VOL. XIX. (3) 
ICXCURS ION— GLOUCESTER 
203 
great change came over the original idea of owning no property. The grounds 
of the monastery at one time extended to the present Crypt School buildings, 
and occupied some i j: acres. One reason of St. Francis’ popularity was 
that it was believed he had the power to release a soul in purgatory once a 
year, and each person was under the fond delusion his might l)c tliat one. 
Another reason was that it was believed St. Francis was marked with the 
“ stigmata ” (the hve wounds of Christ). Tlie rival Dominicans later on 
(1380) made a similar useful claim in behalf of their patron, St. Catherine 
of Siena ; and other orders followed suit. Referring once again to the 
water supply, Mr Baddeley said the Gre}^ Friars at Gloucester laid a leaden 
pipe from a field abounding in springs at Matson so that they might be in- 
dependent of the authorities at St. Peter’s for their supplies. 
Such remains of the original buildings as are to be seen from the out- 
side were then inspected. 
BLACK FRIARS (A.D. 1239). 
j\Ir Baddeley said the college of Black Friars was established by FIcnry 
III. in 1239, and wjis one of 50 such Houses which existed in England in the 
i6th century. Henry III. was the proto-patron of this as of the other orders, 
and large gifts of oak timber were made by him to the monastery from the 
Forest of Dean. In the i6th century the buildings passed into the hands 
of Sir Thomas Bell (son of a former benefactor), and it was from the name 
of his wife that the adjoining Ladybellegate-street derived its name. In 
examining the interior of the monks’ dormitory, Mr Baddeley remarked that 
the Dominicans in their architectural ground-plans were not so bound by 
tradition as were the other orders, and peculiarities in these were found, as 
at Gloucester, which existed in no other monastic buildings. Gloucester 
shire was once famous for its architectural artists, amongst the best known 
being John of Gloucester, who built a chief part of Westminster Abbej’. 
LTpon inspecting the long-time so-called ‘ Dormitory,’ Members for the 
first time became aware that this is a misnomer. Along each of the long- 
sides (N. and S.) of the room remain, in good preservation, a line of stone 
seviptoria, revealing that here must have been the work-room of the Preach- 
ing Order at Gloucester. It is consequently to be hoped that in addition 
to accurate measurements of the same a good photograph may be possible 
to obtain.' The interior of the house, and the imdercroft, or ccllai's, 
perhaps used for the storage of provisions, were also vis’ted. 
During tihe meeting the President thanked Mr Waller for the trouble 
he had taken in making plans and the help he had rendered in other ways ; 
and also Dr. Washboum, Mr J. W. Bayley, Mr R. Talbot, and Mr Fred Clark 
for allowing them to visit their premises. |S!j 
After leaving Blackfrairs, Members proceeded to Bewick Hou.se, where 
Mr H. W. Bruton kindly entertained them to tea, and also took a few who 
wished to see the little Norman chapel of St. Mary Magdalene at Wolton, 
which has been described by him in the Proceedings, vol. xvi., 221-2. 
I A plan of the remains of the Monastery, and reproductions of sketches of the exterior of the 
"Dormitory,” and details of its windows, are given with the interesting paper on "The Friar- 
preachers, or Black Friars, of Gloucester,” by Rev. C. F. R. Palmer, printed \w Archaologicai 
Journal (1882), xxxix., 256-306. 
Notes on the Dormitory or Scriptorium are also given in J. H. Parker’s “ Mediteval Houses 
of Gloucestershire,” Gentlemans Magazine fi86o), N.S., ix., 335-54. 
i 
