We have 5 Images Above Photograph(s)
Copyright of John Williams

Greyfriars Priory (Ruins),
Greyfriars,
Gloucester, Gloucestershire.

Cemeteries

We don't know whether this Church had a graveyard.

Note: any church within an urban environment may have had its graveyard closed after the Burial Act of 1853. Any new church built after that is unlikely to have had a graveyard at all.

Church History

This Place of Worship was founded in 1231, but we understand it was closed in 1538.

The ruins are to be found on the north-east side of the eponymous (pedestrian-only) alley of Greyfriars, which runs between Brunswick Road and Southgate, about half way between the two. St Mary de Crypt's Church, and the old Gloucester Technical College stand at opposite ends of the alley, and just a few yards away, on the opposite side, is the Friends' Meeting House.

The plaque accompanying the photographs reads:

"This house of the order of Friars minor (Franciscans or Greyfriars) was founded c1231 by Thomas, Lord Berkeley. The present remains are the 16th century rebuilding of the nave and north aisle. After the Dissolution the church was converted into tenements and workshops.
The west end was rebuilt in the 18th century with a fine facade facing Mary de Crypt. Nothing remains of the conventual buildings which lay to the south of the church. The shields, on the exterior of the south wall, of Chandos and Clifford of Frampton were renewed in 1977. The originals may have been taken from a funerary monument."

The final image on this page is of these 2 shields - CHANDOS, on the left, and CLIFFORD on the right.

The buildings, by then converted into houses, were the headquarters of Cromwell's General Edward Massie, during the Siege of Gloucester in 1643. As a consequence they were severely damaged by Royalist forces, and by 1721 the nave and its north aisle were all that survived. The 18th century rebuilding included houses built within the walls, and "a substantial house in a classical style built into the west end of the medieval remains for Philo Maddy, currier". [Sources: John Williams, Religious Heritage (in 2010) on Gloucester City Council website, and the British Listed Buildings website]

Denomination

Now or formerly Franciscan.

If more than one congregation has worshipped here, or its congregation has united with others, in most cases this will record its original dedication.

Maps

This Church was located at OS grid reference SO8313618392. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Greyfriars Priory (Ruins), Gloucester shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Gloucester shown on a Google Map.
• Streetmap.co.uk (arrow on map shows the Place of Worship's location) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Bing (Ordnance Survey option) (verified 2018-10-13)
• Bing Maps ('Bird's Eye' View) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Ordnance Survey "getamap" (NB some of the 'Change Map' options may require a subscription) (verified 2018-10-15)
• OpenStreetMap (Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA) (verified 2018-10-15)
• A Vision of Britain Through Time - useful for Boundary Changes (verified 2018-10-15)
• www.magic.gov.uk (Modern Maps with various overlays) (verified 2018-10-15)

Resources

I have found many websites of use whilst compiling the information for this database. Here are some which deserve mention as being of special interest for Gloucester, and perhaps to Local History and Places of Worship as a whole.

• The Local Government website of Gloucester City Council (null) (verified 2018-11-09)
• Learn more about Buildings of special or historical interest on the British Listed Buildings (null) (verified 2018-09-19)

The above links were selected and reviewed at the time I prepared the information, but please be aware their content may vary, or disappear entirely. These factors are outside my control.