Display 9 of 19
The Tolsey
SRPrint/SR20.14b
The Tolsey was located on the south-west corner of the Cross. In this image it is the building on left. The name derives from the Middle English, tol- meaning ‘toll’ and -sey meaning ‘hall’ or ‘house’. Most towns had a ‘tolsey’ and they were used as town halls, tollbooths, law courts and merchants' meeting places and exchanges. In Gloucester the city stewards were using it for town business by 1455. It seems that both the Tolsey and the Boothall were used for council business at the same time – but we don’t know if there was any differentiation in what went on at each one. In 1507, the Tolsey was seemingly being used as a repository to store property deeds of the borough (the city’s first archives?) and by 1603 it was the venue for all council meetings. It was rebuilt several times, the most significant being in 1648 when All Saints' church (which adjoined its east side) was incorporated within it. The ground floor of the new build was used by the sheriffs' court, while the upper floor – which jettied out over a colonnade – was used for the council chamber.
Last reviewed: