Potter and Potter…anyone

The morning forecast for rain lead us to a more leisurely breakfast in our cozy Primrose cottage followed by an indoor venue… we agreed Gloucester Cathedral would provide a great opportunity. Little did we know how wonderful it would be.

By now we are adjusting more to the driving…( a bit of the “royal we” as David is always behind the right sided wheel and I am in the left side passenger seat co-piloting the “look right/stay left reminder”).

The drive to Gloucester starts with the country lanes but eventually moves to the M-5 and the M50- now we are on the motorway. Gloucester is a city. We find the public parking, pay for our estimated time ( each pay station has been slightly different so we are left to puzzle it out each time).

We wind through the walk- way to a pedestrian center with shops and restaurants. Follow the sign to the Cathedral when what to my wandering eyes … a Beatrix Potter shop!! It is not just any shop, it is the Tailor of Gloucester shop. ( please see the Beatrix Potter collection – it is a classic). Since Elaine is a former teacher/ current grandma, and I am soon to be… the Cathedral had to wait a little longer. And it was so worth it. In fact the shop is a featured site in Gloucester we had somehow over looked when planning.

As a child, the tales of Peter Rabbit and Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tale were magic. The Tailor of Gloucester was a classic. As we entered the shop, eyes wide with all the lovely books and trinkets, we spy the back room. The back room has been meticulously recreated to be the kitchen of the Tailor of Gloucester. And as with all magical tales, it would be incomplete without a storyteller. Enter Thierry. Thierry is the personification of the old tailor. He leans against the kitchen hutch and chair by the fireplace and tells us that he takes care of the books. He’s just back after being away for 2 weeks so please excuse the disarray. ( it was a very organized disarray at that- ). While it was raining on and off on our way to Glousester, Thierry travels to the shop 2 miles in his motorized wheelchair. He had been caught in a downpour and was still a little damp around the edges. Niceties aside, he launches into a retelling of the tale, Simpkin, the cat by his side, fine china tea cups turned over to hold the captured mouse( we jumped a little when he revealed that), and on to the end. We could have stayed all day. What a delightful shop. ( interestingly- Beatrix Potter was one of the environmentalist whose portrait was featured at the Upton Manor house yesterday) so the connections are happening across our ventures) . But the Cathedral looms large over the lane and we do want to get there.

The Cathedral… is a work of architecture that spans nearly all the time periods of England.

From the lower outside it appears modern and perpendicular (1500’s!)

We enter the Cathedral to a welcoming staff at the desk. We were in time to join the crypt tour.

Just before joining the tour one of the guides overheard us speculating on the changes in the architecture. He came over excited to share about the history and events that created this Cathedral. He notes  that the Cathedral holds what would have been the second oldest perpendicular ceiling in the addition to the original Abbey. St. Paul’s Cathedral in London was the largest. It burned -and has since been reconstructed catapulting the Gloucester Cathedral into #1.

He recounted the murder of Edward ll and the crusade by his son try to make the Cathedral a place worthy of such a saint(although he was never canonized). He pointed out the changes from early Norman, early gothic, late gothic, perpendicular, etc.

The crypt tour was spectacular. We followed our knowledgable guide through the locked door, down the steps into a dimly light crypt which had 5 altars off the corridor. The thick walls of the cathedral were even thicker below the ground to support the weight of the imposing Cathedral. Monks who lived in the Abbey could come there as young as 7 yrs old and would remain there for life. Eventually the rule was changed to require monks to be at least 19 before entering the monastery. She discussed over throw of the Catholic Church in England and other changes that impacted the look and purpose there. The grave of a knight and his lady from the 1500’s lies at the side of one of the altars upstairs. The stone along the left side of the knight’s body was slightly golden and shiny, our guide explained that is from the oils in everyone’s hands as they touch him ( stone on the right side of his body and of the woman lying next up him ( slightly out of reach) was a matte grey finish.

We wandered after the tour, into the cloisters. These majestic halls with stain glass windows and gorgeously carved ceilings have been popularized in the Harry Potter franchise. In fact, the crypt below and the cloisters are filmmakers treasure. The cathedral has been a popular film location. ( even Father Brown, our Blockley hero filmed there on occasion).

The rain started and stopped. We decided to wander back toward home stopping at Broadway,

The stop in broadway was sunny and pleasant. Cute shops and restaurants. After a little shopping we stopped by the Crown and Trumpet, a long standing pub. Small round wooden table, short little round stools or long wooded pew- like benches with cushions clustered around the fireplaces. The stone inside, like the stone outside. Our local friends all had their sweet well-behaved dogs at their feet or in the chair next to them. It makes for a very civilized afternoon for tea or a pint.  We stop at the Broadway Tower as we near our turn to Blockley.  There are sheep of course, but also a refuge for deer. As we approach the field to the tower, a large stag bellows his call… letting us know the herd is his… the many female deer continue grazing contentedly unvexed by our approach. The gentle creatures rest peacefully as we take in the breath taking views of miles of Cotswolds.