Almost the first interesting building we came across in and around the town centre was shielded behind hoardings but it was obviously a once important institutional building. It turns out it used to house the Gloucester College of Art and Technology. It’s not really bent, I couldn’t get far enough back for one shot so this is a stitch. I only just caught this one. It had signs on it saying it was about to be demolished. Such a pity that a use couldn’t be found for it.

I have found another picture of the building at Panoramio.

This site shows some of the detailing.

Also check out here which shows a few of the internal features.

The good lady thinks it’s a scandal that it’s all to go. So do I.

Gloucester was further well served in an Art Deco sense by a full-on Deco Debenham’s. It’s on a corner with a long frontage down the side street. Impossible to get in one shot. (Or a decent stitch.)

We also found a Marks & Spencer (again I couldn’t get far enough back for anything but a side shot)

and a Halifax – very minor deco, and those wires in the way!

Four Art Deco buildings, one an absolute belter, one a particularly sad sight, and we were only there for an hour!

Gloucester is only 12 miles on from Cheltenham so we carried on to there the same afternoon.

We chanced upon Gloucester War Memorial and managed to get parked nearby.

I like the restraint of this one and the fact it’s at the edge of a piece of parkland. Unfortunately the road is quite busy, though; but at least that means lots of passers-by will see the memorial.

The cenotaph-like stone is surmounted by a lion and is inscribed to the men of the Gloucestershire Regiment.

The long low, curving wall with the central gap is dedicated to the men of Gloucester. Both top lines of names are for the Great War and the lower lines are for the Second.