High Orchard was an industrial area of the city of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

in England that was developed in the 19th century on the former orchard of the Priory of

Llanthony Secunda Llanthony Secunda Priory was a house of Augustinian canons in the parish of Hempsted, Gloucestershire, England, situated about 1/2 a mile south-west of Gloucester Castle in the City of Gloucester. It was founded in 1136 by Miles de Gloucester, 1st ...

(1136). The area was closely associated with

Gloucester Docks Gloucester Docks is an historic area of the city of Gloucester. The docks are located at the northern junction of the River Severn with the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. They are Britain's most inland port. The docks include fifteen Victoria ...

immediately to the north, and served by the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal and railway transport. It was the site of Fielding & Platt's Atlas Works and a number of other significant local employers. It was centred on High Orchard Street which ran between Llanthony Road to the north and Baker Street to the south. To the west was Baker's Quay and to the east

Southgate Street Southgate Street is one of the ancient streets in the City of Gloucester, so named because its southern end was originally the location of the south gate in the city's walls. The part beyond the gate as far as Severn Street was sometimes known as ...

. Immediately south of Baker Street was the terminus of the High Orchard branch railway line. Most of the area is now the site of the

Gloucester Quays Gloucester Quays (also known as Gloucester Quays Designer Outlet Centre) is an outlet shopping centre on St Ann Way, Gloucester, in the area of the city formerly known as High Orchard. The outlet is situated close to Gloucester Docks, a historic ...

shopping centre and associated buildings, with some original buildings surviving as part of the shopping centre and along the canal side.

Early history

High Orchard was sited on the former orchard of the Priory of

,Medieval Gloucester: Topography.
British History Online. Retrieved 21 March 2019. founded in 1136 by monks in Wales who retreated to Gloucester and

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

after attacks by the local populace.

19th century

The area was developed in the 19th century, and from the 1830s was particularly known for its timber yards which benefited from the opening of the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal in 1827 and, from 1848, new railway connections. Firms imported timber, prepared it for the building industry, and preserved it by kyanizing it or treating it with creosote. The flour-milling industry was present and flour-milling machinery was made at High Orchard Works (1851), while Atlas Works (1860) was the home of Fielding & Platt who made industrial machinery with a specialism in heavy-duty hydraulics. The cabinet makers J. A. Matthew & Co. built a large manufactory in 1894 that was destroyed by fire in 1912.Gloucester, 1835-1985: Economic development to 1914.
British History Online. Retrieved 21 March 2019. The area was centred on High Orchard Street which ran between Llanthony Road to the north and Baker Street to the south. Other streets were Merchants' Street which ran parallel to High Orchard Street, St Luke's Street, and Church Street.Ordnance Survey map, c. 1900. In 1848, the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

built a branch line from the city station to High Orchard immediately south of Baker Street, and which ran north through the area's industrial buildings into Gloucester Docks. South of the branch line was the works of the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company. There was a small amount of housing served by the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

's Church of St. Luke, designed by

Thomas Fulljames Thomas Fulljames FRIBA (4 March 1808 – 24 April 1874) was an architect active in Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the ...

and consecrated in 1841. There was also a Norwegian Chapel immediately south of the railway line, and a Mission Room on the corner of Llanthony Road and Southgate Street.Ordnance Survey map, c. 1880. File:Map of Glocester (Gloucester) drawn and engraved under the direction of Edward Wedlake Brayley.jpg, 1805 map of Gloucester after the construction of the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal but before the development of High Orchard File:High Orchard, Gloucester, Ordnance Survey map 1880s (2).jpg, High Orchard on an 1880s Ordnance Survey map showing timber yards on the east bank of the canal File:High Orchard, Gloucester, Ordnance Survey map c.1900.jpg, High Orchard on a c.1900 Ordnance Survey map

20th century

In July 1912, a fire broke out at J. A. Matthew & Co. in High Orchard Street and Llanthony Road that destroyed a 400ft long factory and nine houses in High Orchard Street. It also seriously damaged six houses in Exhibition Street. The fire was visible from Cranham, and was extinguished by fire fighters from Stroud and Cheltenham as the Gloucester engine was out of action. Over 200 men were made unemployed as a result of the fire.Voyce, Jill. (1985)
Gloucester in Old Photographs: From the County Library Collection
'' Gloucester: Alan Sutton. pp. 78-79. A carpet manufacturer moved to the area in the late 1930sGloucester, 1835-1985: Economic development 1914-85.
British History Online. Retrieved 21 March 2019. and by 1975 there was a carpet factory there employing 250 people.

West Midland Farmers' Association Countrywide Farmers was a British agricultural retailer that went out of business in 2018. The company developed from the amalgamation of a number of agricultural co-operatives such as West Midland Farmers' Association and Midland Shires Farmers ...

, an agricultural co-operative, owned buildings at Baker's Quay (1955) and a former maltings (1983) at High Orchard, and in 1983 employed 383 people. The Church of St. Luke was demolished in 1934 and

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

from the building, much of it German or Dutch of the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, was reused at

Holy Trinity Church Holy Trinity Church may refer to: Albania * Holy Trinity Church (Berat), Berat County * Holy Trinity Church, Lavdar, Opar, Korçë County Armenia * Holy Trinity Church, Yerevan Australia * Garrison Church, Sydney, South Wales, also known as ''H ...

, Longlevens.

21st century

Most of High Orchard was redeveloped as Gloucester Quays shopping centre and associated buildings in the early 2000s. The surviving streets are High Orchard Street, Baker Street, Church Street, Llanthony Road, Southgate Street, and Merchants' Road. St Luke's Street no longer exists, Church Street is much longer than it once was, and Baker Street has a different course. Some existing buildings were retained on the canal side or incorporated into the shopping centre. These include listed buildings Pillar and Lucy Warehouses (c.1838), Sudbrooke House (1840s), Llanthony Provender Mill (1862), and Downings Malthouse (1893). Llanthony Provender Mill was seriously damaged in an arson attack in 2015 which left it a "dilapidated shell". It was subsequently rebuilt as luxury flats.Gloucester's most exclusive flats unveiled - and they look completely different.
Daniel Chipperfield, Gloucestershire Live, 12 May 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2019. Other listed buildings along Llanthony Road and Southgate Street are St Lukes House, the Mariners Hall, 172 Southgate Street, and 182/184 Southgate Street. In 2017, the last four surviving dockers' cottages (1902) in High Orchard Street were released for sale after renovation.

Bridges

High Orchard has two bridges that cross the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal;

Llanthony Road Bridge Llanthony Road Bridge is a bridge over the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal in the Gloucester Docks and High Orchard area. It is the third bridge on the site. File:Llanthony Road bridge - geograph.org.uk - 1013527.jpg, Llanthony Road Bridge loo ...

in the north, and the

High Orchard Bridge High Orchard Bridge is a bascule bridge over the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal in High Orchard in the city of Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester l ...

(2008) in the south on the newly constructed St Ann Way.Bridge gives Gloucester a lift.
Urban Realm, 8 June 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2019. File:Llanthony Road bridge - geograph.org.uk - 1013527.jpg, Llanthony Road Bridge looking east along Llanthony Road File:Drawbridge Gloucester.JPG, Llanthony Road Bridge looking north File:High Orchard Lift Bridge.jpg, High Orchard Bridge

References

External links

High Orchard before and after photographs.
{{coord, 51.858768, -2.256072, region:GB, display=title Areas of Gloucester Gloucester Docks Industrial history of Gloucestershire