Hi and welcome to the third and final part to my epic Gloucester Cathedral tour. It is actually the best part, if I’m honest, as after the first section we will be scaling some 269 steps up 70m to the top of the main tower and checking out the amazing views from the top!

The Treasury, Crypt, and Cloisters

The Treasury

Here is a video I shot inside the small holding vault:

I find it funny how is one of the supposedly holiest places there can be for the Catholic Church they go against one of their main tenants by acquiring treasures on earth instead of heaven.

Matthew 6:19: 19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.…

It really is just overly lavish gold and silver goblets and plates from over the last several centuries, and what use are they at all when one lives in bliss? Even though Jesus Christ's message was simple and his story an immense testimony to human potential, the organized and standardized church structure and hierarchy that arose after him has blurred the simplicity of his original message of attaining lasting peace and immortality. It has hardened into the rigid dogmas of the denominations struggling for power and control, losing all semblance of the true timeless spiritual pursuit.

Above is part of the wood tapestry found within the cathedral entrance area saying all that needs to be said.

Crypt

The crypt under the cathedral is one of the oldest parts and is much the same in all areas as the pictures above. It has never been used as a grave site as traditional crypts were, but was used it for storage in times past. It really not very interesting and not much goes on there, as it mostly empty now.

The Cloisters

The cloisters are four very decorative corridors that form a quadrangle with the space in the centre bedded out into a garden. It was here that scenes from the Harry Potter trilogy were filmed

The mass of pupils from Hogwarts flooding the walkways of the Cloisters:

The main cast with Hagrid in the courtyard garden:

Here is a video I shot around Cloisters:

Here is an aw aerial shot I took while at the top of the tower:

The Gloucester Cathedral website highlights some of the most significant aspects here:

Gloucester’s great Cloister is famous for its magnificent fan vaulting, which is believed to be the earliest example in England.

Originally built to house the monks, it provided space for them to live, work and meditate. In many abbeys, the cloisters were traditionally built on the south side, but at Gloucester, it unusually lies on the north. Begun in the late 14th century and finished by Abbot Froucester before 1412, it replaced an earlier Norman cloister. The design itself incorporates a row of twenty carrels (niche like spaces), which would have originally houses desks for the monks to study. The Cloister also includes a lavatorium, (washing place) which would have made use of a local stream.

It sounds like a very idyllic and peaceful lifestyle that the monks once had.

The Tower Tour

The start of the accent up the spiral staircase starts wide and with a hand rail. But as you will see all those slowly disappear as the staircase morphs thinner, steeper and without any hand support! Some of the ladies in our group became a little distressed on the way down and I joked that I thought they said it had a lift, which seemed to lift their mood a bit hahaha

View from the first floor balcony:

After the first 100 steps or so we come to the first level where there are some original oak beams and newer pine struts that hold up the roof for the east wing and are made out of a lime mix that allows the roof to expand and contract with changes in temperature to negate any possible stress fractures from occurring.

The giant tower can been seen from most parts of the city and indeed the surrounding county. It is exactly 269 steps if you walk them all, both to the top and then back down again, so it was quite exacerbating for some members of our party. Although the well trained yet elderly guide glided up the steps like a professional athlete! His wit was almost as swift as you can tell from the following video we took from the first second level bell housing:

The main bell that sounds on the hour weighs over 3 tons and has only been moved once to replace its wooden housing. It was once manually operated, but today it is fitted with an electromagnetic hammer that it totally automated.

The tour guide ringing one of the smaller bells in the bell ringing room.

After this we ascended to the third level before the final rooftop vistas. Here is another staircase pick:

As you can see it gets steeper and the hand rail is no more!

Here in the main bell area there are 12 bells which start off upside down and after pulling the rope from bellow are released to start a bell ringing session. Once finished a latch can be release to catch the bell again and hold it upside down until they are next used.