Default Image Place of Worship has been
Demolished.
Image by courtesy of
openclipart.org

St Mary de Grace's Church (Demolished),
Westgate, near The Cross,
Gloucester, Gloucestershire.

Cemeteries

We believe the Church did NOT have 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 before 1176, but we understand it was closed in 1648.

This church was another casualty of the Civil War. I. Gray & E. Ralph's Guide to the Parish Records of the City of Bristol and the County of Gloucester mentions that the baptism records of St Michael for the period 1563-1660 contain a note from June, 1648 about the "union of St Mary de Grace (called Graceland Church) with St Aldate and St Michael, and of St Mary de Crypt with St Owen".

Thomas Fosbrooke, in his Original History of the City of Gloucester, says the church had a spire, and one aisle, and it stood "on the place called the Knapp, used for the Herb and Fish Market, East of the King's Board." He confirms the parish as "being by parliamentary ordinance united to St Michael's in 1648", and states that the church then became a magazine for ammunition, though in 1652 was "demolished for repairs of St Michael's, and other uses". He mentions it was also known as 'St Mary in the Market', and 'Grace-Lane', when it became distinguished by its position by the entrance to Grace Lane (later to become St John's Lane).

Although "Graceland Church" has long since been demolished, its position is marked in paviors in the paved area of Westgate Street, towards The Cross end of the Street. It is one of two churches said to have been occupying Westgate - the other being Holy Trinity, which was opposite Bull Lane. Because of their position, in the middle of the street, it seems unlikely either one of them ever had graveyards, so perhaps burials of parishioners would have taken place in the nearby churchyard of St Michael. [Sources: I. Gray & E. Ralph, Guide to the Parish Records of the City of Bristol and the County of Gloucester (1963), Revd. Thomas Dudley Fosbrooke, An Original History of the City of Gloucester (1819), and John Williams]

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 SO8312818596. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• St Mary de Grace's Church (Demolished), 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)