Gloucester the remains (a gateway and some walls) of Llanthony Secunda Priory, a cell of the mother abbey in the Vale of Ewyas, Monmouthshire, which in the reign of King Edward IV became the secondary establishment. The Three Choirs Festival, originating in the 18th century and one of the oldest music festivals in the British Isles, is held in Gloucester every third year, the other venues being Hereford and Worcester. Gloucester hosted the festival in 2016, and it is next due in the city in 2019. The city's main theatre and cultural venue is the Guildhall. The Guildhall hosts a huge
John Sanders (musician) position at Gloucester brings the high-profile role of directing the Three Choirs Festival. The now annual Festival is hosted by each cathedral in turn, the local Organist directing the festival each year. Sanders time at Gloucester saw him direct nine Festivals, including that in 1977 which was marked the 250th Festival (the history of the Festival can however be traced to 1715), as well as the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II. From 1975, the direction of the Festival was helped by the fact that for almost 20 years the directors remained the same, with Sanders establishing a close working relationship