Which English cathedral is famous for its fan-vaulted cloisters?

Gloucester Cathedral is famous for its fan-vaulted cloisters.

The Great Cloister, built mainly between 1351 and 1377, contains England’s earliest surviving fan vaults. Their ribs spread outward in regular, conical patterns, creating the distinctive appearance of an open stone fan. The design is strongly associated with the Perpendicular phase of English Gothic architecture.

Gloucester’s medieval rebuilding followed a fire in 1222. Later work was helped by the popularity of the shrine of Edward II, who was buried at the cathedral after his murder in 1327. The resulting wealth supported major rebuilding of the choir, transepts and cloisters during the 14th century.

The fan vaults are sometimes confused with other elaborate Gothic rib vaults, including the decorative vaulting at Wells Cathedral or the spectacular ceiling of King’s College Chapel, Cambridge. Gloucester’s cloisters remain especially important because they represent an early structural use of the form, not merely a later decorative imitation. The former Benedictine abbey became a cathedral in 1541.