Gloucester Cathedral

If you've watched the Harry Potter films, you might recognise the cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral. But it has played an important role in history long before that film series was conceived.

In 1085 William the Conqueror, at a meeting in Gloucester of his Great Council, commissioned the Doomsday Book. Some believe that the cathedral (or at least an earlier version of it, as a monastery) was the venue for that meeting.

Edward II, is buried in the Cathedral. He had been deposed and was being held at the nearby Berkeley Castle. His very convenient death is regarded by some as a murder. Many visitors have come to see his tomb, included the similarly ill-fated Richard II in 1378.
[George Marchant, who I met while visiting the cathedral, has written a short book called "Edward II in Gloucestershire", available in the Cathedral ]

The Cathedral was ancient at the time of those events. It was first established as a religious institution in the Seventh Century. by Osric, King of the Hwicce tribe (It is also claimed that he established what is today Bath Abbey). It became a Benedictine monastery in the early 11th Century.

It is a very nice cathedral to visit - in fact I made two visits while we were in this ancient Roman city last year.