CATHEDRAL OF THE COTSWOLDS

To the west of the Abbey Grounds park is St John Baptist church. The largest parish church in Gloucestershire, it is known as ‘the cathedral of the Cotswolds’ and is a handsome, airy building, full of historic details. It was begun in the early 12th century, but although there are some vestiges of its early medieval origins in the chancel and St Catherine’s Chapel, the main body of the church was remodelled in the early 16th century in elegant Perpendicular Gothic. The church was also given a magnificent south porch in the same style. This lovely structure, with its rows of oriel windows and elaborate tracery, was a secular building intended as an office for abbey administrators. After the dissolution of the abbey, it became the property of the parish church and was used as the Town Hall.

Next to the porch is the church tower, complete with soaring finials and flagpole, which forms Cirencester’s dramatic centrepiece. There are regular tours up the tower, which affords spectacular views over the town: in summer, a patchwork of golden Cotswold stone sandwiched between lush green parkland. The tower was begun circa 1400, and the original intention was to add a spire on the top. Fortunately, before it was too late, the builders discovered that the tower was built on marshy land: the nearby ditch, now Gosditch Street, named for its popularity with geese as a grazing spot, was liable to flooding. So, instead, as a precaution, they added a vast buttress to support the tower, which can be seen next to the porch.

Originally, there were two statues: one of the Virgin Mary and another of John the Baptist, in niches on the tower. However, these were removed in 1963, as they were in such poor condition that they were considered a danger to the public. Both were blackened by years of exposure to soot fires, and the grimy statue of St John was affectionately referred to as ‘Black Jack’: the nickname was also given to the lane directly in front of the tower, still called Black Jack Street today. The original medieval statues have sadly been lost, and the church recently launched Project Black Jack to replace them with contemporary sculptures by the artist Rodney Munday.

Perhaps the church’s most famous possession is the Boleyn Cup. This silver gilt chalice was made

St Catherine’s Chapel has vaulting given by Abbot John Hakebourne in 1508 during major reconstruction funded by the wool trade.

The Lady Chapel memorial tomb of Humfry Bridges and his wife Elizabeth, with their many children carved below (above left). The gleaming Boleyn Cup, safely out of harm’s way (above right).