Established nearly nine hundred years ago, in 1136, just outside the then city walls of Gloucester, the priory was built to house retreating Augustinian canons who had been given a hard time from the locals around their ‘parent’ Llanthony Priory in the Vale of Ewyas (now within the Brecon Beacons National Park). They liked it in Gloucester and stayed. Indeed, the priory became not only a significant religious centre but, also, like most other medieval religious sites in and around Gloucester, it grew into an important education establishment. As well as running schools in the local area, the priory’s canons also provided hospitality to locals and visitors. However, it was for its cheese-making that were best known in the early sixteenth century. Not Double Gloucester cheese (sorry I haven’t researched that), but ‘Lanthony’ cheese. This, alongside the first lamprey of the fishing season, was sent to the sovereign at Windsor every year. Today, the view to the river is blocked by various industrial premises and other buildings, so, unfortunately, the only reminders of the Severn’s proximity are exhibits in the Information Room: a reproduction of John Speed’s 1616 ‘map of Glocester’ and a copy of Thomas Harral’s 1824 illustration which shows sailing ships in front of the priory’s remains. Clearly the river was a vital resource here for many centuries. Indeed, Speed had highlighted in his supplementary text the ‘special glory’ which the Severn bestowed on the good gifts of the land.

Thanks to a major recent restoration project, you now can begin to appreciate the significance of this site and you can admire some of the recently restored medieval structures, especially on a lovely sunny afternoon. However, given the site’s complex history since the priory’s dissolution in 1539, the remains you see today are only a small portion of the original buildings, and, as the caption below indicates, even the original function of some of the buildings is a bit of an enigma. According to Ray, there’s also the faint possibility that the nursery rhyme ‘Humpty Dumpty’ may have its origin from a supposed incident on the priory walls during the Siege of Gloucester during the English Civil War in 1643! Hmmm… I’m not that convinced, even though Ray was quite persuasive – it seems like Colchester also lays claim to this momentous event!

The half-timbered range of Llanthony Secunda Priory – this building poses more questions than answers in terms of its original use– was it a storage facility or even a stable?

Reflections of the impressive Victorian (1830s-40s) warehouses of Main Basin

One of the many colourful narrow boats along the canal close to the Docks

Although I’d love to have had time to visit all twenty or so other sites which form part of the Gloucester Medieval Trail, I needed to explore the Docks and their connection with the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, as I’d intended. Well, if Purton had seemed like a neat model village on my last walk, Gloucester Docks could have been a backscene for a model railway, or even a film set for a Victorian thriller. They were certainly impressive. Imposing, tall and slender brick-built warehouses rose proudly from the quaysides and their long reflections shimmered in the grey still waters of the canal and docks – quite a photographer’s dream even on a greying afternoon. No wonder these are considered the best-preserved example of Victorian Docks in the country and recently have been awarded the highly prestigious Heritage Harbour status earlier this year. Studying the names of the narrowboats kept me amused for quite a while –Nut Cracker, Amber, Evolution, Wildlife, Little John and Sabrina, to name just a few. However, it was the combination of slightly quirky public art sculptures and actual historical artefacts dotted around the docks which made me curious to find out more about the history of this the most inland of ports in Britain, where inland waterways and seagoing vessels have come together to define the maritime edge of the estuary.

As I was to discover from display panels around the Docks and a fascinating visit to the National Waterways Museum, there are nearly two hundred years of maritime history here. There are innumerable superlatives too – back in 1847 the largest wet dock in the world was constructed here; at their peak, the Docks employed over 3000 people. Certainly, the completion of the Sharpness Canal in 1827 was a turning point, enabling Gloucester to compete with Bristol as a port, given that the treacherous waters of the Severn could now be avoided between Sharpness and Gloucester.   Gloucester Port had other advantages compared with its southern rival: its proximity to the Midlands, its superb rail links and lower costs. No wonder that it became a major hub of activity in the 19th and early 20th Centuries, boasting significant trades in grain, timber, wines and more, including petroleum products in its later years.

A striking crane on its old tracks in front of North Warehouse. This was the first warehouse to be built in 1826/7 and had stored corn, wines and spirits

The Candle, or the Rusty Needle as some locals refer to it, rises 21m above the quayside and has lines from the poem, Requiem, by Gloucester Ivor Gurney, engraved around its base (and, as you can see, was quite tricky to photograph!)

What the museum perhaps lacks in genuine historic vessels, however, was made up for by an interesting selection of smaller artefacts and most particularly by a display featuring a series of short video clips from old sailors who’d lived and breathed the waterways. Drawn in by their rich Gloucester accents and their passionate delivery, I sat alongside a huddle of other visitors to listen to their fascinating stories. Chris Witts painted a vibrant picture of his life on the river and canal. However, for me, Roy Beckett’s recollections were particularly poignant. He vividly describes his working life on the waterways, which began when he was only fourteen years old. He makes no bones that it was a hard life – ‘you never stopped, never… working in all weathers,’ being paid ‘by the trip and tonnage.’ However to Roy, the Docks in their heyday had been ‘really something special,’ and ‘in every way… magic,’ including the ‘sound of the mills’ in the evenings, ‘the gas lighting’ and even ‘the smell around the dock.’ 

I came back out onto the dockside by the museum reflecting on Roy’s comments. Had the ‘magic’ really gone? Those very ‘magical’ docks had fallen into disrepair in the 70s before finally closing the following decade, as ship size and competition from road transport increased, and petroleum works were relocated further south on the estuary. Whilst many may just get a romantic interpretation of Gloucester’s maritime past from the nearly scrubbed up quaysides today, I was delighted to discover that there is still an active maritime industry here. The rich maritime history lives on with a number of specialist companies undertaking ship restoration and historical ship building. T. Nielsen and Company with its extensive facilities and dry docks, has not only achieved worldwide recognition for its work with historic timber ships but has also earned a reputation for its provision of specialist skills for film and TV studios requiring specialist marine structures, boats and rigging. The hulls of some of the historic vessels undergoing maintenance and restoration certainly made for quite a picturesque photo. However, the masts of the most notable vessel in the basin, Kathleen and May, the last remaining three-masted topsail trading schooner, were clearly under wraps, as the vessel undergoes routine maintenance. What a sight it must have been during the Tall Ships Festival earlier this year, when this and other schooners were afloat in the Docks! I’m excited to learn that the next one, in 2027, will be an even more impressive celebration, to mark the bicentenary of the opening of the Gloucester -Sharpness Canal and the docks.

A dry dock facility dating back to 1853 is still used for boat restoration by the  T. Nielson Company

Historic vessels, including the hull of Kathleen and May, moored in the Main Basin

A blend of old and new off the Main Basin in Gloucester’s Historic Dock area

New apartment blocks complement converted warehouses with around the Main Basin

The Docks – a redevelopment triumph?

As I walked back to the hotel I was surprised to see that the areas of dereliction and scruffiness, which I vaguely remember from a previous visit years ago, had all but disappeared. An immense redevelopment programme has clearly taken place here to restore and showcase this special architectural and historic site. I was struck by the cohesiveness of the redevelopment, particularly compared with some other maritime redevelopments in the UK where you have to look hard to discover any maritime past between featureless modern retail units and apartment blocks. Here old and new effectively complement each other (although I do have my own views about retail outlets and chains which might jar here). It is a thriving area– even on an October afternoon, there was a constant hustle and bustle as people went about their sightseeing, shopping and other recreational activities. Certainly, on the surface it seems like the multi-million restoration project, which was one of Gloucester’s ‘Magnificent Seven’ regeneration sites following an unsuccessful bid to host the 1992 Olympic Games, has been more than worthwhile. As I understand it (from reading more widely around the history of Gloucester’s redevelopment) there have also been many lessons learnt from the process of regeneration here, particularly ones associated with the complex interplay between the various interests at play, aptly described by Atkinson and others as a metaphorical ‘bowl of spaghetti’.

I was very aware of the continuing restoration around the Docks as I detoured around cordoned streets and alleyways to find my way back to the hotel at the end of my first half day’s exploration.   Bakers’ Quay and environs are the last piece in the redevelopment jigsaw, having lain vacant for over a decade. Apart from the much-needed restoration of a malthouse and warehouse, the construction of a 10 storey tower as part of this final redevelopment scheme, has been, and is probably still, controversial. Described as both a landmark and an eyesore by the local new media, it was no surprise to learn from a BBC Gloucester News story that permission from the planning committee for the developers to go ahead had only been granted by the smallest of margins. I certainly hope it will complement the existing Dock area.

Some of the most recent developments in the final phase of Dock regeneration

Part of the Bakers’ Quay redevelopment site – the c1838 Pillar Warehouse projected over the dock to enable cargoes to be directly hoisted off ships

Industrial vistas and pollution along the northern section of the canal

Scenic reflections of modern industry along the canal

Sitting comfortably, waiting for ‘anything to bite’ (probably bream)

As the sky darkened further, the prospect across the canal of a warm Costa was most appealing but I continued on my mission to reach the river itself. As I quickened pace, I was overtaken by various canal users – narrowboats, kayakers and keen rowers from the Gloucester Rowing Club, some of whom were practising their timings alongside their buddy cyclists… hmmm, yes, on the tow path! As I walked south, the urban landscape gradually gave way to pleasant woodland areas and attractive banks replete with almost ornamental russet autumnal plants bearing a multitude of different seed heads. I learnt later this is part of the Gloucester Nature Park, a new project masterminded by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust and partners, which will transform some of the undeveloped land around the Severn to create new accessible habitats alongside other environmental benefits. Clearly, the local people I spoke to are very much in favour of such an endeavour. Just before I took the turning off along the road towards the river itself, memories of the Sharpness canal section came flooding back –  swing bridges, gaily decorated longboats with their pretty flower pots and even a bridge-keeper’s house almost identical to the one I’d photographed at Purton.

The Sims Swing Bridge and some more narrow boats

Teasels and other autumnal foliage form fascinating natural art creations along the canal bank

Chris Witts’ ‘adolescent’ Severn near Elmore

The first flotilla of debris following recent rains