Walk Feb.qxp_Layout 1 26/01/2022 15:43 Page 1
THE | WALK
Buildings in Lewis Lane
Church of St John the Baptist
The Roman wall
Cirencester walk
A sunny day in early spring is the ideal time to explore a town known as the ‘Capital of the Cotswolds’, says Andrew Swift. Cirencester was founded by the Romans, and was the second largest city in Britain after Londinium
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ll there is to show for the original Roman town today, however, is a short length of broken-down wall, a grass-grown amphitheatre and the mosaics and carvings in the town’s museum. From the ruins of the Roman city a new town arose, home to the richest Augustinian abbey in England. After its dissolution in 1539, the abbey was razed to the ground. Today, only a gatehouse and some perimeter walls survive. Even before the abbey disappeared, though, Cirencester had grown rich on the wool trade. In the centuries that followed, wealthy merchants built grand townhouses in its narrow streets, There was no standing on ceremony, however. They stood amid weavers’ cottages and warehouses, and were built, like them, of local stone, creating a townscape of surprising variety and interest. It takes around an hour to get to Cirencester, which lies 35 miles north-east of Bath. There are several car parks, but the cheapest long-stay option is the Beeches, just off the ring road on the east side of town. (SP029019; GL7 1BW) Leaving the car park by the main entrance, turn left along Beeches Road, past the Barn Theatre. The London Road, which lies ahead, follows the line of a Roman road. Corinium’s East Gate once stood here. To see the only surviving section of the Roman walls, you need to cross the London Road, but, although there is a 20mph speed limit, it is wide and busy, so you may prefer to turn left, cross at the traffic lights and walk back along the opposite pavement. From here, head north along a road called Corinium Gate, take the second right and after 50m turn right across a footbridge. After visiting the broken-down wall, which lies over to the right, carry on past a lake which started life as the abbey fishpond. The row of buildings you can see in the distance, to the right of the church, stand on the site of the abbey. After passing a playground, turn right to find Spital Gate, the only surviving abbey building. Head back along the path and carry on 62 THeBATHMagazine
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February 2022
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issue 228
towards the church. After passing the site of the abbey, bear right into the Market Place, dominated by St John’s church. Its palatial three-storey porch was built by the monks as an office from where they could regulate the trade of the market. From here, head west along Castle Street, where you’ll notice a bell carved on the estate agents on the corner – a legacy of the days when it was The Bell Inn. Turn right at the end along Silver Street. Ahead is the Corinium Museum, with one of the finest collections of Roman artefacts in the country. Before you reach it, turn right along Black Jack Street, the narrowest and busiest in town. At the end turn left along Gosditch Street, with a high wall on the right which once screened the abbey from the eyes of the townsfolk. Turn left along Coxwell Street. Here the bustle of the streets around the Market Place is left far behind, and you enter a part of town hardly changed for over 300 years. As you walk along, cottages give way to grander buildings. Grandest of all is Woolmongers, a wool merchant’s house set back behind a garden, with a counting house on the left and a warehouse on the right. If you look to the left at the end, you will see that the warehouse’s facade is almost as impressive as that of the house. Turn right along Thomas Street, towards the end of which is St Thomas’s Hospital, also known as Weaver’s Hall, built in the late 15th century. Gloucester Street, at the end, is built on the line of the Roman Ermine Street. Before turning left along it, look to the right, where more grand buildings line the east side of the street. After turning left, a detour to the right along Spitalgate Street leads to the remains of the 12th-century St John’s Hospital. As you carry on along Gloucester Street, look out for the massive blocks of stone in the walls of No 33, reclaimed from the demolished abbey. Another curious feature is the partially revealed threshold mosaic on No 65 – now a hairdressers, but once the Anchor Inn.
