Go behind the scenes this Residents’ Weekend with free hard hat tours of Gloucester’s most exciting restoration projects
Members of the public are in for a treat this Residents’ Weekend (Friday 6 to Sunday 8 April) with exclusive free hard hat tours of some of Gloucester’s multi-million pound restorations. Llanthony Secunda Priory with £3.2 million of Heritage Lottery funding and St. Mary de Crypt also receiving £2 million towards their restoration. Residents’ Weekend also gives people who live, work or study in Gloucester the opportunity to try something new with big savings at shops, restaurants, attractions and leisure facilities.
Llanthony Secunda Priory is a former Augustinian priory founded in 1136 and is currently undertaking extensive conservation work. Witness the amazing progress that has been made over the last few years in restoring some of the building’s key features such as the Medieval Range’s newly repaired timber frame. This will be the last public tour before the priory reopens later this summer and a rare chance to witness the work involved in restoring a heritage site. The tour takes place on Friday 6th April at 11am.
Another site undergoing an exciting restoration is St. Mary de Crypt Church and the Old Crypt Schoolroom in Southgate Street. St Mary de Crypt is a fine late 15th Century church situated in the centre of Gloucester. Adjacent to this is one of the few remaining Tudor schoolrooms in the country. There are two medieval wall paintings in the chancel, one of which depicts the Adoration of the Magi. The tours take place on Saturday 7th April at 10am and 11am and are free for Residents’ Weekend making it the perfect time to explore of city’s architectural and historical gems.
Credit Gloucestershire Live https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/construction-vehicles-outside-one-gloucesters-1087601
Gloucester Civic Trust is also running many free tours all over the city on Saturday 7th April. Some of the tours and talks on offer are; Roman Times Tour, The Faces of Gloucester Talk, Beatrix Potter Tour, Children’s Tour and many more. A particularly exciting one for this year’s Residents’ Weekend is the Saxon Tour which would include a look at the influence of Aetheflaed in Gloucester’s history. This year is the 1100th anniversary of the death of Aethelfaed and the city will be marking the occasion with a number of activities and events between the 7th and 10th June (more details at www.aethelflaed2018.co.uk). The tours are a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the Saxon queen ahead of the celebrations this summer.
Ben Hau, Head of Marketing at Marketing Gloucester, said: “This is a great chance to feel like a tourist in your own city and enjoy a sneak peak at some of Gloucester’s many historical buildings – all free of charge. The annual Residents’ Weekend has been running for six years now and is a wonderful showcase for the attractions and businesses on our doorstep.”
Booking is essential:
Llanthony Secunda Priory tour – contact Tourist Information Centre on 01452 396572
St Mary de Crypt tour – contact mail@discoverdecrypt.org.uk or call 01452 385070
Gloucester Civic Trust tour – contact Tourist Information Centre on 01452 396572
See all the offers for Residents’ Weekend at https://t.co/mblCv7N0wD
Jason I J Smith 