Gloucester cathedral
The first fan vaults in England
Gloucester was built as a fine Norman abbey - for an abbot from Normandy - in the massive and dignified style of its day. But in the late middle ages, a further building campaign didn't - as happened in other medieval cathedrals - demolish the earlier work and rebuild, but instead built an elegant skin of Perpendicular Gothic tracery over the Romanesque bones of the church. It's a unique blend of the architecture of two very different ages. And in the cloister, you can see what are believed to be the first fan vaults in England - delicate, lace-like work without equal.
Our Podtour™ explains how the cathedral came to be the way it is tod
ay - and we show you some of the architects' dirty little secrets, where the plan didn't quite work as intended.
We also visit the grave of the Englishman who wrote the American national anthem, as well as the tombs of a murdered English king, and a prince who never quite made it to the throne.
Price: £2.50
