Considering Gloucester is pretty much on my doorstep I don’t know why I’ve never visited the cathedral before. I emerged from College Court, the medieval way once called Craft’s Lane and Ironmongers Row, to arrive at St Michael’s Gate, a pedestrian gateway in the former precinct wall of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter, now the Cathedral. Today the Cathedral Green is a pleasant garden with street furniture telling the Cathedral’s story. Originally a graveyard within the Abbey grounds, from the 1920s until 2018 this area was a car park!
The Cathedral itself is stunning, particularly the cloisters which were used during the filming of the Harry Potter films. But of course it was the memorials I had come to see, and there were plenty of them.
In 2015 during investigative work as part of the 10 year Project Pilgrim, one of the ledgerstones in the north transept gave up its unexpected secret. When the stone was lifted it revealed through a hole a brick built family vault below, complete with intact coffins.
The ledger stone records the date of death of Benjamin and Elizabeth Hyett, and tragically eight of their children.
Sarah 1692 0
William 1706 26
Mary 1712 23
John 1682 4
Mary 1682 22 days
Elizabeth 1683 2
Robert 1683 8 months
Joseph 1686 5
Benjamin Hyett was a lawyer who served as Deputy Clerk of the Peace for Gloucestershire from 1673-78 and then as Clerk of the Peace from 1678-89. The Assizes and Quarter Sessions took place in Booth Hall, the old Shire Hall in Westgate Street. His duties would have been to officiate at the Court of Assizes, prepare indictments and record the proceedings. He may also have been required to give legal advice to the justices along with a number of other duties.
Benjamin married Elizabeth Morwent, the daughter of Joseph Morwent of Tetbury, Gent and his wife Mary, on August 10, 1674 at St Mary’s Church, Tetbury.
It is likely the family lived in the Westgate Street area of Gloucester, within reach of Benjamin’s place of work and close to the church of St Michael’s where they had five of their children baptised between 1677-1685; Robert, Sara, Elizabeth, John and Joseph.
In his Will made on March 7, 1707 Benjamin mentions four children, the sole survivors from a family of twelve. He makes his eldest son Charles executor of his Will and leaves him all his freehold estate. To his son Benjamin he leaves £500 and to his daughter Elizabeth £1,500. He leaves his daughter Mary an annuity of £50 a year.
Benjamin was buried in the vault beneath the north transept on March 22, 1711, joining his wife Elizabeth and seven of their children (Mary, mentioned in her father’s Will, died in 1712), his father-in-law Joseph Morwent who died in 1704 aged 82 and his brother-in-law (Elizabeth’s brother) who died in 1675 aged 20 years old. In 1731 the vault was opened again for the interment of Edward James, the husband of Benjamin and Elizabeth’s daughter, and their only son Thomas James who died aged 9 years old. Elizabeth James died in 1739 aged 51, and presumably this was the last time the vault was opened until the investigations 276 years later.
I shall be returning with more stories from Gloucester Cathedral.
The Hyett family vault
Radnor Street Cemetery 