Blackfriars

Blackfriars in Gloucester stands on a site west of Southgate Street, beside the old city wall. Founded around 1239 for Dominican friars, it once housed thirty to forty monks under Henry III. The friary included a church, a quadrangle of buildings, a scriptorium, a dormitory with a famous scissor-braced roof, and cloisters. The buildings passed into private hands after the Dissolution and became a cap factory. Later they were split into homes, then restored in the 1960s and again in 1984. The former church was shortened and turned into a grand mansion called Bell Place. Traces remain of John Hooper, the bishop burnt nearby in 1555 for his beliefs. Today the site is the most complete surviving Dominican priary in Britain. Visitors see the oldest purpose-built library in the country and the remarkable scissor-braced roof of the dormitory. The western cloister faces Ladybellegate, named after Thomas Bell’s wife. Guided tours and events take place among the ancient stonework and later additions.