Kings Board, Hillfield Gardens

This is a gazebo, likely dating from the late 18th century, with a complex history involving reused medieval architectural elements. It was originally part of Marybone House near the quay, incorporating arcading and details from a medieval market house known as the King’s Board, which stood in Westgate Street and was demolished in 1780. The structure was subsequently moved to Barton Street, then to the grounds of Tibberton Court. In 1936, the City of Gloucester received the gazebo and re-erected it as a feature in Hillfield Gardens.

The gazebo is constructed of limestone ashlar with carved details and a flat roof. It has a small, decagonal plan. The south side features an open arcade of five bays, set on a stone base and accessible by three stone steps leading to a semicircular arrangement that ends against short wing walls to the east and west. The north side is a solid wall of plain ashlar.

The reset 14th-century arcade has slender, moulded piers set on moulded bases, topped by cinque-foiled arches with trefoiled sub-cusps. The angles of the decagon are positioned at the crowns of the arches, with the joints having been re-cut to fit. Each double spandrel is carved from a single stone in bas-relief, depicting scenes from the ministry of Christ: The Entry into Jerusalem, The Last Supper, The Scourging of Christ, The Resurrection, and The Flagellation. Above the arcade is a crowning cornice with a hollow roll, into which four fleurons have been inserted above each double spandrel and two above each responding end spandrel. The cornice and the rear wall are finished with a low crenellated parapet with a continuous moulded weathering.

According to tradition, the original King’s Board was given to the City of Gloucester by King Richard II and was later used as a butter market in the 16th century. There is also a less certain tradition that it served as a preaching pulpit. Archaeological investigations in 1991 identified foundations of a rectangular building in Westgate Street, aligning with a market building shown in Kip’s View of Gloucester of 1712.