154-481: Hereford ( / ˈ h ɛr ɪ f ər d / HERR -if-ərd ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire , England. It is situated on the banks of the River Wye and lies 16 miles (26 km) east of the border with Wales , 23 miles (37 km) north-west of Gloucester and 24 miles (39 km) south-west of Worcester . With a population of 53,112 in 2021, it
308-511: A fire at the Garrick Theatre killed eight young girls who had been performing at a charity concert. The main local government body covering Hereford is Herefordshire Council . Hereford has a "City Council" but this is actually a parish council with city status , and has only limited powers. Historically Hereford has been the county town of Herefordshire . In 1974 Herefordshire was merged with Worcestershire to become part of
462-735: A battle. After the Norman Conquest, William Rufus made Robert Fitzhamon the first baron or overlord of Gloucester. Fitzhamon had a military base at Cardiff Castle , and for the succeeding years the history of Gloucester was closely linked to that of Cardiff. During the Anarchy , Gloucester was a centre of support for the Empress Matilda , who was supported in her claim to the throne by her half-brother, Fitzhamon's grandson, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (also known as Robert of Gloucester). After this period of strife ended with
616-517: A bishopric, and the creation of a new see neither constitutes the town concerned a city nor gives it any claim to the grant of letters patent creating it a city. In 1928, Plymouth submitted an application for city status. As the borough had more inhabitants than Portsmouth and had absorbed Devonport and East Stonehouse , the King agreed to the request. However, he indicated that he had "come to an end of city making", and Southampton's application in
770-520: A cathedral is often termed a cathedral city . City status in Ireland was granted to far fewer communities than in England and Wales, and there are only two pre-19th-century cities in present-day Northern Ireland . In Scotland, city status did not explicitly receive any recognition by the state until the 19th century. At that time, a revival of grants of city status took place, first in England, where
924-578: A civilian settlement grew around it. Probably the Roman Legion XX Valeria Victrix was based here until 66 and then Legio II Augusta as they prepared to invade Roman Wales between 66 and 74 AD, who stayed later until around 87. Gloucester became a Colonia in 97 as Colonia Nervia Glevensium , or Glevum , in the reign of Nerva . It is likely that Glevum became the provincial capital of Britannia Prima . Within about 15 years new privately constructed properties replaced
1078-647: A client or sub-kingdom of Mercia . From about 780, the Hwicce was no longer feigning any pretence as a kingdom and became part of Mercia . Mercia, allied by matrimony and sharing a desire to counter the Danish onslaught as had conquered swathes of the wider island at large, submitted to Alfred the Great 's Kingdom of Wessex in about 877–883. A 20th-century writer intuitively adds that Roman stem Gleu- Glev- was, doubtless, pronounced without any final consonant. Claudia Castra
1232-474: A mint. In the early 10th century, the remains of Saint Oswald were brought to a small church here and shrine built there, a draw for pilgrims. The core street layout is thought to date to the reign of Æthelflæd in late Saxon times. In 1051, Edward the Confessor held court at Gloucester and was threatened there by an army led by Godwin, Earl of Wessex , but the incident resulted in a standoff rather than
1386-487: A new higher education institution NMITE (New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering) welcomed its first students who are undertaking an MEng Integrated Engineering. There have been a number of improvements at Hereford Sixth Form College , where a new business block extension was completed in 2013 and a new reception area was completed in 2015. Hereford benefitted from the PFI reconstruction schemes for NHS hospitals, with
1540-643: A north–south bypass and currently the plan is for a nine-mile (14 km) dual carriageway ; however, HM Government as yet has refused to grant permission or supply funds. However, the Hereford Link Road was completed in December 2017, costing around £34,000,000 to build. There are plans to add new homes, a university building and a transport hub to this area. Plans for the north–south bypass were scrapped in February 2021. Hereford railway station
1694-551: A number of applications, but in 1955 the borough's town clerk was told not to pursue the matter any further. Outside the boundaries of the county, the County Borough of Croydon made three applications, all of which were dismissed as it was not seen as being sufficiently separate from London. When the successor London Borough of Croydon applied in 1965 the Assistant Under Secretary of State summarised
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#17327656634491848-409: A number of local government districts which are not themselves towns. Each includes a number of towns and villages outside the urban area from which the district takes its name. In some of these cases city status was awarded to districts where the largest settlement had city status before 1974. In other cases a borough was formed to govern an area covering several towns and then city status was granted to
2002-720: A number of other boroughs, but only Cardiff was successful in being designated a city in 1905 and granted a Lord Mayoralty as "the Metropolis of Wales". The London Government Act 1899 abolished the existing local authorities within the County of London and replaced them with 28 metropolitan boroughs . Among the bodies to be dissolved was the Court of Burgesses of the City of Westminster . William Burdett-Coutts , one of Westminster's members of parliament, brought forward an amendment at
2156-659: A sculpture and stained glass window dedicated to the SAS. On 17 October 2017 Ascension , a new sculpture and window honouring the Special Air Service Regiment in Hereford Cathedral , was dedicated by the then Bishop of Hereford . The main public service employers in Hereford include: In 2005 Hereford was granted Fairtrade City status. Major employers in the city include: Herefordshire
2310-529: A system of districts created. The four districts of Aberdeen , Edinburgh , Dundee and Glasgow had City included in their titles by the Act. The 1975 districts were replaced with the present council areas in 1996 by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 , and the same four cities were designated. Since the 1996 reorganisation, four more Scottish cities have been designated: Inverness as part of
2464-663: A town within a city. Gloucester is the county town of Gloucestershire , and is the 53rd largest settlement in the United Kingdom by population. In 2010, its population was 123,400;. It has the traditional lowest bridging point of the longest river in Great Britain, connecting it with Over . The 2011 census recorded that the city had a population of 121,921 and by 2016 its population was estimated to be 128,488. The city's urban area extends beyond its boundaries, with several outlying districts . The 2021 census gave
2618-710: A walled city, which was named "Londonderry" in recognition of the London Guilds that established the Society. In 1887, the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria was celebrated, and the Borough of Belfast submitted a memorial to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland seeking city status. Belfast based its claim on its similarity to two English boroughs that had received the honour—the seaport of Liverpool and
2772-550: Is Kilpeck Castle . The route passes through Abergavenny and the Heads of the Valleys as it enters Wales . As of Summer 2020, Sustrans proposes an extension to Route 46 running eastbound from Hereford to Worcester . National Cycle Route 44 leaves Hereford to the southeast and runs as far as Rotherwas . The route is incomplete; once completed, Route 44 will run to Ludlow Castle to the north and Cinderford , Forest of Dean to
2926-499: Is a centre for cider production as it supports many acres of orchards, so many breweries and associated organisations exist here, along with other heavy and light industries. Within the city, many are based at the Rotherwas Industrial Estate. Many of the schools in Hereford have been rebuilt and improved. The Herefordshire and Ludlow College has also been rebuilt to a 21st-century standard. In September 2021
3080-713: Is granted by the monarch of the United Kingdom to specific centres of population, which might or might not meet the generally accepted definition of cities . As of 22 November 2022 , there are 76 cities in the United Kingdom —55 in England , seven in Wales , eight in Scotland , and six in Northern Ireland . Although it carries no special rights, the status of city can be a marker of prestige and confer local pride. The status does not apply automatically on
3234-475: Is maintained by Herefordshire Council and Sustrans . An unbroken shared-use path for cyclists and pedestrians runs along the western rim of the city, from Newton Farm to Holmer . The Great Western Way route crosses the River Wye using Hunderton Bridge. National Cycle Route 46 runs southbound from Hereford to Swansea. The route is signposted and unbroken, and the next destination from Hereford en route
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#17327656634493388-458: Is mentioned in the 18th century as a possible Latin name related to the city. The first bridging point on a navigable, defensive barrier, great river and the foundation in 681 of the abbey of St Peter by Æthelred of Mercia , favoured town growth; and before the Norman conquest of England , Gloucester was a borough governed by a portreeve , with a castle which was frequently a royal residence, and
3542-732: Is reflected by the fact a large minority of basic words and available synonyms in Welsh have a Latin base. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Gloucester is shown as part of Wessex from the Battle of Deorham in 577. At some point afterwards, along with the rest of its shire excluding the Forest of Dean , Gloucester was part of the minor kingdom of the Hwicce . In 628, as a result of the Battle of Cirencester , that kingdom became
3696-649: Is related to a Welsh word signifying 'valiant', rendering 'Gloucester' to mean 'fortress of the valiant'. Glevum was established around AD 48 at an important crossing of the River Severn and near to the Fosse Way , the early front line after the Roman invasion of Britain. Initially, a Roman fort was established at present-day Kingsholm. Twenty years later, a larger legionary fortress was built on slightly higher ground nearby, centred on present-day Gloucester Cross, and
3850-484: Is said to have been born in Hereford in 1650 (although other towns and cities, notably Oxford , claim her as their own); Gwynn Street is named after her. Another famous actor born in Hereford is David Garrick (1717–1779). The Bishop's Palace next to the cathedral was built in 1204 and is continually used to the present day. Hereford Cathedral School is one of the oldest schools in England. The Harold Street Barracks were completed in 1856. During World War I , in 1916,
4004-609: Is situated to the north of the city centre. The station is the western terminus of the Cotswold Line ; it is a through station on the Welsh Marches Line between Abergavenny and Leominster . The station is managed by Transport for Wales , which operates services to destinations such as Newport , Cardiff and Swansea to the south. Transport for Wales also operates services northbound towards Leominster , Shrewsbury , Chester , Manchester and Holyhead . On
4158-703: Is the largest settlement in Herefordshire. An early town charter from 1189, granted by Richard I of England , describes it as "Hereford in Wales ". Hereford has been recognised as a city since time immemorial , with the status being reconfirmed in October 2000. Hereford has been a civil parish since 2000. It is known for being a trading centre for a wider agricultural and rural area. Products from Hereford include cider , beer , leather goods, nickel alloys, poultry , chemicals and sausage rolls , as well as
4312-524: Is the origin it suggests that Hereford was a place where a body of armed men forded or crossed the Wye . The Welsh name for Hereford is Henffordd , meaning "old road", and probably refers to the Roman road and Roman settlement at nearby Stretton Sugwas . Some historical documents refer to "Hereford in Wales". Hereford became the seat of Putta , Bishop of Hereford , some time between 676 and 688 AD, after which
4466-573: The Anglo-Saxon King Edward the Confessor in 1056 when, supported by Viking allies, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn , King of Gwynedd and Powys, marched on the town and put it to the torch before returning home in triumph. Hereford had the only mint west of the Severn in the reign of Athelstan (924–939), and it was to Hereford, then a border town, that Athelstan summoned the leading Welsh princes. The present Hereford Cathedral dates from
4620-518: The English Civil War , the city changed hands several times. On 30 September 1642 Parliamentarians led by Sir Robert Harley and Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford occupied the city without opposition. In December they withdrew to Gloucester because of the presence in the area of a Royalist army under Lord Herbert. The city was again occupied briefly from 23 April to 18 May 1643 by Parliamentarians commanded by Sir William Waller but it
4774-480: The Greater London area have been granted city status. The Home Office had a policy of resisting any attempt by metropolitan boroughs to become cities even when their populations, and other proposed claims as qualifying criteria, might otherwise have made them eligible. It was felt that such a grant would undermine the status of the two existing cities in the capital. The Metropolitan Borough of Southwark made
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4928-502: The Kingdom of Wessex , replaced the area's Romano-Celtic society and changed the city's name to Caerloyw ( IPA: [kaɨrˈlɔɨʊ, kairˈlɔiʊ] ), Gloucester's name in modern Welsh , while recognising the presence of the Roman fort. Caerloyw is a compound of caer , meaning 'fort, stronghold, castle', and loyw , a lenition of gloyw as it would have been pronounced by many speakers, meaning 'bright, shiny, glowy'. A variant of
5082-585: The Lord Chancellor , who makes recommendations to the sovereign. Competitions for new grants of city status have been held to mark special events, such as coronations , royal jubilees or the Millennium . Some cities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have the further distinction of having a lord mayor rather than just a mayor – in Scotland, the equivalent is the lord provost. Lord mayors have
5236-581: The Middle Ages , the main export was wool, which came from the Cotswolds and was processed in Gloucester; other exports included leather and iron (tools and weapons). Gloucester also had a large fishing industry at that time. In 1222, a massive fire destroyed part of Gloucester. One of the most significant periods in Gloucester's history began in 1378 when Richard II convened Parliament in
5390-659: The Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 , has deprived some ancient cities of their status. However, letters patent have been issued for most of the affected cities to ensure the continuation or restoration of their status. At present, Rochester and Elgin are the only former cities in the United Kingdom. The name "City" does not, in itself, denote city status; it may be appended to place names for historic association (e.g. White City ) or for marketing or disambiguation (e.g. Stratford City ). A number of large towns (such as those with over 200,000 residents) in
5544-457: The Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 . The only historic city with a charter in present-day Northern Ireland is Derry . The garrison town of Derry was attacked and destroyed by Cahir O'Doherty in 1608. The present city status is the result of a Royal Charter granted in 1615 to The Honourable The Irish Society as part of the Plantation of Ulster , providing for the building of
5698-676: The Restoration , the Commonwealth coat continued to be used by the city rather than the Tudor coat. The Commonwealth coat, along with the crest and supporters, was legally granted to the city by letters patent dated 16 April 1945. This was reconfirmed in 1974 following the local government changes of that year. There are two tiers of local government covering Gloucester, at district (city) and county level: Gloucester City Council and Gloucestershire County Council . The Quedgeley area of
5852-619: The Royal Commission on Local Government in England in 1966, city grants were again in abeyance in England. Attempts by Derby , Teesside and Wolverhampton to become cities were not proceeded with. In Wales, Swansea campaigned for city status throughout the 1960s. The campaign came to a successful conclusion in 1969, in conjunction with the investiture of Charles, Prince of Wales . The Local Government Act 1972 abolished all existing local authorities outside London (other than parish councils ) in England and Wales. This meant that
6006-594: The Severn Estuary , allowing larger ships to reach the docks than would be possible on the tidal reaches of the river itself, which go well north of the city to Haw Bridge. The wharfs, warehouses and the docks themselves fell into disrepair until their renovation in the 1980s. They now form a public open space. Some warehouses now house the Gloucester Waterways Museum , others were converted into residential flats, shops and bars. Additionally,
6160-470: The committee stage to rename the proposed borough of Greater Westminster to ' City of Westminster '. This was intended to give "recognition to the title which the area ... had possessed for over three and a half centuries". He felt that if the status was not retained for the new borough it "must necessarily disappear altogether". The amendment was rejected by the committee, however, with the First Lord of
6314-681: The 1665 letters patent provided for the Lord Mayor to hold the formal title of Right Honourable, this was repealed in 2001. There is also a Lord Mayor of Cork , a title granted in 1900 when Cork was part of the (then) United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . In modern practice, competitions are held for cities that wish to gain the distinction of a lord mayor. The 2002 competition was entered by Bath , Cambridge , Carlisle , Chichester , Derby , Exeter , Gloucester , Lancaster , Lincoln , St Albans , St Davids , Salford , Southampton , Sunderland , Truro , Wolverhampton and Worcester ;
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6468-675: The 16th century, a town was recognised as a city by the English Crown if it had a diocesan cathedral within its limits, for which 22 dioceses existed in England & Wales (see City status conferment further in the article). This association between having a cathedral and being called a city was established when Henry VIII founded new dioceses (each having a cathedral in the see city ) in six English towns and also granted them city status by issuing letters patent , demonstrating these were discrete procedures. Some cities today are very small because they were granted city status in or before
6622-581: The 16th century, then were unaffected by population growth during the Industrial Revolution —notably Wells (population about 10,000) and St Davids (population about 2,000). After the 16th century, no new dioceses (and no new cities) were created until the 19th century in England ( a further city was created in Ireland during the rule of King James I in the 17th century). A long-awaited resumption of creating dioceses began in 1836 with Ripon . Ripon Town Council assumed that this had elevated
6776-595: The 18th century and landscaped into Castle Green. After the Battle of Mortimer's Cross in 1461, during the Wars of the Roses , the defeated Lancastrian leader Owen Tudor (grandfather of the future Henry VII of England ) was taken to Hereford by Sir Roger Vaughan and executed in High Town. A plaque now marks the spot of the execution. Vaughan was later himself executed, under a flag of truce, by Owen's son Jasper . During
6930-571: The 880s or 890s; and Llanthony Secunda Priory , founded in 1136. The town is also the site of the siege of Gloucester in 1643, during which the city held out against Royalist forces in the First English Civil War . A major attraction of the city is Gloucester Cathedral , which is the burial place of King Edward II and Walter de Lacy ; it features in scenes from the Harry Potter films. Other features of interest include
7084-596: The Cathedral and the Norman St Mary de Crypt Church, Gloucester in Southgate Street . Additionally, there is evidence of a Jewish community in Gloucester as early as 1158–1159; they lived around present-day East Gate Street and had a synagogue on the south side, near St Michael's church. Gloucester was probably the home of Rabbi Moses, who established an important Anglo-Jewish family. The Jews of
7238-482: The Cotswold Line, services are operated by West Midlands Railway towards Birmingham , via destinations such as Great Malvern , Worcester and Bromsgrove . Great Western Railway operates regular services to London Paddington via Worcester , Oxford and Reading , amongst other destinations. A second station served Hereford, Hereford Barton , which closed in 1893. Cycling infrastructure in Hereford
7392-485: The Home Office identified nine candidates for city status: Blackburn , Brighton , Croydon , Derby , Dudley , Newport , Sandwell , Sunderland and Wolverhampton . Ultimately, Derby received the award as the largest non-metropolitan district not already designated a city. In April 1980 a parish council was created for Lichfield, and the charter trustees established six years earlier were dissolved. City status
7546-862: The Millennium celebrations, the new cities were Brighton and Hove and Wolverhampton ; in 2002 for the Queen's Golden Jubilee it was Preston and Newport , and in 2012 for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee it was Chelmsford and St Asaph . From June 2021, submissions for city status were invited to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2022. Places submitting bids (some for a second or subsequent time) included Bangor (Northern Ireland), Bournemouth , Doncaster , Dunfermline , Dudley , Marazion , Middlesbrough , Milton Keynes , Reading , St Andrews and Wrexham . Bids were also accepted from overseas territories and crown dependencies for
7700-517: The Queen had accepted the advice of the Home Secretary to raise the London borough to the title and dignity of city. This example, of a successor local authority to a merged local government entity taking on that former entity's city status, was to be replicated in many instances as a result of the 1972/74 local government reforms across England and Wales (see below). With the establishment of
7854-464: The Queen mother, Eleanor of Provence . The Bishops of Hereford campaigned against the presence of the community, including Cantilupe, and Richard Swinefield , who tried to stop social contact between Christians and Jews. The city gave its name (translated to French) to two suburbs of Paris , France : Maisons-Alfort (population 54,600) and Alfortville (population 36,232), due to a manor built there by Peter of Aigueblanche , Bishop of Hereford , in
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#17327656634498008-748: The Second World War, two petroleum storage depots were constructed in Gloucester. A Government Civil Storage depot with six 4,000-ton semi-buried tanks was constructed on the Berkeley Canal in 1941/42 by Shell-Mex and BP and connected to the pipeline that ran from the Mersey to the Avon. It was also connected to the Air Force Reserve Depot and a Shell Mex and BP facility for road and rail loading. Due to severe tank corrosion, it
8162-419: The T14 service. Stagecoach South Wales has the 23 which runs to Abergavenny and Newport In 1999, the British Army Special Air Service (SAS) moved from their base at Stirling Lines (formerly Bradbury Lines) in Hereford, their home since 1960, to a former Royal Air Force base RAF Credenhill in Credenhill that had been redeveloped and was designated as Stirling Lines in 2000. The clock tower on which
8316-436: The Treasury , Arthur Balfour , believing it would be "an anomaly which, I think, would be not unnaturally resented by other districts which are as large in point of population as Westminster, although doubtless not so rich in historical associations". The government eventually relented, with Balfour stating that "as soon as the necessary arrangements under the London Government Act have been completed, there will be conferred on
8470-413: The UK are bigger than some small cities. The initial cities ( Latin : civitas ) of Britain were the fortified settlements organised by the Romans as the capitals of the Celtic tribes under Roman rule . The British clerics of the early Middle Ages later preserved a traditional list of the " 28 Cities " ( Old Welsh : cair ) which was mentioned by Gildas and listed by Nennius . In
8624-427: The UK: 52 cities (23 lord mayoralties) in England, six cities (two lord mayoralties) in Wales, seven cities (four lord provostships) in Scotland and five cities (two lord mayoralties) in Northern Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland , the ceremonial head of the city government of Dublin is the Lord Mayor of Dublin . This title was granted by Charles II in 1665 when Dublin was part of the Kingdom of Ireland . Whilst
8778-506: The United Kingdom, but Gibraltar and St Helena remain British Overseas Territories . This practice ended in 1865, and led to legal disputes about whether these letters patent were valid or not in territories with responsible government (primarily those in present day Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa). Goulburn in Australia for example found itself declared a city twice – once by letters patent in 1863 and once by law in 1885 after doubts arose to its status. Hamilton, Bermuda
8932-472: The abolished County Borough of Gloucester. The reforms also saw the city become subordinate to Gloucestershire County Council, losing the independence it had held since 1483. The parish of Quedgeley was subsequently transferred into Gloucester from Stroud District in 1991. Quedgeley retains its own parish council, unlike the rest of Gloucester, which is an unparished area . In 2017, Quedgeley Parish Council changed its name to Quedgeley Town Council, making it
9086-416: The ascent of her son Henry to the throne Henry II of England , Henry granted Robert possession of Cardiff Castle , and it later passed to William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester son of Robert. The story of the Anarchy is vividly told in a series of 19th-century paintings by William Burges at the Castle. Henry granted Gloucester its first charter in 1155, which gave the burgesses the same liberties as
9240-400: The authority's full legal name is the County of Herefordshire District Council). Charter Trustees were appointed to preserve mayoral traditions until a civil parish council could be set up, which happened in 2000. Hereford is one of only eight civil parishes in England which have city status . It is based at Hereford Town Hall . Hereford was the name of a parliamentary constituency that
9394-423: The basis of any particular criterion, though until 1889 in England and Wales it was limited to towns with diocesan cathedrals . This association between having an Anglican cathedral and being called a city was established in the early 1540s when King Henry VIII founded dioceses (each having a cathedral in the see city ) in six English towns and granted them city status by issuing letters patent . A city with
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#17327656634499548-407: The borough of Westminster, as constituted under the Act, the title of city, originally conferred in the time of Henry VIII". Letters patent were duly issued granting the title of "city" to the newly created Metropolitan Borough of Westminster . In 1907, the Home Office and King Edward VII agreed on a policy that future applicants would have to meet certain criteria. This policy, which was not at
9702-420: The borough's first charter of incorporation. It was anticipated that the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953 would lead to the creation of a city, and Wolverhampton , Preston and Southampton made approaches; the only civic honour given was that of a lord mayoralty to Coventry . Croydon applied in 1954, but failed as it was felt not to have a sufficient identity apart from Greater London , and reports on
9856-413: The borough. The largest "city" district in terms of area was until 1 April 2023 the City of Carlisle , which covered some 400 square miles (1,000 km ) of mostly rural landscape in the north of England, and was larger than smaller counties such as Merseyside or Rutland . (The largest now is the City of Winchester at 250 square miles (650 km ).) Such cities include: There are some cities where
10010-446: The boroughs of Derby and Nottingham were disappointed that they would not be able to claim the title of city. The link with Anglican dioceses was broken within England in 1889 when Birmingham successfully petitioned for city status (it was pre-empted in Ireland by Belfast in 1888) on the grounds of its large population and history of good local government. At the time of the grant, Birmingham lacked an Anglican cathedral, although
10164-426: The case against Croydon: "...whatever its past history, it is now just part of the London conurbation and almost indistinguishable from many of the other Greater London boroughs". The same objections were made when the London Boroughs of Croydon and Southwark unsuccessfully entered the competition for city status to mark the millennium: Croydon was said to have "no particular identity of its own" while Southwark
10318-423: The citizens of London and Winchester . A second charter of Henry II gave them freedom of passage on the River Severn . The first charter was confirmed in 1194 by King Richard I . The privileges of the borough were greatly extended by the charter of King John (1200), which gave freedom from toll throughout the kingdom and from pleading outside the borough. In 1216, King Henry III , aged only ten years,
10472-412: The city are located in East Dunbartonshire , East Renfrewshire , North Lanarkshire , Renfrewshire , South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire . Gloucester Gloucester ( / ˈ ɡ l ɒ s t ər / GLOSS -tər ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England . Gloucester lies on the River Severn , between the Cotswolds to
10626-450: The city is a civil parish with a town council, forming a third tier of local government; the remainder of the city is an unparished area . Gloucester was an ancient borough , being treated as a borough from Saxon times and being granted its first known borough charter by Henry II in 1155. In 1483 the town of Gloucester was given the right to appoint its own magistrates, making it a county corporate , administratively independent from
10780-474: The city of Hereford on 16 September 1645 by augmenting the city's coat of arms with the three lions of Richard I of England , ten Scottish Saltires signifying the ten defeated Scottish regiments, a very rare lion crest on top of the coat of arms signifying "defender of the faith" and the even rarer gold-barred peer's helm, found only on the arms of one other municipal authority: those of the City of London . Nell Gwynne , actress and mistress of King Charles II ,
10934-529: The city. During the British Empire , the Colonial Office had the power to declare cities in Crown colonies by letters patent when appointing bishops. When the Bishop of Guyana was created in 1842, Georgetown (then part of British Guiana ) was officially declared the "City of Georgetown". The same process was followed for Gibraltar , Jamestown, St Helena , Bridgetown, Barbados , St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda , Victoria, Hong Kong and Nassau, Bahamas . Most of these have since gained independence from
11088-587: The city. Parliaments were held there until 1406 under Henry IV of England . The Parliament Rooms at the Cathedral remain as testimony to this important time. Gloucester was incorporated by King Richard III in 1483, the town being made a county in itself. The City's charter was confirmed in 1489 and 1510, and other charters of incorporation were received by Gloucester from Queen Elizabeth I and King James I . Princess Mary visited Gloucester in September 1525 accompanied by her ladies and gentlewomen. She
11242-663: The civil storage site. It was transferred from the Air Ministry to the Ministry of Power in 1959, closed in the 1990s and disposed of in the later 2000s. Gloucester's most important citizens include Robert Raikes (founder of the Sunday School movement) who is still commemorated by the name of Robert Raikes' House in Southgate Street. Its most infamous citizen was Fred West . In July 2007 , Gloucester
11396-495: The conduct of local government in the town were unfavourable. Derby and Southwark made unsuccessful applications in 1955. The planned reorganisations by the Local Government Commissions for England and Wales from 1958 effectively blocked new city grants. Southampton lodged a petition in 1958. Initially refused in 1959, pending the decision of the commission, it was eventually allowed in 1964. In
11550-614: The county of Hereford and Worcester , and Hereford became a district of the new county. Hereford had formed a historic borough and was reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 . On 1 April 1998 the County of Hereford and Worcester was abolished, and Herefordshire and Worcestershire were re-established as separate counties. However the new Herefordshire was a unitary authority without any districts, and so Hereford lost its district status (although, confusingly,
11704-450: The earlier barracks and public buildings, temples and bath houses were under construction in stone. Piped water began to be supplied. Drains and sewers were laid. On the site of the legionary principia an imposing central forum was laid out surrounded by colonnades and flanked on three sides by part-timbered ranges of shops. Closing off the south of the forum was the 100m x 40m Basilica . Many fine homes with mosaic floors were built in
11858-481: The early 12th century, as does the first bridge across the Wye . Former Bishops of Hereford include Saint Thomas de Cantilupe and Lord High Treasurer of England Thomas Charlton . Hereford was home to a small but relatively important Jewish community until 1290, when Jews were expelled from England by Edward I . Jews from Worcester and Gloucester moved to Hereford after their expulsion in January 1275 by
12012-669: The east and the Forest of Dean to the west; it is sited 19 miles (31 km) from Monmouth , 33 miles (53 km) from Bristol , and 17 miles (27 km) east of the border with Wales . Gloucester has a population of around 132,000, including suburban areas. It is a port, linked via the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal to the Severn Estuary . Gloucester was founded by the Romans and became an important city and colony in AD 97, under Emperor Nerva as Colonia Glevum Nervensis . It
12166-456: The fall of nearby Bristol encouraged the reinforcement of the existing town defences. The siege of Gloucester commenced in 1643 in which the besieged parliamentarians emerged victorious. The Royalist's plan of bombardment and tunnelling to the east gate failed due to the inadequacy of the Royalist artillery and the besieged sniping and conducting artillery fire on the Royalist encampment. By
12320-460: The famous Hereford breed of cattle. The Herefordshire edition of Cambridge County Geographies states "a Welsh derivation of Hereford is more probable than a Saxon one" but the name "Hereford" is also said to come from the Anglo-Saxon " here ", an army or formation of soldiers, and the " ford ", a place for crossing a river (cf. Herford , Westphalia, with the same Saxon etymology). If this
12474-596: The first time. The applicants were George Town (in the Cayman Islands ), Gibraltar , Stanley (in the Falkland Islands ), Douglas and Peel (both in the Isle of Man ). It was later discovered that Gibraltar had been previously named a city, researchers at The National Archives confirming that Gibraltar's city status was still in effect, with the territory missing from the official list of cities for
12628-625: The first time. The competition closed on 8 December 2021 with 39 locations on the shortlist, and the winners were to be announced in June 2022. On 18 October 2021, the Prime Minister announced in Parliament that the Queen, in advance of the closing date, would accord city status to one of the applicants, Southend-on-Sea . This was in memory of Sir David Amess , the town's MP who was murdered three days earlier and had long pressed for
12782-424: The following year was turned down. In 1932 Sunderland 's petition to gain city status was turned down, as was Derby 's in 1935. The next city to be created was Lancaster in 1937 as part of the celebrations of the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth . With a population of a little over 50,000, Lancaster was stated to be an exception due to the town's "long association with the crown" and because it
12936-598: The former County Hospital site having £60 million spent on a brand new, one-site hospital to replace the former 3 hospitals: the General, the Eye Hospital, and the County Hospital. The new Hereford County Hospital was the single largest investment in Herefordshire at that point. In 2015, further funds for more improvements at the hospital were granted. Cathedral city City status in the United Kingdom
13090-466: The grants were accompanied by the establishment of new cathedrals, and later in Scotland and Ireland. In the 20th century, it was explicitly recognised that the status of city in England and Wales would no longer be bound to the presence of a cathedral, and grants made since have been awarded to communities on a variety of criteria, including population size. The abolition of some corporate bodies as part of successive local-government reforms, beginning with
13244-492: The grounds that there is no corporate body or legal persona to whom arms can be granted. City status in Ireland tended historically to be granted by royal charter. There are many towns in Ireland with Church of Ireland cathedrals that have never been called cities. In spite of this, Armagh was considered a city, by virtue of its being the seat of the Primate of All Ireland , until the abolition of Armagh's city corporation by
13398-405: The leaflet were likely to be aware of [the] official definition of a city". Scotland had no cities by royal charter or letters patent before 1889. The nearest equivalent in pre-Union Scotland was the royal burgh . The term city was not always consistently applied, and there were doubts over the number of officially designated cities. The royal burghs of Edinburgh and Perth anciently used
13552-509: The lifting of the Siege of Gloucester in 1643, during which the city held out against Royalist forces during the First English Civil War . Gloucester is one of the few cities in England with two coats of arms. The first consists of three chevrons surrounded by ten roundels. The chevrons come from the arms of the Clare family , who were earls of Gloucester from the 12th to the 14th centuries, while
13706-484: The local government district is in fact smaller than the historical or natural boundaries of the city. Examples include: Manchester , where the traditional area associated includes areas of the neighbouring authorities of Trafford , Tameside , Oldham , Bury and the City of Salford ; Kingston upon Hull , where surrounding areas and villages that are effectively suburbs, such as Cottingham , come under East Riding of Yorkshire Council ; Glasgow , where suburban areas of
13860-488: The meantime, the administration of London was reformed under the London Government Act 1963 . While the City of London was permitted to continue in existence largely unchanged, Westminster was merged with two neighbouring authorities to form a new London borough from 1 April 1965. In December 1963 it was announced that a charter was to be granted incorporating the new authority as "Westminster", and that
14014-545: The mid-17th century, only the gatehouse and keep of Gloucester Castle remained, the latter of which was being used as a gaol until it was deemed unsuitable and demolished in the late 1780s. By 1791, the new gaol was completed leaving no trace of the former castle. In the 19th century, the city grew with new buildings including Wellington Parade and the Grade II listed Picton House (c. 1825). The 1896 Gloucester smallpox epidemic affected some 2000 residents. During
14168-526: The middle of the 13th century. Hereford, a base for successive holders of the title Earl of Hereford , was once the site of a castle , Hereford Castle , which rivalled that of Windsor in size and scale. This was a base for repelling Welsh attacks and a secure stronghold for English kings such as King Henry IV when on campaign in the Welsh Marches against Owain Glyndŵr . The castle was dismantled in
14322-539: The millennium celebrations, Stirling in 2002 to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee , Perth in 2012 to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and Dunfermline in 2022 to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. In the case of these four cities, there are no city councils and no formal boundaries. In January 2008, a petition to matriculate armorial bearings for the City of Inverness was refused by Lord Lyon King of Arms on
14476-466: The minimum population which should ordinarily, in connexion with other considerations, be regarded as qualifying a borough for that higher status. Following the First World War , the King made an official visit to Leicester in 1919 to commemorate its contributions to the military victory. The borough council had made several applications for city status since 1889, and took the opportunity of
14630-485: The motto Fides Invicta Triumphat ("unconquered faith triumphs", in reference to the royalist siege withstood by the city in 1643). The second coat, termed the "Tudor coat", was granted in 1538. It features the roses of York and Lancaster, the boar's head of Richard III, a ceremonial sword and cap, and two horseshoes surrounded by nails, to represent Gloucester's historical association with ironworking. Although grants made by Commonwealth heralds were nullified after
14784-652: The museum and school of art and science, the former county jail (on the site of a Saxon and Norman castle), the Shire Hall (now headquarters of the County Council ) and the Whitefield memorial church. A park in the south of the city contains a spa, a chalybeate spring having been discovered in 1814. Economically, the city is dominated by the service industries and has strong financial, research, distribution and light industrial sectors. Historically, it
14938-556: The names of deceased SAS soldiers are inscribed was re-located. The local Anglican church of St Martin's has part of its graveyard set aside as an SAS memorial, over twenty SAS soldiers are buried there. There is also a Wall of Remembrance displaying memorial plaques to some who could not be buried, including the 18 SAS men who lost their lives in the Sea King helicopter crash during the Falklands Campaign on 19 May 1982 and
15092-591: The nearby St Oswald's Priory, Gloucester founded in the 880s or 890s, Llanthony Secunda Priory, founded 1136 as a retreat for a community of Welsh monks (now near the western bypass), the Franciscan Greyfriars community founded in 1231 (near Eastgate Shopping Centre ), and the Dominican Blackfriars community founded in 1239 (Ladybellegate Street). It also has some very early churches including St Mary de Lode Church, Gloucester near
15246-617: The northern rim of the city, the A4103 is named Roman Road , running in a straight line from east to west. Only one of these major routes crosses the River Wye , the A49/Victoria Street, which is carried by Greyfriars Bridge. In 2017, Hereford was named Britain's second slowest city , with an average traffic speed of 14.09 mph. Cambridge topped the list, whilst London came third with vehicles travelling at an average 14.59 mph. There have been plans for many years for
15400-450: The parish church later became a cathedral in 1905. This new precedent was followed by other large municipalities: Leeds and Sheffield became cities in 1893, and Bradford , Kingston upon Hull and Nottingham were honoured on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The last three had been the largest county boroughs outside the London area without city status. Between 1897 and 1914, applications were received from
15554-462: The past 140 years. Stanley and Douglas were later granted the honour, and after confirmations this will take the overseas total to five cities . According to a Memorandum from the Home Office issued in 1927, If a town wishes to obtain the title of a city the proper method of procedure is to address a petition to the King through the Home Office. It is the duty of the Home Secretary to submit such petitions to his Majesty and to advise his Majesty to
15708-614: The population of the Gloucester Urban Area as 169,061, absorbing areas such as Brockworth and Churchdown . The city is located on the eastern bank of the River Severn , sheltered by the Cotswolds to the east, while the Forest of Dean and the Malvern Hills rise to the west and north, respectively. Gloucester is a port, linked via the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal which runs from Gloucester's docks to
15862-499: The recipients of the honour. Dunfermline, a previous royal capital of Scotland, was granted the privilege. Bangor in Northern Ireland was also a recipient, and the title in Wales was granted to Wrexham. These awards increased the number of official mainland cities to 76, with 55 in England, eight in Scotland, seven in Wales, six in Northern Ireland. Other than the cities of London and Westminster , no local authorities in
16016-423: The reply to be returned. It is a well-established principle that the grant of the title is only recommended in the case of towns of the first rank in population, size and importance, and having a distinctive character and identity of their own. At the present day, therefore, it is only rarely and in exceptional circumstances that the title is given. A town can now apply for city status by submitting an application to
16170-501: The restoration of the dignity to St David's , historic see of a bishop. Since 2000, city status has been awarded to towns or local government districts by competition on special occasions. A large number of towns have applied for the honour in recent decades including Blackpool , Colchester , Croydon , Gateshead , Ipswich , Middlesbrough , Milton Keynes , Reading , Swindon and Warrington . Four successful applicants in England have become cities, as well as two in Wales; in 2000 for
16324-579: The right to be styled "The Right Worshipful The Lord Mayor". The lord mayors and provosts of Belfast , Cardiff , Edinburgh , Glasgow , the City of London and York have the further right to be styled " The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor" (or Provost), although they are not members of the Privy Council as this style usually indicates. The style is associated with the office, not the person holding it. There are currently 70 recognised cities (including 31 lord mayoralties or lord provostships) in
16478-513: The roundels come from the arms of the Bishop of Worcester , whose bishopric historically encompassed Gloucester. This coat is the older of the two, though it is usually termed the "Commonwealth coat", as it was not officially granted to the city until 1652, during the Commonwealth period. The crest and supporters (lions bearing broadswords and trowels) were also adopted at this time, along with
16632-497: The said city". The city was unique, as it had no council or charter trustees and no mayor or civic head. In 1979, the Borough of Medway was renamed as Rochester-upon-Medway , and in 1982 further letters patent transferred the city status to the entire borough. On 1 April 1998, the existing local government districts of Rochester-upon-Medway and Gillingham were abolished and became the new unitary authority of Medway . Since it
16786-534: The second stage, the blocks rested on deep timber foundation piles. Stone external towers were added; two parallel wide ditches were also cut in front of the new walls. Remains of the Roman city can still be seen: Withdrawal of all Roman forces and many societal leaders in about the year 410 may have allowed leading families of the Dobunni tribe to regain power within the now Roman-influenced, interconnected and intermixed Celtic Brythonic local people. This intermix
16940-702: The settlement continued to grow due to its proximity to the border between Mercia and Wales , becoming the Saxon capital of West Mercia by the beginning of the 8th century. Hostilities between the Anglo-Saxons and the Welsh came to a head with the Battle of Hereford in 760, in which the Britons freed themselves from the influence of the English. Hereford was again targeted by the Welsh during their conflict with
17094-630: The south. The nearest bike park is the Black Mountain Bike Park. Since the decision of First Midland Red to pull out of the city in 2015, the majority of bus routes have been operated by Hereford bus and coach operator Yeomans Canyon . The 33 service to Gloucester is operated by Stagecoach and the 66 service to Monmouth is operated by Newport bus , services historically in the hands of Red & White . Other bus services are operated by various operators. TrawsCymru links Hereford railway station to Hay-on-Wye and Brecon on
17248-462: The status of the borough in respect of local government and confers no powers or privileges. At the present time and for several centuries past the title has been obtained only by an express grant from the Sovereign effected by letters patent; but a certain number of cities possess the title by very ancient prescriptive right. There is no necessary connexion between the title of a city and the seat of
17402-425: The status. City status was officially granted by letters patent dated 26 January 2022. They were presented to Southend Borough Council by Charles, Prince of Wales , on 1 March 2022. An announcement on 20 May 2022 declared that eight new cities were to be created from the shortlist, with at least one in every UK country as well as in overseas locations . In England, Milton Keynes, Colchester and Doncaster were to be
17556-517: The successful candidate was Exeter . In 2012 a further competition was held, as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, with Armagh receiving the distinction. Other than Armagh, eleven cities had entered the contest in 2012, namely: Cambridge, Derby, Gloucester, Lancaster, Newport , Peterborough , Salford, Southampton, St Albans, Sunderland, and Wakefield . Since local government reorganisation in 1974 city status has been awarded to
17710-459: The surrounding county of Gloucestershire . When the Diocese of Gloucester was founded in 1541, the town was given the right to call itself a city . The city was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 . When elected county councils were established in 1889, Gloucester was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services, and so it
17864-421: The table below at the 2021 Census: The religious composition of Hereford at the 2021 Census was recorded as: Hereford, as an ancient crossing over the River Wye, has long been important within the regional and national transport network. Today, the town is served by several major routes, including: The nearest motorway is the [REDACTED] M50 , which passes to the south of Ledbury. Along
18018-466: The term -cester/chester/caster instead of the Welsh caer was eventually adopted. The name Gloucester thus means roughly "bright fort". Mediaeval orthographies include Caer Glow , Gleawecastre and Gleucestre . This etymology was first suggested by the Austrian philologist, Alfred Holder, in 1896. An alternative etymology has been proposed, which argues that the first element of the place-name
18172-433: The textile centre of Manchester —and the fact that it had (at the time) a larger population than the City of Dublin . Following some legal debate, city status was conferred in 1888. The grant of the honour on the grounds of being a large industrial town, rather than a diocesan centre, was unprecedented. Belfast's example was soon followed by Birmingham in England and Dundee in Scotland. In 1994, Armagh's city status
18326-508: The time made public, had the effect of stemming the number of city creations. The 1907 policy contained three criteria: However, well into the 20th century it was often assumed that the presence of a cathedral was sufficient to elevate a town to city status, and that for cathedral cities the city charters were recognising its city status rather than granting it. On this basis, the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica said that Southwell and St Asaph were cities. The policy laid down by Edward VII
18480-466: The time of Queen Mary in 1555. In 1580, Gloucester was awarded the status of a port by Queen Elizabeth I. The 16th and 17th centuries saw the foundation of two of Gloucester's grammar schools: the Crypt School in 1539 and Sir Thomas Rich's School in 1666. Both still flourish as grammar schools today, along with Ribston Hall and Denmark Road High School . During the English Civil War ,
18634-412: The title city for any other burgh. In 1969, the Home Secretary, James Callaghan , stated that there were six cities in Scotland (without naming them) and Aberdeen , Dundee , Edinburgh , Elgin , Glasgow and Perth were the only burghs listed as cities in 1972. The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 completely reorganised Scotland's local administration in 1975. All burghs were abolished, and
18788-421: The title civitas , but the term city does not seem to have been used before the 15th century. Unlike the situation in England, in Scotland there was no link between the presence of a cathedral and the title of city . Aberdeen , Glasgow and Edinburgh were accepted as cities by ancient usage by the 18th century, while Perth and Elgin also used the title. In 1856, the burgh of Dunfermline resolved to use
18942-401: The title of city in all official documents in the future, based on long usage and its former status as a royal capital. The status was not officially recognised until 2022. In 1889, Dundee was granted city status by letters patent. The grant by formal document led to doubts about the use of the title city by other burghs. In 1891, the city status of Aberdeen was confirmed when the burgh
19096-441: The title of Royal Borough in 2012. Rochester was recognised as a city from 1211 to 1998. On 1 April 1974, the city council was abolished, becoming part of the Borough of Medway , a local government district in the county of Kent . However, under letters patent the former city council area was to continue to be styled the "City of Rochester" to "perpetuate the ancient name" and to recall "the long history and proud heritage of
19250-498: The town to the rank of a city, and started referring to itself as the City and Borough of Ripon . The next diocese formed was Manchester and its Borough Council began informally to use the title city . When Queen Victoria visited Manchester in 1851, widespread doubts surrounding its status were raised. The pretension was ended when the borough petitioned for city status, which was granted by letters patent in 1853. This eventually forced Ripon to regularise its position; its city status
19404-689: The town were falsely accused by the Dominican monks of murdering a child, Harold of Gloucester , in an attempt to establish a cult similar to that of William of Norwich , which failed entirely. Nevertheless, the accusations were recycled around the time of the Edict of Expulsion . In January 1275, Eleanor of Provence expelled Jews from all of the towns within her dower lands, and the Jews of Gloucester were ordered to move to Bristol but finding an especially difficult situation there, relocated to Hereford . In
19558-458: The town. At its height, Glevum may have had a population of as many as 10,000 people. The entire area around Glevum was intensely Romanised in the second and third centuries with a higher than normal distribution of villas. At the end of the third century or the start of the fourth, major changes were made to the city's second-century wall. It was replaced in two stages by a stronger and higher one of stone resting on massive reused stone blocks. In
19712-490: The urban areas, for example the cities of Bradford , Leeds and Winchester . Three non-local authority preservations arose: here charter trustees were established for the cities of Lichfield and Salisbury (or New Sarum) being neither districts nor civil parishes, and special letters patent for a time preserved the city of Rochester . In 1977, as part of the celebrations of the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II ,
19866-416: The various local authorities that held city status ceased to exist on 1 April 1974. To preserve city status new letters patent were issued to the most relevant metropolitan borough , non-metropolitan district or successor parish councils created by the Act. Some of these came to cover local government districts many times wider than the previous city, even taking in many square miles of rural land outside
20020-418: The visit to renew its request. Leicester had a population of approximately 230,000 at the previous census, but its petition was granted as an exception to the policy, as it was officially a restoration of a dignity lost in the past. When the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent applied for city status in 1925, it was initially refused as it had only 294,000 inhabitants. The decision was overturned, however, as it
20174-607: The year. The nearest Met Office weather station for which 30-year averages are available is Credenhill weather station, about 4 miles (6 km) north west of the city centre. Before 2001, the weather station at Preston Wynne (7 miles, 11 km to the north-east) provided the data. Since 2001, extremes at Hereford Credenhill have ranged from 33.6 °C (92.5 °F) during July 2006, to as low as −15.8 °C (3.6 °F) during December 2010. In February 2020 many houses in Hereford were evacuated due to floods. Hereford and its surrounding urban area were recorded as follows in
20328-569: Was "part of London with little individual identity". When the competition was held to mark the Golden Jubilee of 2002, Croydon made a sixth application, again unsuccessful. It was joined by the London Borough of Greenwich , which emphasised its royal and maritime connections, while claiming to be "to London what Versailles is to Paris". In this vein Greenwich joined Kingston-upon-Thames and Kensington and Chelsea in London in having
20482-465: Was "the county town of the King's Duchy of Lancaster". Following the Second World War , members of Cambridge Borough Council made contact with Lancaster officials for assistance in their application. Cambridge became a city in 1951, again for "exceptional" reasons, as the only ancient seat of learning in the kingdom not a city or royal burgh and to coincide with the 750th anniversary of
20636-573: Was centered in the city, from 1295 to 2010, when it was renamed as Hereford and South Herefordshire. The current Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons for Hereford and South Herefordshire is Jesse Norman of the Conservative Party . As with all of the UK, Hereford experiences a maritime climate , with limited seasonal temperature ranges, and generally moderate rainfall throughout
20790-412: Was considered favourably by the Home Secretary, William Joynson-Hicks , who had once been a Member of Parliament (MP) for a neighbouring constituency of Manchester North West . Following protests from Portsmouth , which felt it had better credentials as a larger town and as the "first Naval Port of the kingdom", both applications were approved in 1926. In 1927, a Royal Commission on Local Government
20944-536: Was continued by his successor, George V , who ascended the throne in 1910. In 1911, an application for city status by Portsmouth was refused. Explaining the Home Secretary 's reason for not recommending the King to approve the petition, the Lord Advocate stated: ...during the reign of his late Majesty it was found necessary, in order to maintain the value of the distinction, to lay down a rule as to
21098-625: Was crowned with a gilded iron ring in the Chapter House of Gloucester Cathedral . During his reign, Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany his cousin was briefly imprisoned at Gloucester Castle as state prisoner from 1222 to 1223, and from 1237 to 1238, in addition to sometime during the reign of King John. Gloucester's significance in the Middle Ages is underlined by the fact that it had a number of monastic establishments, including St Peter's Abbey founded in 679 (later Gloucester Cathedral ),
21252-579: Was demolished in 1971/2 and disposed of in 1976. The second depot was an Air Force Reserve Depot with four 4,000-ton semi-buried tanks constructed in 1941/42 by Shell, Shell-Mex and BP at the Monk Meadow Dock on the Canal. Originally, delivery was by road, rail and barge and pipeline. It was also connected to the docks and to the Shell Mex and BP installation for rail and road loading facilities and
21406-495: Was enlarged by local Act of Parliament. The Royal Burgh of Inverness applied for promotion to a city as part of the Jubilee honours in 1897. The request was not granted, partly because it would draw attention to the lack of any charter granting the title to existing cities. Aberdeen , Dundee , Edinburgh and Glasgow were constituted "counties of cities" by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 . The Act made no statement on
21560-508: Was examining local council areas and functions in England and Wales. The question arose as to which towns were entitled to be called cities, and the chairman, the Earl of Onslow , wrote to the Home Office to seek clarification. The Home Office replied with a memorandum that read: The title of a city which is borne by certain boroughs is a purely titular distinction. It has no connexion with
21714-409: Was felt to have outstanding importance as the centre of the pottery industry. The effective relaxation of the population rule led to applications from Portsmouth and Salford . The civil servants in the Home Office were minded to refuse both applications. In particular, Salford was felt to be "merely a scratch collection of 240,000 people cut off from Manchester by the river". Salford's case, however,
21868-427: Was granted its first charter in 1155 by Henry II . In 1216, Henry III , aged only nine years, was crowned with a gilded iron ring in the Chapter House of Gloucester Cathedral. Gloucester's significance in the Middle Ages is underlined by the fact that it had a number of monastic establishments, including St Peter's Abbey, founded in 679 (later Gloucester Cathedral ); the nearby St Oswald's Priory , founded in
22022-455: Was hit badly by a flood that struck Gloucestershire and its surrounding areas. Hundreds of homes were flooded, but the event was most memorable because of its wider impact – about 40,000 people were without power for 24 hours, and the entire city (plus surrounding areas) was without piped water for 17 days. In 2009, Gloucester Day was revived as an annual day of celebration of Gloucester's history and culture. The day originally dates from
22176-461: Was in 1645 that the city saw most action . On 31 July 1645 a Scottish army of 14,000 under Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven besieged the city but met stiff resistance from its garrison and inhabitants. They withdrew on 1 September when they received news that a force led by King Charles was approaching. The city was finally taken for Parliament on 18 December 1645 by Colonel Birch and Colonel Morgan . King Charles showed his gratitude to
22330-478: Was made a county borough , independent from Gloucestershire County Council. Gloucester Guildhall at 23 Eastgate Street was built in 1892 and served as the city's administrative headquarters until 1986, when the council moved to North Warehouse at Gloucester Docks . On 1 April 1974, the modern district of Gloucester was formed under the Local Government Act 1972 , covering the same area as
22484-509: Was met by the Mayor, John Rawlins , at Quedgeley . Her father Henry VIII and his then Queen, Anne Boleyn , visited in July 1535. They used Gloucester as a base for hunting trips to Painswick , Coberley , and Miserden . They left Gloucester for Leonard Stanley , on their way to Berkeley Castle . Gloucester was the site of the execution by burning of John Hooper , Bishop of Gloucester, in
22638-404: Was named as a city in 1897 as part of the celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria . Since the second Millennium, competitions have been arranged by the UK government to grant the status to settlements. In 2021 submissions for city status were invited to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II , with Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories being allowed to take part for
22792-521: Was not on the Lord Chancellor's Office 's list of cities. The council campaigned unsuccessfully to be one of 2012 Diamond Jubilee cities. The campaign's "City of Medway" logo was used on a council tourism leaflet titled "Historic Rochester and Maritime Chatham " until the Advertising Standards Authority upheld a 2010 complaint that it misleadingly implied Medway had "officially been granted city status" because "readers of
22946-418: Was not without opposition from the Home Office , which dismissed St Albans as "a fourth or fifth rate market town" and objected to Wakefield 's elevation on grounds of population. In one new diocese, Southwell , a city was not created, because it was a village without a borough corporation and therefore could not petition the Queen. The diocese covered the counties of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire , and
23100-650: Was prominent in the aerospace industry. In 1926, the Gloucestershire Aircraft Company at Brockworth changed its name to the Gloster Aircraft Company because international customers claimed that the name Gloucestershire was too difficult to spell. A sculpture in the city centre celebrates Gloucester's aviation history and its involvement in the jet engine . From the city's Roman name, Glevum , Anglo-Saxon migrants after 410, with their fledgling feudal structure,
23254-533: Was recognised by Act of Parliament in 1865. From this year Ripon bore city status whilst the rapidly expanding conurbation of Leeds – in the Ripon diocese – did not. The Manchester case established a precedent that any municipal borough in which an Anglican see was established was entitled to petition for city status. Accordingly, Truro , St Albans , Liverpool , Newcastle upon Tyne and Wakefield were all officially designated as cities between 1877 and 1888. This
23408-453: Was restored. In 2002, Lisburn and Newry were two of the five towns in the UK that were granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II to mark her Golden Jubilee. In the case of Lisburn , the status extended to the entire local government district. Newry , like Inverness and Stirling in Scotland, has no formal boundaries or city council. The letters patent were presented to representatives of Newry and Mourne District Council on behalf of
23562-472: Was temporarily lost until new letters patent were issued in November of the same year. In 1992, on the fortieth anniversary of the monarch's accession, it was announced that another town would be elevated to a city. An innovation on this occasion was that a competition was to be held, and communities would be required to submit applications. Sunderland was the successful applicant. This was followed in 1994 by
23716-519: Was the local government district that officially held city status under the 1982 letters patent, when it was abolished, it also ceased to be a city. Whilst the two other local government districts with city status ( Bath and Hereford ) that were abolished around this time decided to appoint charter trustees to maintain the existence of the city and the mayoralty, Rochester-upon-Medway City Council did not do so. Medway Council apparently only became aware of this when, in 2002, they discovered that Rochester
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