If you haven’t visited Cirencester recently, then you haven’t seen the restored Parish Church, the smart new shops in the Corn Hall or the newly developed Post Office site. The Brewery Art Centre has been altered too, so is well worth a visit. You can see the craft workshops, visit the café, and also the theatre for performing arts, music concerts and exhibitions.
I visited Cirencester a short while ago to see the result of the major work on the Parish church. You certainly get the wow factor when you walk in. The new floor is bright, its even and it makes the church look much bigger than it was before.
Cirencester is a great place to visit and to explore. Many changes have taken place just recently and it has a great history. As you probably know, it developed in Roman times when it became the second most important town after London. By the 12th century it had become well established with, a very large Augustinian Abbey and a Norman castle. Although you won’t see these buildings today, there’s still a Castle Street as well as the Abbey Grounds to remind us.
The building of the magnificent Parish church of St John the Baptist, which of course dominates the town today, was started in the 12th century in front of the great Abbey, and facing the market place. Although there were two separate religious buildings, one for the townsfolk and the other for the monks, the Abbot had considerable influence over the town. He had the great South porch with its lovely fan vaulting built on to the parish church to provide a meeting place for his business with the town in the 1500's. After the dissolution of the abbey in 1539 the 3 storey porch became the Town Hall and is used for various functions today. If you look at the porch from the market place, the main hall is on the 2nd floor and I was able to go up and have a look around. It's an interesting room with a small balcony at the back over looking the main hall which, I was told, was where the Abbot stood to oversee his business going on below. I could still feel his presence!
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| The Chapels of Cirencester Parish Church |
Do go and visit the church then take a walk around the outside. From the churchyard you can see the additional chapels and the different styles of building. It has some amazing architecture.
Cirencester has its olde worlde charm, its historic buildings, but its also changing, and has a style and quality that’s quite unique and very special. Its well worth a visit.
For: a group guided tour of Cirencester and the surrounding area as part of a coach tour or a special walking tour of the town. Contact: anne@tourandexplore.com
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