Close by is the old building of the Crypt Grammar School. The school has migrated to more open quarters.
St. Nicholas is situated at the bottom of Westgate Street, and, owing to alterations in the street, is much below the level of the road. The floor of the church is nearly two feet higher than it was originally. There is much good Norman work, and some good Early English with Perpendicular insertions.
On the south door is a fine (so-called) sanctuary knocker; the door is quite unworthy of the knocker. Under the tower is some good late Jacobean panelling. In the chancel are two squints, four each side, arranged venetian-blind fashion. Several of the tombs are worth inspecting—viz. the Window monument in the chancel, 1659, and one to the wife of Rev. Helpe-Fox, 1657. There is a good tomb to Alderman John Walton and his wife, 1626, which, though in good preservation, is beginning to suffer from damp. There is also a brass, 1585, to Thos. Sancky; and a slab to John Hanbury, who represented Gloucester in Parliament in 1626. A fine view of the cathedral can be got from the top of the tower. The spire was shortened after being damaged in a storm. The chimes are worth hearing.
St. Michael's is situated where the four main streets meet, and near the church was formerly the Cross. The church was restored in 1885, and the monuments and tablets are all grouped together. The most interesting is a brass of 1519, to William Henshawe.
The curfew is still rung from the tower every evening.
Remains of Old Gloucester.—The New Inn was built in Abbot Seabroke's time by John Twynning or Twining (one of the monks), to accommodate the large number of pilgrims who came to the shrine of Edward II.
Close by, at the corner of New Inn Lane, is a beautifully carved angle post and bracket, which has been preserved for many years by being plastered over (vide p. 130). The houses on the right-hand side of the lane are also old.
The Gloucestershire Seed Warehouse, 154 Westgate Street, does not look specially interesting, but up the passage, which was formerly "Maverdine Lane," is a portion of the old front of the house. It is a fine specimen of domestic architecture, with very good windows, and has a distinctly Flemish look. There are some good rooms inside, with oak panelling and carving. A chimney-piece bears the text, "I and my house will serve the Lord," and it is dated 1633. The house is usually called the "Old Judge's House," but it is more famous as the house from which Colonel Massie issued his orders in 1643 when Gloucester was besieged by Charles I. (vide p. 125).