12]
In the 1970s two new wide-span road bridges were built, one for each direction of traffic flow. Between these a separate foot and cycle bridge was also built. The two road bridges were replaced again in the late 1990s, opening in 2000.
There are a number of Segregated Bicycle Paths which use the central bridge connecting nearby villages via Alney Island.
Westgate forms its own electoral ward in the constituency of Gloucester but it is not a parish and so does not have a parish council. [13]
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.
Tewkesbury is a market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and thus became an important trading point, which continued as railways and, later, the M5 and M50 motorway connections were established. The town gives its name to the Borough of Tewkesbury, a local government district of Gloucestershire. The town lies on the border with Worcestershire, marked largely by the Carrant Brook.
Lechlade is a town at the edge of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England, 55 miles (89 km) south of Birmingham and 68 miles (109 km) west of London. It is the highest point at which the River Thames is navigable, although there is a right of navigation that continues south-west into Cricklade, in the neighbouring county of Wiltshire. The town is named after the River Leach that joins the Thames near the Trout Inn and St. John's Bridge.
Aust is a small village in South Gloucestershire, England, about 10 miles (16 km) north of Bristol and about 28 miles (45 km) south west of Gloucester. It is located on the eastern side of the Severn estuary, close to the eastern end of the Severn Bridge which carries the M48 motorway. The village has a chapel, a church and a public house. There is a large area of farmland on the river bank, which is sometimes flooded due to the high tidal range of the Severn. Aust Cliff, above the Severn, is located about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from the village. The civil parish of Aust includes the villages of Elberton and Littleton-upon-Severn.
Almondsbury is a large village near junction 16 of the M5 motorway, in South Gloucestershire, England, and a civil parish which also includes the villages of Hortham, Gaunt's Earthcott, Over, Easter Compton, Compton Greenfield, Hallen and Berwick.
Archway is an area of north London, England, in the London Borough of Islington 3.8 miles (6 km) north of Charing Cross. It straddles the A1 and is named after a local landmark, the high, single-arched Archway Bridge which crossed the road in a cutting to the north. It has a modern commercial hub around Vantage Point and Archway tube station.
Barnwood is an suburb and former civil parish in the city of Gloucester, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It lies about 1.8 miles (2.9 km) east of the centre of the city.
Chalford is a large village in the Frome Valley of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. It is to the southeast of Stroud about four miles upstream. It gives its name to Chalford parish, which covers the villages of Chalford, Chalford Hill, France Lynch, Bussage and Brownshill, spread over two square miles of the Cotswold countryside. At this point the valley is also called the Golden Valley.
Frampton on Severn is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. The population is 1,432.
Hardwicke is a large village on the A38 road 7 km south of the city of Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England. Despite its proximity to Gloucester, the village comes under Stroud Council. The population of the village taken at the United Kingdom Census 2011 was 3,901.
Arlingham is a village and civil parish in the Stroud District of Gloucestershire, England. The 2021 Census recorded a parish population of 533. The parish contains the hamlets of Milton End, Overton and Priding. The next parish to the east is Fretherne with Saul.
Mitcheldean is a market town in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England.
Alney Island is an island in the River Severn near Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England. The Severn splits into two channels at Upper Parting, and merges again at Lower Parting to the south. The island is a strip of land in between the two channels, about 2.1 miles (3.4 km) long and 0.74 miles (1.19 km) at its widest. It is a local Nature Reserve.
Sir Thomas Bell the Elder (1486–1566) was a cap manufacturer, mayor of Gloucester, and member of Parliament. He was one of the city's largest employers and wealthiest citizens and a great benefactor of the city and its people. He is described in contemporaneous documents as a "capper". He invested much of his wealth in real estate released on the Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes in partnership with Richard Duke, of Otterton, Devon, Clerk of the Court of Augmentations.
Maisemore is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It lies on the A417 road 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Gloucester, on the west bank of the River Severn. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 488, reducing to 458 at the 2011 census.
The Museum of Gloucester in Brunswick Road is the main museum in the city of Gloucester, England. It was extensively renovated following a large National Heritage Lottery Fund grant, and reopened on Gloucester Day, 3 September 2011.
There are no records to state that the house was built in the 1200's. It was in fact built in the 1400's.
The Lower George Hotel, now the Lower George Inn, is a grade II listed building at 121 Westgate Street, Gloucester.
Gloucester Shire Hall is a municipal building in Westgate Street, Gloucester. The shire hall, which is the main office and the meeting place of Gloucestershire County Council, is a grade II listed building.
Gloucester Guildhall is a former municipal building in Eastgate Street, Gloucester, which is now used as an arts and theatre venue. It is a Grade II listed building.