Gloucesters Stance

Gloucester was a prosperous merchant city. Despite the cathedral there were many non-conformists, who ran the city. Unsurprisingly, they sided against the king, demanding regular parliaments to discuss their needs and curb the king's spending.

The city council was run by a small group of people from the middle classes- lawyers and merchants. They resented the taxes upon them imposed to pay for the king's plans, and were horrified by the potential of a Roman Catholic queen persuading a return to Catholicism as the state religion. Laud, who had been dean at Gloucester, was believed to be pro-Rome, although it was not true. Nevertheless, different beliefs caused polarised views, and only about 100 names in the city were thought to support the king.