We have 10 Images Above Photograph(s)
Copyright of John Williams/Phil Draper

St Mary Magdalene's Church,
London Road / Denmark Road,
Gloucester, Gloucestershire.

Cemeteries

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 the 12th century, but we understand it was closed before 1840.

S. Rudder's A New History of Gloucestershire (1779) described St Mary Magdalene, and St Margaret (now on the opposite side of London Road), as occupying the status of parish churches in 1545.

Originally they were the chapels which served the medieval hospitals (or almshouses) dedicated to their respective saints - St Mary Magdalene belonging to the former St Mary Magdalene's almshouses. The information board on our photograph tells it was then for women only. "The leper colony of St Mary Magdalen at Wotton, also known as the Hospital of Dudstone, was founded in the early 1100s, probably by Walter of Gloucester. In the early 1150s the hospital received support from Roger, Earl of Hereford. Because of his family's close connection with Llanthony Secunda Priory the hospital came under the control of that Priory."

The hospital stood just east of a present day garage. By the 1830s both hospital and chapel had fallen into disrepair, and in 1861 the hospital, and the nave of the chapel were demolished by the City Council. The preservation of the chancel of the chapel is thanks largely to the British Archaeological Association fighting for its survival.

As a consequence some reconstruction took place. "The original elaborately decorated Romanesque south doorway was reconstructed facing east in the chancel arch, and the north doorway was set against the south wall of the chancel".

London Road originally ran to the north of the church, but was realigned to the south in 1821, thus cutting the church off from the original almshouses, which are now buried.

The recumbent effigy in our eighth photograph was identified originally as the Saxon St Kyneburgh, as it came from the chapel of St Kyneburgh, at the Kimbrose (Kimbrose Way); however the City Council's Religious Heritage webpage suggests that stylistically it is more likely to have been one of the daughters of Humphrey de Bohun who died young in the 13th century - Margaret or Isabella. The link with the de Bohuns (hereditary Constables of England) arose because St Kyneburgh's chapel had also formed part of the original endowment of Llanthony Secunda Priory.

An effigy with a similar description is mentioned by Thomas Fosbroke in his Original History of the City of Gloucester written in 1819, when St Kyneburgh's chapel was still standing. For more information see the entry for St Kyneburgh elsewhere in this database.

The informal carvings shown on other photographs are to the left of the entrance door. Their origins have never been fully explained, but it has been suggested they may have been linked with pilgrimages. They include crosses and floral motifs. [Sources: John Williams, I. Gray & E. Ralph, Guide to the Parish Records of the City of Bristol and the County of Gloucester (1963), and Religious Heritage (in 2010) on Gloucester City Council website]

The inscription on the Memorial to the TANNER family shown on the 9th photograph reads:

Near this Place lies Interrd
John TANNER who died the 26th. March 1762
Also the Body of Susanna his Wife,
who died the 21st. of Septemr. 1773 Aged 72 Yrs.
John TANNER of the City of Glour.
Gold-Smith, Son of John & Susanna
TANNER, who died Febry. 6th. 1753 Aged 23 Yrs.
Also Samuel TANNER Son of the above John &
Susna. TANNER died ye 8th. of March 1754 Aged 22 Yrs.
Hester BACH died 12th. April 1789
Aged 48
John the Son of Ambrose and Mary WADLY
died Febry. ye. 23d. 1753 Aged 1 Year & 7 Months
This Vault is not to be open'd without the
consent of Mr. TANNER's Executor.

Denomination

Now or formerly Church of England.

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 SO8432118980. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• St Mary Magdalene's Church, 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)

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.