Glorious Gloucester Trivia Quiz

Answer: River Severn

At 220 miles from its source on Plynlimon, the highest mountain of the Welsh Cambrian Mountains, to its eventual flow into the Bristol Channel, the Severn is longer than the River Thames by about five miles. The river is famed for the Severn bore, a spectacular tidal bore which, during high tides, causes a wave which travels upstream against the river flow.

Answer: Dr. Foster

The rhyme about Dr. Foster was first recorded in 1810 in "Gamer Gurton's Garland" (also known as the Nursery Parnassus) by Joseph Ritson, and is believed to relate to a 13th century incident when King Edward I (Doctor Foster) fell from his horse in a puddle while he was visiting Gloucester. He was so humiliated by this experience that he never visited the city again.

Answer: Simon Pegg

Who, while watching "Shaun Of The Dead" back in 2004, would have tipped Pegg to go on to play the iconic role of Scotty in the "Star Trek" franchise? In between the two roles, he also featured in two George A. Romero movies from the "Living Dead" franchise ("Land Of The Dead" (2005) and "Diary Of The Dead" (2007)) as well as in the Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino double bill, "Grindhouse" (2007).

Answer: American Football

The original American football team from Gloucester were the Gloucester Boars, who played in the United Kingdom American Football Association in 1985. Between then and 1993, there were several American football teams in the area which either folded or merged, until the sport disappeared until the formation of the Banshees in 2007.

Although well supported within the area, results on the field didn't go their way and as part of a major restructuring project, the club was renamed Gloucester Centurions in 2012.

Answer: Worcester and Hereford

Since 1715, World War I and World War II are the only events to have caused the Three Choirs Festival to cancel an event, and while their original purpose was to give thanks through music, between 1724 and 1986, they also provided charity to the widows and orphans of the three dioceses. To mark the festival's 300th anniversary in 2015, the choirs performed works by various composers including Beethoven, Leonard Bernstein and Verdi.

Answer: USA

"The Anacreontic Song", also known as "To Anacreon in Heaven" was the official song of 18th-century gentlemen's club, The Anacreontic Society, named after the 6th century Greek poet, Anacreon. The society was dedicated, apart from song, to "wit, harmony and wine" and "The Anacreontic Song" became a popular drinking song, known for its bawdy lyrics which speak of Anacreon giving his blessing to mingle Venus's myrtle with Bacchus's grapevine.

Answer: Cheese Rolling

The origins of the Cooper's Hill are unclear, but what is certain is the popularity of the event. A round of Double Gloucester cheese weighing between seven and nine pounds (3 to 4 kilograms) is sent rolling down the hill and after a one second interval, competitors are allowed to chase it, with the first to either catch the cheese, which can reach speeds of 70 mph (110 kph) or reach the bottom of the hill, winning the cheese and bragging rights.

The race attracts competitors from all over the world, including Nepal, USA, Australia and New Zealand, home to former All Black rugby player Marc Ellis, who won the 2004 event.

Answer: Vacuum Cleaner

Prior to Booth's invention, cleaning machines blew dirt and dust away and after attending a demonstration of such a machine in 1901, Booth was inspired to try and make a machine which sucked the dust up rather than blowing it away, which would provide a more hygienic solution to the problem.

He created the "Puffing Billy" which was the forerunner to today's vacuum cleaner - in principle, if not in looks, as it was so large, it had to be transported by horse and carriage and was powered by a petrol driven internal combustion engine. Nevertheless, it did the job and led to smaller, more efficient machines being designed by the likes of Walter Griffiths, James B. Kirby, James Murray Spangler and William Henry Hoover.

Answer: Hundred Years War

When the Great East Window was installed in the 1350s, it was the largest window in the world, which is not surprising when you consider it is an incredible 22 metres (72 feet) in height and 12 metres (39 feet) in width, which makes it about the size of a tennis court.

The window depicts the hierarchical nature of medieval society, with the panels moving from shields of nobility, through tiers of bishops and abbots, saints, apostles and angels.

Answer: False

Gloucester is served by the M5 motorway which connects the M6 motorway from West Bromwich near Birmingham with Exeter in Devon and covers a total of 163 miles (262 kilometres). The M8 motorway is much smaller at 60 miles (97 kilometres) long and also much further north as it connects Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland.