Gloucester under Saxons and Normans
In the seventh century the Hwicce, a subordinate Saxon tribe of the Mercian dynasty, had settled in Gloucestershire and part of Worcestershire. In 679 Osric, king of the Hwicce, founded a monastery at Gloucester dedicated to St Peter on or near the site now occupied by the cathedral. By the tenth century the town was an important centre of the Kingdom of Mercia and had been re-fortified and re-planned by Queen Aethelflaeda, daughter of Alfred the Great, against the incursions of the Danish armies. The street plan of in Gloucester is a direct legacy of this revitalisation. She also founded the New Minster church of St Oswald, about 900, which became a national shrine following the installation of the bones of the seventh century king and saint.
During the reign of Edward the Confessor the great hall of the Royal Manor or Palace at Kingsholm became the regular meeting place of the King and the Great Council - the Witanagemot - raising the status of Gloucester to that of Winchester and London.
In 1066 William of Normandy claimed the English throne and continued the practice of holding meetings of the Great Council at Gloucester. It was at one such gathering in 1085 that William I called for the detailed survey of his kingdom resulting in the production the Domesday Book. The conqueror also had a profound effect on the religious life of Gloucester when he appointed Serlo of Bayeux, Norman monk, to restore the flagging fortunes of the near defunct abbey of St Peter. Serlo began by building the great abbey church in the Norman style and the huge pillars of the nave are an important feature in the present cathedral. Perhaps the first Norman building to be imposed on the town was a motte and bailey castle. The 20m. (65ft.) high mound was built in the south-west corner of the walled town and was topped with a timber tower with a defended enclosure bailey on its east side. This together with the rebuilding of some of the town gates became a symbol of the king s authority over, Indigenous Saxon population. The timber and earth castle was replaced in the early twelfth century by a large stone keep, complete with surrounding walls and deep moat, just to the west on the east bank of the River Severn.
In the dispute for the throne between King Stephen and Matilda, Robert Earl of Gloucester, supported his half-sister Matilda. The town transferred its allegiance from the king to Matilda but no fighting took place.
http://www.glosarch.org.uk/Gloucestercityresearch.html#MEDIEVAL
image: Visualisation of North West Gloucester in about 680 by Richard Bryant
http://www.glosarch.org.uk/GM&P3.jpg
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Kingsholm Palace ..
Llanthony Secunda Priory ..
