Britain gallery: Gloucester cloister

What do Harry Potter, Edward II and Ralph Vaughan-Williams's 'Tallis Fantasia' have in

common? Gloucester Cathedral. Some Harry Potter scenes were filmed in these hallowed

cloisters; Edward II was buried here (and his highly decorated tomb still rests there today)

after an unfortunate encounter with a red-hot poker at Berkeley Castle in 1327; and the

Cathedral hosted the first performance of Vaughan-Williams' exquisite 'Fantasia on a Theme

of Thomas Tallis' in the 1910 Three Choirs Festival, conducted by the composer. The

orchestra's string section was separated into two halves to effect a sort of phon/antiphon

sound base. The beauty of this arrangement, reconstituted for a BBC documentary in the

1980s, matched the beauty of the Cathedral's stunning Norman/ Gothic/Perpendicular

interior with its massive Norman columns and vaulted ceiling.

What do Harry Potter, Edward II and Ralph Vaughan-Williams's 'Tallis Fantasia' have in

common? Gloucester Cathedral. Some Harry Potter scenes were filmed in these hallowed

cloisters; Edward II was buried here (and his highly decorated tomb still rests there today) after

an unfortunate encounter with a red-hot poker at Berkeley Castle in 1327; and the Cathedral

hosted the first performance of Vaughan-Williams' exquisite 'Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas

Tallis' in the 1910 Three Choirs Festival, conducted by the composer. The orchestra's string

section was separated into two halves to effect a sort of phon/antiphon sound base. The

beauty of this arrangement, reconstituted for a BBC documentary in the 1980s, matched the

beauty of the Cathedral's stunning Norman/ Gothic/Perpendicular interior with its massive

Norman columns and vaulted ceiling.