Gloucester is a city in the west of England, on the River Severn. It is old: the Romans had a town here, and it still has a famous cathedral — a very large, important church. People write Gloucester, but they do not say Glow-chester. They say something like GLOSS-tə; the middle of the word almost disappears. That same quiet middle turns up in other old English place names. The city gives its name to the county around it, Gloucestershire, and also to a well-known English cheese, though this entry is about the place.