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Gloucester ( ) is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham. A cathedral city, capital of its county which was built on a flat spot of land, Gloucester is situated on the River Severn and the Bristol and Birmingham Railway. Gloucester was founded in AD 97 by the Romans under Emperor Nerva as ''Colonia Glevum Nervensis'', and was granted its first charter in 1155 by King Henry II. Economically, the city is dominated by the service industries, and has a strong financial and business sector, being home to the bank Cheltenham & Gloucester and historically was prominent in the aerospace industry. ==History== The origins of the name Gloucester can be traced to ''Caerloyw'' in the modern Welsh. There are various appellations in history such as Caer Glow, Gleawecastre, Gleucestre as an early British settlement is not confirmed by direct evidence. However, Gloucester was the Roman municipality of Colonia Nervia Glevensium, or Glevum, built in the reign of Nerva. Parts of the walls can be traced, and a number of remains and coins have been found, though inscriptions are scarce. In ''Historia Brittonum'', a fabled account of the early rulers of Britain, Vortigern's grandfather, Gloiu (or Gloyw Wallt Hir: "Gloiu Long-hair"), is given as the founder of Gloucester. In the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', Gloucester is shown as part of Wessex from the Battle of Deorham in 577 until 584, when it came under the control of Mercia. The name Gloucester derives from the Anglo-Saxon for fort (Old English ''ceaster'') preceded by the Roman stem Glev- (pronounced glaiw).〔Kenneth Cameron: ''English Place Names''〕 Gloucester was captured by the Saxons in 577. Its situation on a navigable river, and the foundation in 681 of the abbey of St Peter by Æthelred, favoured the growth of the town; 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 a mint. In the early 10th century the remains of Saint Oswald were brought to a small church in Gloucester, bringing many pilgrims to the town. The core street layout is thought to date back to the reign of Ethelfleda in late Saxon times.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Anglo-Saxon Gloucester: c.680 - 1066 )〕 During the Anarchy, Gloucester was a centre of support for the Empress Matilda.〔Gesta Stephani, §47〕 The first Earl of Gloucester, Earl Godwine, was succeeded nearly a century later by Robert of Gloucester. King Henry II granted the first charter in 1155, which gave the burgesses the same liberties as the citizens of London and Winchester, and 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 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 1223 thatched roofs were banned after a massive fire that destroyed a part of Gloucester. In November 2011 a unique coin, dated to 1077–80, was discovered, just north of the city, featuring the name of the moneyer Silacwine and its place of minting. The Portable Antiquities Scheme said that, until the coin was discovered, there had been no known examples of William I coins minted in Gloucester in this period. Subsequent charters were numerous. Gloucester was incorporated by King Richard III in 1483, the town being made a county in itself. This charter was confirmed in 1489 and 1510, and other charters of incorporation were received by Gloucester from Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. Gloucester was the site of the execution by burning of John Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester in the time of Queen Mary and martyred by her in 1555. In 1580 Gloucester was awarded the status of a port by Queen Elizabeth I. The Siege of Gloucester in 1643 was a battle of the English Civil War in which the besieged parliamentarians emerged victorious. The spring of 1994 saw the arrest of Fred West and his wife Rose for the murder of 12 women and girls who went missing between 1967 and 1987 – including two of their daughters. Their home, 25 Cromwell Street, where the remains of many of the victims were buried, was later demolished and a public walkway laid in its place. In July 2007, Gloucester 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 the lifting of the Siege of Gloucester in 1643, during which the city held out against Royalist forces during the First English Civil War.〔(Tradition revived for city pride. ) BBC News, 5 September 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2011.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gloucester」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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