Two Potters, Alike in Dignity: Gloucester (Also, Painswick)

After Sudeley Castle, we drove to a Painswick, a little Cotswold town, for lunch at a restaurant called The Oak, which dates from the 16th century. I had an open-faced goat cheese and mushroom sandwich, and it was delicious. The owner also made me a gin drink with floral gin, lemonade, and a little Sprite--also delicious. Like a gin and tonic, but much less bitter.

 

   

 

 

We didn't spend long there because I wanted to visit Gloucester after, but I did get to walk by St. Mary's, a historic church with 99 yew trees (well, the internet says there are 99, I didn't count them). The tradition of planting yews goes back almost a thousand years, and there has been a church on the site since 1099; legend says that no 100th tree will grow because the devil will root it out. 

   

   

Did you know that yew trees can live for 3,000 years?

We definitely shortchanged Painswick, though, and I'd like to go back and visit its rococco gardens (the only intact ones in the UK) and also walk with alpacas--because you can sign up with a local farm and take a walking tour through town with your own alpaca, and that sounds amazing. Also, it's a gorgeous little town. 

However, I felt pulled back to Gloucester because while we may go back to the Cotswolds, I doubt I'll ever go back to Gloucester--it's kind of seedy (I saw a hooker at the bus stop in knee high boots, hot pants, and a purple fur coat) and there's not enough to do to draw me again. But I didn't feel I could leave England without going into its historic abbey and also visiting the small Beatrix Potter museum! 

Taylor and Elowen set up at a nearby bar, and I took the short walk over the Beatrix Potter museum, which is housed in the little shop that inspired her beloved story "The Tailor of Gloucester." Beatrix based her story on a tale she heard about a Gloucester tailor who was commissioned to make a suit for the mayor, and his assistants were able to finish it overnight except for one buttonhole. The tailor spread the story that fairies had done the work, and it became a local legend that eventually charmed Beatrix (she declared the story the favorite of her works too). She sketched the little shop and street where it stood as well as the cottage's interior, and the story with its illustrations was published in 1901. (I have a tailor of Gloucester dress, and I really regret not wearing it, because I think the ladies in the museum would have been VERY pleased.)

 

The bottom floor of the tiny museum is a shop with books, trinkets, stuffed animals, and all kinds of other Beatrix Potter souvenirs, and in the back there's a full recreation of the tailor's kitchen (and a place for kids to sit and watch a little cartoon). The top floor is Potter memorabilia, though I don't think anything she owned (or perhaps I wasn't paying close enough attention, since I was in a bit of a hurry to then make it to abbey). 

      

The above waistcoat is a replica of the one that inspired Beatrix Potter (the real one resides in the V&A). Seamstresses made it from the wedding dress of the wife of the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, and it took 400 hours!

 

   

Recreation of the tailor's kitchen

Then I hopped to the OTHER most famous Potter, the Boy Who Lived, with a visit to Gloucester Cathedral, where they filmed the halls of Hogwarts (also, it's historic for other reasons, etc. etc.). I've been in a lot of churches now, and unlike with castles, I DO get tired of them--but this cathedral was phenomenal. It's huge and breathtaking and the cloisters have what is considered the finest example of fan vaulting in the world; they were constructed in the 14th century. The stained glass--especially some of the newer artistic installations--was worth a visit alone. But let's be honest, I was mostly there to see where they filmed various scenes from Harry Potter, including the hallways as mentioned and the fight with the troll in the first movie. Also, this church knows to cater to its tourists--there's a map you can buy to find all the HP locations, and there's even an interactive screen to guide you.

    

The Tudor rose around the doorframes

 

 

Look at me, hanging out in Hogwarts!

 

The lavatorium where Ron and Harry hide from the troll

To throw some actual history into the above, the cloisters were originally built to house the monks, and in the South Walk you can see a number of small spaces--these would have housed desks where the monks studied. The North Walk is where you find the lavatorium, and it used a local stream to run fresh water for the monks to wash.You can also see the cloisters in movies and shows like Mary Queen of Scots, The Spanish Princess, and Wolf Hall.

  

I thought this was a door from Harry Potter, but I got the wrong red door--oops. Anyway, I learned that the film crew constructed a false floor to film the flood in the first movie, and I can't believe the cathedral let them risk that? Insanity.

 

If I ever did go back, I'd take a proper tour because I know the history would have been fascinating; and I do regret that I didn't take the front desk's offer of a free crypt tour. The abbey asks for a five pound donation for entry, but of course people are cheap jerks, and the group of young men who walked in ahead of me completely ignored the request; when I paid, the lady at the desk offered me a free crypt tour. I turned her down because I was worried about Elowen being bored in the brewery with Taylor, and I'm still kicking myself. (That same group of young men were taking mock crucifix pictures in front of the altar as well, and that's why we can't have anything nice--if there is a hell, they're definitely headed there). 

   

 

The stained glass window you see in the picture to the left is the size of a tennis court, and it was installed in the 1350s! At the time it was the largest window in the world. During World War II, it was dismantled to keep it safe in the crypt below. 

  

The above photo is the tomb of Robert of Normandy, William the Conqueror's oldest son. He helped to lead the first crusade but never became king; instead, he was captured by his younger brother and spent the rest of his life in prison, dying in Cardiff Castle in 1134. The effigy was carved from Irish bog oak around 1240.

 

You could easily spend half a day in the cathedral if you had the time--and I'd recommend it! Even the brief taste of history and grandeur I got was overwhelming. I took a little wooden mouse back as a souvenir, because it was a "church mouse" and that made me laugh. Next up, lovely towns in the Cotswolds!