Cirencester
dates from Roman times. As the Roman town of Corinium, it was the second largest
town in Britain at that time. It held a central position at the junction of
three major Roman roads, the Foss Way, Ermin Way and Ackeman Street.
The
parish church, the largest in Gloucestershire, dominates the centre of the town.
Constructed by stone masons in an age when wealth and good taste went together.
You can climb the 162 foot tower to get a birds eye view of the old town, and
inspect the oldest peal of 12 bells in England.
Ancient buildings abound, the Weavers Hall, the arches of St John's Church,
Spitalgate, St John's Almshouses and Coxwell Street. You can take a town walk
with a Civic Society guide.
Cirencester Park, the home of Lord Bathurst, is separated from the town by the
largest yew hedge in the world (one way of ensuring privacy). Although the
mansion is not open to the public, the grounds are. They are a particularly fine
example of geometrical landscape gardening where great rides meet and grand
vistas disappear into decreasing distances.
