Gloucester Cathedral
Gloucester Cathedral is the site where we will kick start the Pilgrimage tour package, with a rousing chorus of the Star Spangled Banner. As this is where John Stafford Smith wrote the music that was later adapted into the US National Anthem. A warm welcome awaits you at Gloucester Cathedral as this glorious sacred space has been a place of Christian worship for over 1,300 years.
Gloucester Cathedral
History
Gloucester Cathedral has been a place of Christian worship continuously for over 1,300 years, since Osric, an Anglo-Saxon prince, founded a religious house here in 678-9 AD. Little is known for certain about the communities which worshipped here or the buildings they used over the next 400 years although it is believed that the Benedictine Rule was introduced here early in the 11th century. There are several famous people buried at Gloucester Cathedral such as Osric himself, King Edward II of England and Robert Curthose, the eldest son of William the Conqueror.
Edward's son, Edward III, created an elaborate alabaster tomb for his father, one of the earliest important uses of alabaster in England. People started to visit the shrine, at first out of curiosity, but when miracles were reported at the tomb pilgrims started to visit pour in. And they brought money.
Donations from pilgrims enabled the abbey to rebuild the Norman abbey church. The result is a fascinating blend of heavy Romanesque drum piers and perpendicular Gothic tracery. The east window (1347-50), which commemorates the English victory at Crecy, is glorious. It retains some of its original stained glass. When it was installed in the 1350s it was the largest stained glass window in the world.
American Ties
The US National Anthem was set to the tune 'To Anacreon in Heaven', originally composed by Gloucester-born John Stafford Smith. When the music was combined with the words of Francis Scott Key's poem Defence of Fort McHenry, 'The Star Spangled Banner' that we know today was born. It was designated as the US National Anthem by Congress in 1931. The unique sound of the bells chiming to the US National Anthem can be heard regularly at Gloucester Cathedral with this being part of Gloucester's contribution to the Mayflower 400 anniversary celebrations.
Reflecting on the city's Special Relationship with America, The Very Reverend Stephen Lake, Dean of Gloucester said: "Gloucester Cathedral has a unique connection with the United States. We are proud that John Stafford Smith, the son of one of our former Organists wrote the music that became America’s famous National Anthem, 'The Star Spangled Banner'. To this day an American flag hangs inside the building over the monument commemorating this historic bond."
Councillor Steve Morgan, Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure at Gloucester City Council, also said that "The people of Gloucester are justifiably proud of our long, rich and varied history and especially our connections to the United States. Such elements of history help to bring us together and strengthen our special relationship."
No Stranger to Movie Making
Gloucester Cathedral has been a well used location for filming TV shows and films so is no stranger to movie making! One of the most popular being of course, Harry Potter. It’s home to the original door to the Gryffindor Common Room, as well as the corridor that spelled out the ominous words: “The Chamber of Secrets has been opened! Enemies of the Heir beware!” and “Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever” in the second movie.
Although Gloucester Cathedral is picturesque and ancient in its own rights, there were a few things the Harry Potter filming crew had to change on-site. Here are some interesting facts that you might not know about the Harry Potter filming that took place at Gloucester Cathedral…
Modern keyholes, locks, signs and light fittings had to be covered over and painted to help disguise them ahead of filming. Today, you can still see a box that covers some light switches! Additionally, in order to get the effects of Moaning Myrtle flooding the girls’ toilets spot on, the crew had to actually flood the cathedral. Thankfully, a false floor was created to help prevent any damage that would have been caused.
Any clues that this Hogwarts filming location was actually a cathedral had to be hidden. For instance, haloes in the stained glass windows were covered with plastic filter paper. Finally, if you were curious about how they got away with writing on the cathedral walls in “blood”, then fear not, the wall was covered with fake panelling made to look like stone.
Ghosts in the Cathedral?
It’s hardly surprising that a building as venerable as Gloucester Cathedral supposedly has one or two residents from the other side.
There’s a story that when the building was in construction a 14-year-old apprentice fell to his death from the scaffolding on which he was working. His spirit lurked around the building site and eventually a ceremony of exorcism was carried out to ease his passage to the afterlife.
The troublesome spirit, so the tale goes, was coaxed into a leather bottle, which was then buried in one of the cathedral’s mighty pillars.
Sources Used:
https://www.theamerican.co.uk/pr/ne-Star-Spangled-Banner-Gloucester
https://www.gloucestercathedral.org.uk
https://wandereroftheworld.co.uk/gloucester-cathedral-harry-potter-filming-location/
https://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=119
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/history/nine-gloucestershire-spookiest-ghost-stories-4079538