Things that make you go, oh cultural facts celebrating 1000 years of Gloucestershire

Transcription

1 Things that make you go, oh cultural facts celebrating 1000 years of Gloucestershire

2 For more information about culture in Gloucestershire visit: Culture South West Gloucestershire Dance Gloucestershire Music Service Gloucestershire Archives Libraries and Information Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company (GHURC) Active Gloucestershire Gloucestershire Museums Gloucestershire Arts Sporting Gloucestershire

3 2007 has been designated the official 1000th anniversary of Gloucestershire To mark this occasion the County Council Lifelong Learning and Culture teams, supported by District Councils, schools and individuals have gathered together some cultural facts around Sport, the Arts, Literature, Local Festivals and history in the county through the centuries. Contents Arts n Festivals n History n Leisure n Literature n Miscellaneous n Sport n

4 Arts s The annual meeting of the choirs of Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester is first recorded. The meeting, begun as a charity to raise funds for the widows and orphans of clergymen, is held in Gloucester every third year and is known as Three Choirs Festival. John Stafford Smith, composer of America's national anthem, hails from the Hushed Close which surrounds Gloucester Cathedral. The Woodchester pavement was uncovered during the excavation of a Roman villa by the antiquarian Samuel Lysons. The last time it was uncovered and opened to the public was in 1973 when it attracted more than 140,000 visitors. A replica is displayed at Prinknash Abbey. Built in 1891, and seating 672 people, the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham is the oldest theatre in Britain to have been designed by Victorian architect Frank Matcham, which is still in theatrical use. The newest in the county is the Bacon Theatre, also in Cheltenham, completed in The craftsmen Sidney and Ernest Barnsley and Ernest Gimson, designers of buildings and furniture, moved to Sapperton, making it a centre of the Arts and Crafts Movement inspired by the writings of William Morris. Gustav Holst, born in Cheltenham in 1874, composed his orchestral suite celebrating the planets between Sudeley Castle became a safe house where much of the Tate Gallery s picture collection was protected from the London Blitz during World War II. The annual Cheltenham Festival of Music was inaugurated. Gloucester's original Kings Theatre was in the old Booth Hall where the Shire Hall extension now stands. The present building was originally the Salvation Army citadel. The outline of their "Blood and Fire" symbol can just be discerned under the white paint.

5 Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham Gloucester Cathedral The Planets

6 Trombone workshop at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival Hollywood film crews only visited Gloucester twice for the filming of the Harry Potter movies. However footage of the Cathedral Cloisters was used in the first 3 films thanks to digital wizardry. 30 Gloucestershire schools gained an Artsmark award which means recognition and reward for schools dedicated to the arts. Much of the film Amazing Grace (2007) starring Ioan Gruffudd and Albert Finney was filmed in Gloucester Docks. Cheltenham is home to 6 international cultural festivals. National Hunt Festival, Folk Festival (February), Jazz Festival (April), Science Festival (June), Music Festival (July) and Literature Festival (October). Gloucestershire s Creative Industries total 1900 companies with 9000 employees that generates 808 million for the local economy. Over a million people take part in arts activities in Gloucestershire each year: drama, dance, visual arts and crafts, music, film, literature and much more.

7 Festivals Painswick Church s Ancient Clypping Ceremony (September) has nothing to do with the trimming of the 99 yew trees in the churchyard! 'Clypping' means embracing the church and the faith it stands for. Local people join hands around the church to form a chain and sing the 'Clypping Hymn'. St Briavels Bread and Cheese Dole (Whit Sunday at St Mary's Parish Church). After the evening service crowds wait whilst pieces of bread and cheese are thrown into the air from large baskets. The event is said to date from the time of Milo, Earl of Hereford, in the 12th century but was first recorded in Bisley Well Dressing was established by Rev. Thomas Keble. The act of dressing wells with flowers has pagan origins with its roots in the worship of the life-giving force of water. It could be that Rev. Keble simply wished to mark the restoration of the wells. Newent is home to the Onion Fayre. In 2006 more than 15,000 people flocked to the streets of Newent in order to visit the fayre which has become known for its onion eating competition. The fayre originated from when local farmers (many of whom came from the Vale of Evesham) sold their onions to local Foresters. Avening Feast and Queen Matilda's Pageant (September) known locally as 'Pig Face Day'. Villagers feast in the village hall after attending evensong at the Church of the Holy Cross. The feast commemorates Queen Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror, who consecrated the church in Tetbury Wool Sack race is run between two pubs in Tetbury - the race has been given world record status and involves competitors running in pairs and fours up Gumstool Hill through the village of Tetbury carrying a large sack of wool. Men carry a 60lb sack on their backs and women carry a 35lb sack. The race dates back to the 17th century when Tetbury was a noted wool town

8 Alice in Wonderland outdoor production, Gloucester Festival

9 Alice in Wonderland outdoor production, Gloucester Festival Wychwood Festival Ancient Clypping Ceremony at Painswick Church

10 History AD Gloucester stands on the site of a Roman fortress dating from AD 97. Brunswick Road and Parliament Street form the original South East corner of the fortress. Gloucester was one of three cities captured by the Saxons following the battle of Dyrham in 577. William I gave the order for the compilation of Domesday Book at the meeting of his council in Gloucester at Christmas. Gloucester was one of the places used by Norman kings for ceremonial crown-wearing. N.B. Gloucester was a town and not a city at this time. The foundation stone of Gloucester Cathedral was laid by Serlo in The first recorded use of the name Cotswolds. It derived from Old English and means Cod s high woodland. Henry II confirmed the importance of the city of Gloucester in 1155 by the granting of a charter giving the city privileges equal to those of London.

11 Due to the differing opinions on his accession Henry III was forced into a makeshift coronation ceremony at Gloucester Cathedral. Instead of the crown jewels he was crowned with his mother s bracelet. The first known reference to the Newnham Ferry is from 1238, when the King granted the woman keeping the passage of Newnham an oak for building a boat. Blackfriars Monastry was founded in Edward II was murdered at Berkeley Castle and buried at Gloucester Cathedral. Richard Whittington, celebrated in history as Dick Whittington, was the third son of William Whittington, Lord of Pauntley. He went to London where he prospered as a merchant and was mayor four times. He died in His family owned many estates in and beyond Gloucestershire and was among the wealthiest in the region. Bristol split from Gloucestershire and was made a separate county in the reign of Edward III. Parliament met in Gloucester Abbey, also in 1406 and Cleeve Hill, nr Cheltenham

12 Cottages at Arlington Row, Bibury were originally constructed in 1380 to process, or store, wool. In the 18th Century cloth manufacture became centred on the Stroud valleys where there was plenty of waterpower. At its height there were about 150 mills. The New Inn, Gloucester, is Britain s oldest galleried inn and was built as pilgrims lodgings in Tyndale Monument. North Nibley, is a landmark that can be seen for many miles and was built in honour of William Tyndale, a man who risked everything to translate the Bible into everyday language in Gloucester Abbey became the cathedral of a new diocese and Gloucester is declared to be a city by Henry VIII. In the Middle Ages, Gloucestershire had been divided between the dioceses of Worcester and Hereford. Tewkesbury Abbey was saved from demolition by its sale to the town for use as a parish church. Under the reign of Queen Mary, Anglican Bishop John Hooper was burnt to death as a Protestant Martyr in St Mary s Square, Gloucester, in Real Statues at Gloucester Docks

13 Baker s Jeweller clock, Gloucester 1655 saw the first recorded meeting in Gloucester of the Quakers. However local residents initially did not take kindly to the group meeting in the city and occasionally attacked and disrupted gatherings. Built in 1676, Speech House, in the Forest of Dean, was originally a hunting lodge for Charles II. The largest room was Verderers' Court, which locals knew as the place you went to talk or to make a Speech hence the name Speech House. The Forest of Dean had one of the highest concentrations of iron furnaces and forges in the UK. Cheltenham became a spa town in According to legend the first medicinal waters were discovered when pigeons were noticed pecking at salty deposits which had formed around a spring. The Sunday School movement started with the opening of Sunday schools in Gloucester by Robert Raikes and the Revd. Thomas Stock. The spread of the movement owed much to the publicity that Raikes gave the venture in his newspaper, the Gloucester Journal Cheltenham Promenade

14 The Forest of Dean supplied timber to naval dockyards during the Napoleonic wars. Government plans to develop the Forest plantations for naval needs were endorsed by Admiral Nelson after he visited the Forest in Cheltenham's Promenade and Long Gardens date back to 1818 when the Avenue of Elms and Horse Chestnut trees was first planted. Edwin Beard Budding, an engineer from Stroud, invented the lawnmower. He is also accredited with the invention of the adjustable spanner. The Stroud Subscription rooms were built in Baker s jewellery shop on Southgate Street, Gloucester has an external clock which dates back to Edwardian times. The figures represent England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Father Time. Prior to the outbreak of World War II in 1939, thousands of Jewish children were brought to Britain from Germany under the Kindertransport (Children's Transport) scheme. Gloucester housed ten refugee boys who were cared for by the Gloucester Association for Aiding Refugees in a hostel at Alexandra Road, Kingsholm. The Gloster Aircraft Company, based in factories by the airfield between Hucclecote and Brockworth, began production of the Meteor, the country s first jet-propelled fighter. The Severn Rail Bridge Disaster occurred on 25th October barges came up the river together and missed the navigation lights, which were obscured by fog. They collided with the rail bridge causing two spans to fall onto them. The impact caused the barges' cargo of around 5,000 gallons of petrol to ignite, setting the River Severn on fire. In addition, a gas main was severed setting the river alight. 5 lost their lives as a result of the collision but it could have been worse. Workers strengthening the spans across the bridge on that night had chosen to take a break to listen to Henry Cooper s fight on the radio in a signal box at Severn Bridge station.

15 Government minister Sally Oppenheim officially opened the first Mosque in Gloucester in This was also the first mosque in the South West of England. As part of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant, 'What's beneath your feet and Archives for all projects will produce digital images of Gloucestershire Archives' unique collection of inclosure maps showing fields, footpaths and landownership in parishes in Gloucestershire in the 18th and 19th centuries The cannon at Berkeley Castle

16 Leisure 1789 Sapperton Tunnel, in the middle of the Thames and Severn Canal, was first used in At the time it was the state of the art in canal technology; at 3,817yds (2 17 miles or 3 49 km) it was the longest tunnel ever dug in England. Nowadays there is an Annual 3 day Music, Arts, Boat and Folk Festival in Saul to raise funds for the canal s restoration. Sim s clock, Stroud Town Centre Puzzle Wood, in the Forest of Dean, is formed from caves known as scowles. These are a landscape feature almost unique to the Forest of Dean, which have traditionally been interpreted as the remains of early opencast iron ore extraction. The 14 acre site lies in a woodland setting that was landscaped in the 1800 s. Sezincote House, North Cotswolds, was the inspiration for the Brighton Pavilion. In 1935, Stroud Council bought the 56 acre Stratford Park. It became a public place with swimming pool and tennis courts. In 1938 the Forest of Dean was designated a "National Forest Park" the very first in Britain, which means it was recognised as having cultural and environmental significance. Slimbridge, the headquarters of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, was the vision of Sir Peter Scott after he realised how many thousands of geese depended on the shores of the Severn Estuary in winter. The headquarters became a reality in Westonbirt Arboretum was the most frequently visited fee charging attraction in Gloucestershire during 2005 with in excess of 285,000 visitors.

17 Stained glass window, Forest of Dean sculpture trail Autumn, Westonbirt Arboretum Swans at Slimbridge Wildfowl Trust

18 The Giant s Chair at The Sculpture Trail, Forest of Dean Offa's Dyke Path runs for 177 miles from Sedbury Cliffs near Chepstow to the North Wales resort of Prestatyn on Liverpool Bay. For about 70 miles it follows the course of the Eighth Century Offa's Dyke earthwork. Cotswold Water Park has 140 lakes, more than the Norfolk Broads. Gloucestershire has over 3300 miles of footpaths, bridleways and byways over which you are free to walk. Newent area has long been known for its wild daffodils which grow naturally in the woods and meadows around the town. They once grew in such profusion that school children picked flowers to be sent to hospitals as far away as London. The Great Western railway used to put on special trains to Newent for people to come and pick the daffodils.

19 Literature The origins of the nursery rhyme Doctor Foster are thought to lie in a visit to Gloucester by King Edward I. It is reputed that during the visit he fell off his horse into a large muddy puddle! He was so humiliated by this event that he refused to return to the town of Gloucester ever again! Jemmy Wood, owner of the Gloucester Old Bank, was probably Britain s first millionaire. His miserly ways inspired Charles Dickens to create the character of Ebenezer Scrooge in 'A Christmas Carol'. The Gloucester Old Bank eventually formed part of today's Lloyds TSB. The poet W E Henley was born at 1 Eastgate Street in He lost a leg to tuberculosis and was said to have been the model for his friend Robert Louis Stevenson s character, Long John Silver in Treasure Island. C 13th Beatrix Potter shop, Gloucester

20 It is said that Beatrix Potter used sketches of a shop in Gloucester (now the Beatrix Potter Museum) and the tale of the Mayor of Gloucester s waistcoat to inspire the Tailor of Gloucester. For a few years until the outbreak of the First World War Dymock was home to a number of poets, the so-called Dymock poets. Among them was the New England poet Robert Frost (d. 1963), who returned in 1928 and 1957 and is remembered for reading at the inauguration in 1961 of President John F. Kennedy. Laurie Lee ( ) introduced millions of readers to the Cotswolds through his books and poetry, most notably Cider with Rosie. Tolkien may have got the inspiration for the Lord of the Rings trilogy during an archaeological dig of Lydney Park in At the time there were many tunnels and open cast iron mines, known as scowles, set in the hills bearing some resemblence to Middle Earth. Nasreen Akhtar begins Untold Stories project. The stories record the history of the county s ethnic communities including: Asian, Chinese and African Caribbean and looks at the individuals experiences in order to settle in Gloucestershire. Between April 2006 and March 2007 over 4900 nine month old babies in Gloucestershire took home a Bookstart pack from either their local Library or Health Visitor. Between April March 2007, 487 multi-language items were added to the stock of Libraries and Information. In addition, 60 dual-language junior books were purchased with another 200 on order customers hired books from an external stock of titles in over 50 languages! 2008 has been designated an official Year of Reading. Author Joanna Trollope was born in Minchinhampton in Gloucestershire. She has since returned to live in the area where many of her books are set.

21 Miscellaneous Gloucester s first fire engine was put into service in Constructing the Harry Potter set at Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester was twinned with Metz, France in It was also twinned with Gouda, Holland in The Quidditch team 'Tutshill Tornadoes' in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter Books is likely to have been named after the village of Tutshill (just west of the Forest of Dean) where the author went to school In the 2001 Census, 4616 people in Gloucestershire described their ethnicity and religion as Jedi. Stanway fountain, part of the water gardens at Stanway House, is the tallest single jet fountain in Britain rising to over 300 feet. It is also the tallest gravity fountain in the world Stanway fountain

22 Over 1400 people took part in the vote over the controversial Bandstand in Gloucester Park due to public demand a Victorian style stand will be constructed. Gloucestershire covers an area of 1025 square miles including the largest areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the country. Talking Rubbish, the Great Gloucestershire Debate is a continuation of the biggest public consultation ever attempted in the county. It is designed to get everyone living and working in the county talking about the issues that affect them. Gloucestershire s first re-cyclable fire engine was put into service in The Cotswolds has more specially protected or 'listed' buildings than any other district in the county. The Severn Bore is one of Britain's few truly spectacular natural phenomena. It is a large surge wave that can be seen in the estuary of the River Severn, where the tidal range is the second highest in the world, reaching as high as 50 feet (approx. 15.4m). The bore also attracts many of the county s surfers. The Centaur, at Cheltenham Racecourse, is Gloucestershire's largest entertainments venue. It offers 2,600m of indoor space and 12,500 parking spaces.

23 Sport The Cotswold Olimpicks (Olympics) were started by local barrister Captain Robert Dover in 1612 at Dover's Hill, above Chipping Campden. The annual event attracted thousands of spectators with the highlight being shin-kicking. The shinkicking competition involves two contestants filling their trouser legs with straw to help reduce the pain. The players then hold arms and kick each other using steel toe-capped boots until one of the contestants is so bruised that he cannot stand the pain and gives in. The C&G Cheltenham Cricket Festival 2007 has been held since 1872, in honour of W.G. Grace, making it the oldest cricket festival in the country. Gloucester Football Club was founded. The club, which became one of the leading players of the rugby union game, moved from the Spa to its Kingsholm ground in Spectators at Cheltenham Cricket Festival Rugby ground posts

24 The Dursley Pedersen bike was invented by Mikael Pedersen, a draftsman who served his apprenticeship with Lister Petter in Dursley. This notice appeared in the Dursley Gazette 21 October 1893: "A new bicycle. Mr M. Pedersen of Dursley, with that ingenuity for which he has become known, has recently constructed a safety bicycle of remarkable character. Its weight is only nineteen pounds and the maker has tested the strength in an extraordinary way, he having ridden it up Whiteway." Built in 1935, Sandford Park Lido, Cheltenham, is set in 4 acres of grounds and retains all its original features. The project was finally completed in early 1935 at a cost of 15,700. During Cheltenham National Hunt Festival the Panoramic Restaurant seats 300 people at up to 400 per person. Also up to 480 horses take part in the event with around 230,000 spectators and 25 million pound in betting turnover. The finishing post at Cheltenham Racecourse

25 Hartpury College will host the World Paralympic Dressage Championships. As part of the 2007 Festival of Volleyball, truck loads of sand will be transported to Gloucester s Plock Court for the beach volleyball competition. In the Forest of Dean the Forestry Commission have created an 11 mile Family Cycling Trail. This circular off-road route is marked along forest tracks and old railway lines. The Stroud Valleys Pedestrian Cycle Trail runs from Stonehouse to Nailsworth along a disused railway line. This 6 mile route offers safe cycling with level gradients and several access points. Tidenham, in the Forest of Dean, is home to the National Diving Centre, set on the site of a disused quarry divers now have the opportunity to dive up to 87 metres and explore underwater items such as, North Sea Diving Bells and Amphibious vehicles! Forest of Dean family cycling trail National Diving Centre

26 Map n County Boundary n Motorways Primary A Roads n n River n Settlements 2 M50 M50 3 Newent A417 A40 A40 FOREST OF DEAN A48 GLOUCESTER 11 Coleford Cinderford STRO Lydney M5 A48 Berkeley Dursley Na Tetbury 14 1 M48 Wottonunder-Edge A M4 21 M5 15/20

27 1 Chipping Campden 9 TEWKESBURY A44 M5 Winchcombe A4019 CHELTENHAM A40 A429 Stow-onthe-Wold a A436 COTSWOLDS Northleach A40 A417 A429 UD A419 CIRENCESTER ilsworth A419 A433

28 Thanks to: Royal Forest of Dean Tourism Office Gloucester Tourism Office Gloucester City Council Events team Tony Hickey Photography Alex Cairns Katie Parker Kerry Edwards John Jurica Cheltenham Borough Council Cotswold District Council Tewkesbury Borough Council Stroud District Council Gloucester City Council Forest of Dean District Council Local Tourism websites Fairgame Theatre Company Gloucestershire Archives Playing for Success, Cheltenham Racecourse The King s School, Gloucester Comment Would you like to add a fact for any future editions? Would you like a full list of sources used? Have you found this booklet of interest? If you have any comment about the content, distribution or development of this booklet please 101things@gloucestershire.gov.uk or write to: 101things, Lifelong Learning, Room 132, Shire Hall, Westgate Street, Gloucester GL1 2TR. Disclaimer Whilst Gloucestershire County Council has made every reasonable effort to ensure that the information contained in this booklet was accurate at the time of publication, Gloucestershire County Council does not warrant its accuracy and disclaims any liability to the maximum extent permitted by law to any third party anywhere in the world (except for death or personal injury arising from the negligence of Gloucestershire County Council) for any injury, damage, direct or indirect loss, consequential or economic loss or any other loss suffered howsoever as a result of the use of or reliance upon the information contained in this booklet." Gloucestershire County Council, 2007 CAC00050 June 07