In July 2021, the remains of a 13th Century Carmelite friary, also known as Whitefriars, were recently found by archaeologists beneath a demolished multi-storey car park in Gloucester city centre.
Historians knew roughly where Whitefriars had stood, but its exact location was a mystery. The dig, ahead of redevelopment work as part of the regeneration of the city's King's Quarter. The medieval monastery was founded in about 1270 but was mostly demolished in the 16th Century, and only traces of it had survived on historical maps.
In this documentary which features a 3D reconstruction of the priory and its surroundings, city archaeologist Andrew Armstrong explores the archaeological team's findings in Gloucester and what they can tell us about the Carmelites.
Up Next in If These Walls Could Talk
-
Buildings Tell Stories
History is located all around us. From the houses we live in to the town halls in our cities to the fields of our rural communities; from Colchester to Harare; history can be found in everything. This talk looks at how intrinsic sites and landscapes are in our everyday lives but also what histo...
-
Kensington Palace: Untold Lives
Dan Snow explores behind the scenes at the majestic Kensington Palace, the glittering centre of the royal court in early Georgian England. It's a very special time to visit - the Historic Royal Palaces team has been delving deep into the archives to lift the veil of the public facing court and e...
-
Henry's Forts: Castles on the Coast
On the 26 February 2021, around 38 metres of wall collapsed at Hurst Castle, one of a series of vital coastal forts built by Henry VIII in the 16th century to protect England from threat of invasion by the European powers. Recently, Dan went out on his kayak to assess the damage at the castle whi...
19 Comments