Gloucester << GLOS tuh or GLOS tuhr >> (pop. 132,416) is an industrial and shipping city near the mouth of the River Severn in west-central England. It is a local government district and the administrative center of Gloucestershire. The docks lie at the junction of the river and the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal. Gloucester Cathedral was begun in the late 1000’s, and its 225-foot (69-meter) tower was built in the 1450’s. King Edward II is buried there. Robert Raikes, a publisher, founded one of the first Sunday schools at Gloucester in 1780. The city dates from Roman times. The Romans called it Glevum. See also Gloucestershire.
