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Gloucester Cathedral Cloisters

No sign of Harry Potter today!

 

Originally built to house the monks, the cloisters 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.

 

Using the normal Benedictine layout, all of the domestic buildings would have originally branched off three of the cloister walks.

 

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.

 

The cathedral was used as a location for filming the first, second and sixth Harry Potter films.

 

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Uploaded on March 3, 2007
Taken on December 4, 2005