Gloucester

Gloucester , city (1991 pop. 106,526) and district, Gloucestershire, W central England, on the Severn River. Manufactures in Gloucester include aircraft components, agricultural machinery, railroad equipment, and processed foods. Timber mills and light and heavy engineering works are prevalent. The port is still active but has been eclipsed by Bristol since the 15th cent. Gloucester stands upon the site of the Roman city Glevum. In Saxon times it was the capital of Mercia . Noteworthy is the cathedral (begun 1089) in which Edward II is buried. The Three Choirs Festival is held in Gloucester every third year. A technical college and an old public school are there.

Gloucester. A religious house was founded here in 681 and converted into a college of secular priests in 823. It was refounded as a Benedictine monastery by Wulfstan, Abp. of York, in 1017. The present (cathedral) church was begun in 1089. It is notable for the Perpendicular panelling superimposed on the Norman pillars in the choir, and for the cloisters, with their early fan tracery (before 1377). The monastery was suppressed in 1540. The diocese was founded in 1541, with the abbey church as the cathedral.