Gloucester lies on the eastern side of the River Severn with the geology being mainly Permo – Triassic sandstones and Lower Jurassic clays. The underlying Lias was not a good building material. Gloucester’s origins are Roman with the building of a fort at Kingsholm around 49AD to guard the river crossing of the Severn. A new fort was built on the site of Gloucester town centre around 64AD and the town became known as Glevum.
After the Romans the Anglo-Saxons captured Gloucester in 577AD and in 679AD founded a monastery which revitalised the town. In the late C9th Gloucester became a fortified town – burgh. In 909AD the remains of St Oswald’s were brought to Gloucester and this shrine became a priory in 1153.
In the Middle Ages the population increased to 3500 and in the late C11th the Normans built the castle to protect the border against the Welsh. Gloucester received its charter in 1155 from Henry II and the City’s prosperity through processing, dying and exporting the wool increased. In 1455 a Canon of Llanthony Priory, Robert Cole compiled a document recording the houses he collected land rent from within the Borough.
Gloucester declined in the C15th as Wales had been conquered and the Severn crossing was less strategically important. A new charter in 1483 was granted by Richard III and a Mayor and 12 Aldermen could be elected. The Abbey Church of St Peter became a cathedral in 1541. In the C18th the City demolished its Market Cross and the town gates were removed to aid traffic and a new prison was opened on the site of the castle in 1761. The Railway arrived in 1840 and in 1851 the City’s population was 17,500, by the end of the Century 47,000.
We are interested to hear from owners of any timber-framed buildings in Gloucester. Below is a list of just some of the known buildings of interest that we would like to investigate:
| a | Gloucester Cathedral Includes major portions of the Romanesque church built 1089-1100. |
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| b | Llanthony Secunda Priory C14 range of monastic buildings |
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| c | 36-38 Southgate St – Robert Raikes House |  |
| d | Gloucester – Dick Whittington Pub |  |
| e | 31a Southgate St – St Mary De Crypt Grammar School |  |
| f | 100 Westgate St – Dick Whittington | |
| g | 117-119 Westgate St | |
| h | Little Cloisters – Cathedral Precincts | |
| i | Hare Lane – Gloucester Old Peoples Centre | |
| j | 14 College Green | |
| k | 45 Westgate St – The Sword Inn | |
| l | 4 Green Ln – Parsonage Cottage | |
| m | 39 Westgate St | |
| n | 41 Westgate St | |
| o | 8 Westgate St | |
| p | 5-11 College Street | |
| q | 14 Westgate St | |
| r | 30 Westgate St | |
| s | 33 Westgate St | |
| t | 53 Westgate St – Fountain Inn | |
| u | 64 Westgate St | |
| v | 91 Westgate St – Hyett House | |
| w | Church of St Nicholas | |
| x | 7 Collage Green | |
| y | Cross Keys Inn | |
| z | 8 Hare Lane |