Potential merger of Cheltenham and Gloucester

In May 2024, under plans by Gloucestershire County Council, it was reported that there are secret talks to formally merge the conurbations of Cheltenham and Gloucester with each other. The plans suggest that around ten new garden towns could be built around the green belt at Boddington which if removed would result in the complete merger of both boroughs. Doing so would facilitate and effectively merge the two into a supercity. The move has been criticised by both Cheltenham Borough Council and Gloucester City Council.

Demography

thumb|Population pyramid of Gloucester in 2021

Ethnicity

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"

! rowspan="3" |Ethnic group

! colspan="10" |Year

|-

! colspan="2" |1981 estimations

! colspan="2" |1991

! colspan="2" |2001

! colspan="2" |2011

! colspan="2" |2021

|-

!Number

!%

!Number

!%

!Number

!%

!Number

!%

!Number

!%

|-

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|-

!White: Total

!84,386

!94.7%

!95,791

!94.3%

!101,692

!92.5%

!108,462

!89.1%

!112,461

!84.9%

|-

|White: British

|–

|–

|–

|–

|99,045

|90.1%

|102,912

|84.6%

|103,317

|78.0%

|-

|White: Irish

|–

|–

|–

|–

|1,101

|

|850

|

|800

|0.6%

|-

|White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|136

|

|224

|0.2%

|-

|White: Roma

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|296

|0.2%

|-

|White: Other

|–

|–

|–

|–

|1,546

|

|4,564

|

|7,824

|5.9%

|-

!Asian or Asian British: Total

!–

!–

!2,426

!

!3,330

!3%

!5,839

!4.8%

!8,543

!6.5%

|-

|Asian or Asian British: Indian

|–

|–

|1,707

|

|2,108

|

|3,204

|

|4,481

|3.4%

|-

|Asian or Asian British: Pakistani

|–

|–

|177

|

|301

|

|639

|

|1,160

|0.9%

|-

|Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi

|–

|–

|94

|

|357

|

|490

|

|802

|0.6%

|-

|Asian or Asian British: Chinese

|–

|–

|214

|

|289

|

|448

|

|497

|0.4%

|-

|Asian or Asian British: Other Asian

|–

|–

|234

|

|275

|

|1,058

|

|1,603

|1.2%

|-

!Black or Black British: Total

!–

!–

!2,786

!2.7%

!2,523

!2.3%

!3,486

!2.9%

!4,826

!3.6%

|-

|Black or Black British: Caribbean

|–

|–

|2,042

|

|2,044

|

|1,880

|

|2,149

|1.6%

|-

|Black or Black British: African

|–

|–

|127

|

|241

|

|1,100

|

|1,912

|1.4%

|-

|Black or Black British: Other Black

|–

|–

|617

|

|238

|

|506

|

|765

|0.6%

|-

!Mixed or British Mixed: Total

!–

!–

!–

!–

!2,103

!1.9%

!3,565

!2.9%

!5,014

!3.8%

|-

|Mixed: White and Black Caribbean

|–

|–

|–

|–

|1,310

|

|2,139

|

|2,694

|2.0%

|-

|Mixed: White and Black African

|–

|–

|–

|–

|121

|

|316

|

|569

|0.4%

|-

|Mixed: White and Asian

|–

|–

|–

|–

|341

|

|551

|

|869

|0.7%

|-

|Mixed: Other Mixed

|–

|–

|–

|–

|331

|

|559

|

|882

|0.7%

|-

!Other: Total

!–

!–

!596

!0.6%

!237

!0.2%

!336

!0.3%

!1,570

!1.2%

|-

|Other: Arab

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|119

|

|332

|0.3%

|-

|Other: Any other ethnic group

|–

|–

|596

|

|237

|

|217

|

|1,238

|0.9%

|-

!Non-White: Total

!4,687

!5.3%

!5,808

!5.7%

!8,193

!7.5%

!13,226

!10.9%

!19,953

!15.1%

|-

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|-

!Total

!89,073

!100%

!101,599

!100%

!109,885

!100%

!121,688

!100%

!132,414

!100%

|}

Religion

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"

! rowspan="2" |Religion

! colspan="2" |2001

! colspan="2" |2011

!colspan="2"|2021

|-

!Number

!%

!Number

!%

!Number

!%

|-

|

|

|

|

|

|-

!Holds religious beliefs

!85,280

!77.6

!81,488

!67.0

!72,001

!54.3

|-

|26x26px Christian

| align="right" |81,687

| align="right" |74.3

| align="right" |75,881

| align="right" |62.4

| align="right" |63,145

| align="right" |47.7

|-

|20x20px Buddhist

| align="right" |150

| align="right" |0.1

| align="right" |311

| align="right" |0.3

| align="right" |401

| align="right" |0.3

|-

|21x21px Hindu

| align="right" |488

| align="right" |0.4

| align="right" |728

| align="right" |0.6

| align="right" |1,283

| align="right" |1.0

|-

|23x23px Jewish

| align="right" |68

| align="right" |0.1

| align="right" |50

| align="right" |<0.1

| align="right" |64

| align="right" |<0.1

|-

|20x20px Muslim

| align="right" |2,477

| align="right" |2.3

| align="right" |3,885

| align="right" |3.2

| align="right" |6,200

| align="right" |4.7

|-

|24x24px Sikh

| align="right" |87

| align="right" |0.1

| align="right" |134

| align="right" |0.1

| align="right" |255

| align="right" |0.2

|-

|Other religion

| align="right" |323

| align="right" |0.3

| align="right" |499

| align="right" |0.4

| align="right" |652

| align="right" |0.5

|-

!No religion

! align="right" |15,661

! align="right" |14.3

! align="right" |31,851

! align="right" |26.2

! align="right" |52,507

! align="right" |39.7

|-

!Religion not stated

! align="right" |8,944

! align="right" |8.1

! align="right" |8,349

! align="right" |6.9

! align="right" |7,908

! align="right" |6.0

|-

|

|

|

|

|

|-

!Total population

! align="right" |109,885

! align="right" |100.0

! align="right" |121,688

! align="right" |100.0

! align="right" |132,416

! align="right" |100.0

|}

Attractions

thumb|[[Gloucester Cathedral]]

Gloucester Cathedral, in the north of the city near the river, originates in the foundation of an abbey dedicated to Saint Peter in 681. It is the burial place of King Edward II and Walter de Lacy. The cathedral (mainly its cloisters) was used for corridor scenes in the films Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. The crypt was used for a scene in Sherlock Christmas special. Attached to the deanery is the Norman prior's chapel. In St Mary's Square outside the Abbey gate, the Bishop of Gloucester, Bishop John Hooper, was martyred under Queen Mary I in 1555.

A good number of medieval and Tudor period gabled and half timbered houses survive from earlier periods of Gloucester's history. At the point where the four principal streets intersected stood the Tolsey (town hall), which was replaced by a modern building in 1894. None of the old public buildings are left except for the New Inn in Northgate Street. It is a timbered house, with strong, massive external galleries and courtyards. It was built around 1450 by John Twyning, a monk.

thumb|left|Kings Square (1976)

Kings Square is at the heart of the city centre and occupies what was once a cattle market and bus station. Officially opened in 1972, it was the centrepiece of a radical redesign of the city, The Jellicoe Plan, which was first proposed in 1961. It stands beside the Debenham's (formerly Bon Marché) store built in the early 1960s. Many of the features of the redevelopment have since been dismantled; the brutalist concrete fountains in the middle of the square have gone and the overhead roadways which linked three multi storey car parks around the centre have been either closed or dismantled. The main bus station received a Civic Trust Award in 1963 but has since been demolished, with a new bus station being constructed on the same site during 2018. In 2012 a £60 million plan was unveiled to revamp the square. In 2014, the prominent Golden Egg restaurant was demolished and a new look public space was created. A prior archaeological dig revealed a Roman house underneath.

An indoor market opened in Eastgate Street in 1968, followed by the Eastgate Shopping Centre in 1973. The Kings Walk Shopping Centre was built between 1969 and 1972. The corner of Eastgate Street and Brunswick Road was redeveloped around this time; Roman remains unearthed below street level in 1974 may be seen through a glass observation panel outside the Boots building, which opened in 1980. The HSBC building on the Cross was renovated and a modern extension added to the Westgate Street aspect in 1972 which received a Civic Trust Award. Sainsbury's opened a supermarket in Northgate Street in 1970; it retains its original interior. Opposite, Tesco opened a large two-storey supermarket in June 1976 on the site of a demolished chapel. This is now occupied by Wilkinson's after Tesco moved to Quedgeley in 1984. Asda opened its first store in Gloucester in Bruton Way in 1983.

Gloucester Leisure Centre opened on the corner of Eastgate Street and Bruton Way in September 1974 and was redeveloped and rebranded (as "GL1") in August 2002. Gloucester Central railway station was rebuilt in 1977 to serve both the original traffic to that railway station and the services from the closed Gloucester Eastgate railway station (former Midland Railway) which had stood on another site further east along the same road. Opposite the station stands one of the city's largest office blocks, Twyver House, opened in 1968, which houses the regional Land Registry. The main shopping streets were pedestrianised in the late 1980s.

The 1966 Heights Plan for Gloucester sought to restrict construction of tall buildings and defend spiritual values by protecting views of Gloucester Cathedral. The tower of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, started in 1970 and completed in August 1975, can be seen from miles around. In Brunswick Road, a brown concrete tower, which housed classrooms at the Gloucestershire College of Arts and Technology (now moved to a site near Llanthony Bridge). The tower was added incongruously to the existing 1930s Technical College buildings in 1971 which has now been demolished. Clapham Court, a tall block of flats, stands in Columbia Close, between London Road and Kingsholm Road. It was built in 1963 and stands on what was once Columbia Street in a small district formerly known as Clapham.

Other features of interest include the museum and school of art and science, the former county jail (on the site of a Saxon and Norman castle), the Shire Hall (now headquarters of the County Council) and the Whitefield memorial church. A park in the south of the city contains a spa, a chalybeate spring having been discovered in 1814. West of this, across the canal, are the remains (a gateway and some walls) of Llanthony Secunda Priory, a cell of the mother abbey in the Vale of Ewyas, Monmouthshire, which in the reign of King Edward IV became the secondary establishment.

The city's Northgate and Southgate streets feature a series of public art mosaic panels depicting Gloucester's medieval trades made by artists Gary Drostle and Rob Turner in 1998 and 1999. Eastgate and Westgate streets feature a series of mosaic panels made by arts group 'The Pioneers'.

Culture

thumb|right|View of Gloucester by [[Thomas Hearne (artist)|Thomas Hearne, watercolour]]

thumb|right|The architecture of [[Gloucester Guildhall]]

The Three Choirs Festival, originating in the 18th century and one of the oldest music festivals in the British Isles, is held in Gloucester every third year, the other venues being Hereford and Worcester. Gloucester hosted the festival in 2019, and it is next due in the city in 2023.

The city's main theatre and cultural venue is the Guildhall. The Guildhall hosts a huge amount of entertainment, including live music, dance sessions, a cinema, bar, café, art gallery and much more. The Leisure Centre, GL1, hosts concerts and has a larger capacity than the Guildhall.

The annual Gloucester International Rhythm and Blues Festival takes place at the end of July and early August. Gloucester International Cajun and Zydeco Festival, the largest in the UK and longest-running in Europe, runs for a weekend in January each year. A Medieval Fayre is held in Westgate Street each year during the summer.

Gloucester is also noted as the home of the Frightmare Halloween Festival, the largest Halloween festival in the South West.

The main museum in the city is The Museum of Gloucester but there are several other important museums.

The Tailor of Gloucester House which is dedicated to the author Beatrix Potter can be found near the cathedral.

Since 2013 Gloucester has marked Armed Forces Day with a Drum Head Service held on College Green in the shadow of the cathedral. This is followed by a parade of serving forces, veterans and cadets through the city centre to the docks for a family day with military and military-related charity displays and entertainment in Back Badge Square in front of the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum.

Nature in Art is a gallery dedicated to the display of works of art inspired by the natural world.

The city features in the popular, well-known nursery rhyme (of unknown date and origin) about a Doctor Foster, who reportedly visited the city, got wet, and swore to stay away as a result.

Churches

Gloucester has many churches, and historically has also had many dissenting chapels. It may have been the old proverb "as sure as God's in Gloucester" that provoked Oliver Cromwell to declare that the city had "more churches than godliness". Gloucester was the host of the first Sunday school in England; this was founded by Robert Raikes in 1780. Four of the churches that are of special interest are

  • St Mary de Lode&nbsp;– with a Norman tower and chancel, and a monument of Bishop John Hooper. It was built on the site of an ancient Roman temple which became the first Christian church in Britain
  • St Mary de Crypt&nbsp;– with a cruciform structure of the 12th century. It has later additions, such as the tower. Also the site of the Schoolroom in which the Crypt School was formed
  • St Michael's Church – said to have been connected with St Peter's ancient abbey
  • St Nicholas's Church – founded by the Normans but with many additions since then

In the neighbourhood around St Mary de Crypt there are slight remains of Greyfriars and Blackfriars monasteries, and also of the city wall. Under the Golden Fleece (The Monks Bar) and Saracen's Head inns early vaulted cellars still remains. In addition, in the city is St Peter's Roman Catholic Church, a Grade II* listed building.

During the construction of the Boots store on the corner of Brunswick Road and Eastgate Street in 1974, Roman remains were found. These can be seen through a glass case on the street. At the back of the Gloucester Furniture Exhibition Centre part of the city's South Gate can be seen.

Education

There are three endowed schools: the historic King's School, refounded by Henry VIII as part of the cathedral establishment; the school of St Mary de Crypt, now known as "The Crypt School, Gloucester" since it moved to a mile from town centre to Podsmead, founded by Dame Joan Cooke in the same reign (1539); Sir Thomas Rich's School, previously known as Sir Thomas Rich's Bluecoat Hospital for Boys (1666); the High School for Girls (1883); and Ribston Hall High School for Girls. Comprehensives include Henley Bank High School, Beaufort Co-operative Academy, St Peter's High School (Catholic school), Chosen Hill School, Severn Vale School, Gloucester Academy, Barnwood Park School and Churchdown School Academy. There is a Steiner Waldorf School founded in 1937 with a High School added just after the Second World War.

The city is home to one of three campuses of the University of Gloucestershire, based at Oxstalls, just outside the city centre. The university has also purchased the former Debenhams store in the city centre with a new campus due to open there in 2023. The university also manages student accommodation and halls of residence in the city, with the other campuses based in Cheltenham 7 miles away.

Transport

thumb|Cargo boats, known as [[trows, navigating under a bridge at Gloucester]]

Roads

The M5 motorway, opened in 1971, runs east of the city boundary. Junction 12 serves south Gloucester and Quedgeley; junction 11a serves central Gloucester; and junction 11 serves north Gloucester. The A38 runs north–south through Gloucester, connecting the city with Tewkesbury and Bristol. The A40 runs west to east, connecting Gloucester with Cheltenham to the east (via a dual carriageway section known as The Golden Valley Bypass) and the Forest of Dean and South Wales to the West. The A46 and A4173 links Stroud, and the A417 links Cirencester in the south-east and Ledbury in the north-west. Gloucester has a network of cycle paths.

Until the construction of the Severn Bridge in 1966, Gloucester was the lowest road bridging point on the river and hence was an important settlement between South Wales and the southernmost counties of England including London. The Severn has a small anabranch here to reach Alney Island and then the main western bank. A bridge at Over, built by Thomas Telford in 1829, still stands, notable for its very flat arch, but its fragility and narrowness means it is disused; since 1974, it has been paralleled by a modern bridge. The Gloucester to Newport Line railway bridge is close to both, the lowest crossing of the UK's longest river until the Severn Railway Bridge 1879–1960, which was coupled with the Severn Tunnel in 1886, the present holder of that status.

Railway

Gloucester railway station is served by several train operating companies:

  • Transport for Wales operates a route between Maesteg, , Cardiff Central, and Cheltenham Spa.
  • CrossCountry operates Cardiff Central – Nottingham services, via Birmingham New Street.
  • Great Western Railway operates services to London Paddington, Swindon, Westbury, Bristol Temple Meads, Cheltenham, Worcester, Great Malvern and Weymouth.

Gloucester was the site of the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company railway works, which have now closed. A new station at Hunts Grove has been considered on the southern edge of the city near Quedgeley, as part of MetroWest plans to extend Bristol commuter services to the city.

Buses and coaches

Most local buses are run by Stagecoach West, centred at a depot on London Road, with connections to Cheltenham, Stroud, Ross-on-Wye and other smaller communities. For many years, there were both stopping and express services to Worcester and Birmingham operated by Midland Red and later Midland Red West, but this connection was lost due to service reductions. National Express Coaches operate the 444 route to London.

Canals

Gloucester is linked to the Severn Estuary by the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, which is navigable by small coasters. The city is linked to the River Avon and Stourport-on-Severn by the navigable part of the River Severn, which is navigable by river craft of a few hundred tonnes' displacement. Gloucester Docks mark the Normal Tidal Limit (NTL) of the river. Gloucester was formerly linked to Ledbury and Hereford by the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal; and subsequently by the Ledbury and Gloucester Railway, which used the southern section of the former canal, until it also closed in 1964. This canal is now being restored and the restored canal basin in the adjacent village of Over is a local attraction.

Air

thumb|Gloucestershire Airport in 2017, looking east. On the left is the straight [[A40 road and at the bottom the M5 motorway. Innsworth and Gloucester are at the top.]]

Commercial airports with scheduled services are Bristol, Birmingham and Cardiff 40–60 miles away; global hub Heathrow is about 100 miles by road and shares with Gloucester its main rail interchange at London Paddington.

Gloucestershire Airport, sited 8 miles east of the city, is a private and special charters airfield.

Business and industry

Gloucester has a long history in the aerospace business. In 1926 the Gloucestershire Aircraft Company at Brockworth changed its name to the Gloster Aircraft Company because international customers claimed that the name "Gloucestershire" was too difficult to spell. A sculpture in the city centre celebrates Gloucester's aviation history and its involvement in the jet engine. Frank Whittle's pioneering turbojet engine powered the Gloster E.28/39, the first British jet aircraft, which first flew at the company's airfield at Brockworth. This is commemorated by the pub "The Whittle" at Gloucester Business Park, which now occupies the site. Roads in the business park are named after other Gloster aircraft and a small statue overlooks the site of the old main runway. Messier-Dowty's landing gear plant and GE Aviation Dowty Propellers plants are on the outskirts of the city.

The large insurer Ecclesiastical Insurance is based in the city, as is its owner, the charity Benefact Trust. Lloyds Banking Group and TSB Bank each have an office in Barnwood, the former previously having been the headquarters of Cheltenham & Gloucester Building Society.

Gloucester was the home of Priday, Metford and Company Limited, a family milling firm which survived for over one hundred years, and hydraulic engineering firm Fielding & Platt.

Gloucester Business Park is a business park on the outskirts on the city and is home to a number of big brands including Fortis and BAE Systems Applied Intelligence.

Unilever Gloucester has made ice cream, such as the Cornetto (frozen dessert) and Viennetta, since 1962, in Barnwood. It has been the largest ice-cream factory in Europe.

Sport and leisure

  • Gloucester was a host city for the Rugby World Cup in 1991 and in 2015 when it hosted four matches at the Kingsholm Stadium with national teams from Japan, Georgia, USA, Scotland, Tonga and Argentina.
  • Kingsholm Stadium is the ground of Gloucester Rugby, founded in 1873, one of Europe's top rugby union clubs and a member of the Gallagher Premiership. Gloucester–Hartpury, founded in 2014, also play fixtures at Kingsholm; they play in the Allianz Premier 15's, the top flight of England women's rugby union.
  • Meadow Park is the home of Gloucester City A.F.C., founded in 1883, of the Southern Football League Premier South. The club played outside of the city from 2007 until 2020 due to the 2007 floods.
  • Horton Road Stadium was the home of Gloucester City A.F.C. from 1964 to 1986 and a short lived greyhound racing stadium.
  • The Gloucester Cricket Festival is held in Gloucester at the King's School.
  • Gloucester City Swimming Club competes in county and national swimming championships.
  • Gloucester City Hockey Club is based at the Oxstalls Sports Park, with teams entered in the West Hockey Leagues.
  • The Gloucester Banshees American football are based in the city at Oxstalls Tennis Centre, and play at a national level in the British American Football League.
  • The university of Gloucestershire All Golds is the city's only professional Rugby league club, playing in the semi professional Championship 1 from 2013. They play their home games at the Prince of Wales Stadium in Cheltenham.
  • Gloucestershire Warriors founded in 1997 are an amateur rugby league team that play in the Conference League South playing home games at the Oxstalls Sports Park.
  • University of Gloucestershire run Rugby league teams in the BUCS league.
  • Public sports facilities are focused on the GL1 leisure centre, a large modern sports centre with several swimming pools, a multi-use sports hall, indoor bowls room, squash courts, gym and health spa.

Media

The Citizen, published by Local World, is Gloucester's main newspaper, which shares all its content with the Gloucestershire Echo and the weekly Forester covering the Forest of Dean and Chepstow. As of 2018, these newspapers have all moved to weekly publication rather than daily.

BBC Radio Gloucestershire has its studios on London Road in Gloucester. Heart West, previously Severn Sound, is based in Bristol. Gloucester FM is a community radio station specialising in black and urban music.

Local radio is broadcast from transmitters on Churchdown Hill (Chosen Hill).

For regional television in Gloucester is covered by BBC West Midlands & BBC West on BBC One and ITV Central & ITV West Country on ITV. Television signals are received from either Ridge Hill or Mendip TV transmitters.

A number of TV and film productions have been filmed in Gloucester; most notably at the cathedral and docks. These include three of the Harry Potter films, Doctor Who, Outlaw and Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass.

Twin towns – sister cities

Gloucester is twinned with:

  • Trier, Germany (1957)
  • Metz, France (1967)

Gloucester was also twinned with Gouda in the Netherlands, but this twinning ended in 2015.

Notable people

<!--- usual to order chronologically or by surname, not by first name -->

Notable residents of Gloucester have included:

See also

  • Bibliography of the City of Gloucester
  • List of Gloucester MPs
  • Gloucester Tramways Company
  • Gloucester Corporation Tramways
  • Listed buildings in Gloucester

Notes

References

Further reading

  • Rudder, S. (1781) The History and Antiquities of Gloucester. Cirencester: Samuel Rudder. (free download)
  • Gloucester City Council - local government website
  • BBC archive film of Gloucester from 1980
  • BBC archive film of Gloucester from 1987
  • Gloucester City Council YouTube channel