Cirencester

Market town in Gloucestershire, England, on the River Churn, in the Cotswold Hills, 25 km/16 mi southeast of Gloucester; population (2001) 16,300. Industries include agriculture, precision engineering, and the manufacture of electrical goods. The Royal Agricultural College is situated here. Cirencester was the important Roman settlement of Corinium Dobunnorum, and flourished in the Middle Ages as the centre of the Cotswold wool trade.

The remains of a Roman amphitheatre seating 8,000 spectators have been excavated, and the Corinium Museum displays a collection of Roman exhibits, including sections of mosaic pavement.

Roman period Originally the tribal capital of the Celtic Dobunni, Corinium Dobunnorum was an important centre of trade situated at the junction of Ermine Street, Fosse Way, and Akeman Street. Excavations have established the outline of the Roman town's grid plan.

Features Cirencester's medieval prosperity is reflected in the 15th-century Perpendicular church of St John the Baptist, one of the largest in England. The church contains a wineglass pulpit dating from about 1450, one of the few surviving pre-Reformation pulpits in England. There are remains of the Hospital of St John, founded by Henry II, and the 15th-century Weavers' Hall. Cirencester Park to the west of the town includes a pavilion known as ‘Pope's Seat’ after the poet Alexander Pope, who often visited the park.