It was Christmas and Beatrix Potter sent them in an exercise book to a young girl called Freda who was ill in bed. The tailor and his cat Simpkin had their first outing in 1901. In 1916 Beatrix Potter wrote in a presentation copy of The Tailor of Gloucester: “This is my own favourite amongst my little books”. Their version of the book, probably the best known version, celebrates its 110th anniversary this year. The Tailor of Gloucester was the third of Beatrix Potter’s children’s stories to be published by Frederick Warne & Co. It is her fictional character for children, the frail tailor of the city, who today lays claim to his own ‘House’ by the ancient arch of St Michael’s Gate. Gloucester Cathedral has also been the backdrop to a story by a more sedate Potter – Beatrix Potter. A king has been crowned here a king buried a bishop martyred and, more recently, a wizard filmed – the children’s wizard, Harry Potter. Most obvious is the city’s cathedral, once St Peter’s Abbey – home to the sacred and witness to life. Look only a fraction longer and history stares straight back at you. The city of Gloucester, laid out on wide, logical lines, might seem at first glance like any hard hit Costa/McDonalds town but it’s not.
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