Gloucester Brackfriars Guidebook Leaflet

This new-format A5 Red Guide is the first full guide by English Heritage to the priory of the black friars of Gloucester, and includes new plans and a new reconstruction of the priory. Founded by Henry III in about 1239, this Dominican house was built largely under the first prior, William of Abingdon, and is one of the best-preserved urban monasteries in England. Much of its church’s magnificent 13th-century scissor-brace roof survives. On the other side of the peaceful cloister the 13th-century library remains largely intact, with its rows of individual study cubicles beneath the windows at which the friars read and wrote. For 300 years the priory flourished, but in 1538 it was suppressed by order of Henry VIII. The last prior handed over the keys to the wealthy Gloucester merchant and alderman Thomas Bell, who converted it into a fine Tudor house and workshops for his cloth and cap-making business. In 1955 the buildings were bought and conserved by the Ministry of Works and are now open to the public under the management of Gloucester City Council and the care of the English Heritage Trust. Published: November 2022 ISBN: 978-1-910907-63-4 Paperback: A5 28 pages