Everything about Worcester totally explained
Worcester is a
city and
county town of
Worcestershire, in the
West Midlands of
England. Worcester is situated some 30 miles (48 km) southwest of
Birmingham and 29 miles (47 km) north of
Gloucester, and has an estimated population of 94,300 people. The
River Severn runs through the middle of the city, overlooked by the 12th century
Anglican Worcester Cathedral.
History
Occupation of the site of Worcester can be dated back to
neolithic times, a village surrounded by defensive ramparts having been founded on the eastern bank of the River Severn here in around 400 BC. The position, which commanded a
ford on the river, was in the 1st century used by the
Romans to establish what may at first have been a fort on the military route from
Glevum (Gloucester) to
Viroconium (Wroxeter) but which soon developed — as the frontier of the empire was pushed westwards — into an industrial town with its own pottery
kilns and iron-
smelting plants.
Roman Worcester (which may have been the
Vertis mentioned in the 7th century
Ravenna Cosmography) was a thriving trading and manufacturing centre for some three hundred years, though by the time of the Roman withdrawal from Britain in 407 it had dwindled considerably in size and isn't recorded again until the mid-7th century when documents mention the
Anglo-Saxon settlement of . The fact that Worcester was chosen at this time—in preference to both the much larger
Gloucester and the royal centre of
Winchcombe—to be the
Episcopal See of a new
diocese covering the area suggests that there was a well established, and powerful,
English Christian community living on the site when it fell into English hands.
The town was almost destroyed in 1041 after a rebellion against the punitive taxation of
Harthacanute. The town was attacked several times (in 1139, 1150 and 1151) during "
The Anarchy", for example civil war between
King Stephen and
Empress Matilda, daughter of
Henry I. This is the background to the well-researched historical novel
The Virgin in the Ice, part of
Ellis Peters' "
Cadfael" series, which begins with the words:
"It was early in November of 1139 that the tide of civil war, lately so sluggish and inactive, rose suddenly to wash over the city of Worcester, wash away half of its lifestock, property and women, and send all those of its inhabitants who could get away in time scurrying for their lives northwards away from the marauders". (These are mentioned as having arrived from Gloucester, leaving a long lasting legacy of bitterness between the two cities.)
By late
medieval times the population had grown to around 10,000 as the manufacture of cloth started to become a large local industry. The town was designated a
county corporate, giving it autonomy from local government.
Worcester was the site of the
Battle of Worcester (
September 3,
1651), when
Charles II's attempt to regain the crown by force was decisively defeated, in the fields a little to the west and south of the city, near the village of
Powick. After being defeated, Charles returned to his headquarters in what is now known as King Charles house in the Cornmarket, before fleeing in disguise to
Boscobel House in
Shropshire and his eventual escape to
France. Worcester was one of the cities loyal to the King in that war, for which it was given the epithet "The Faithful City".
The
Royal Worcester Porcelain Company factory was founded by Dr John Wall in 1750, although it no longer produces goods. A handful of decorators are still employed at the factory and the Museum is still open.
During the 18th century Worcester's trade languished compared to more modern towns of the West Midlands. The
Worcester and Birmingham Canal opened in 1815 allowing Worcester goods to be transported to a larger conurbation.
The
British Medical Association (BMA) is reputed to have been founded in the Board Room of the old Worcester Royal Infirmary building in Castle Street around 1860. This building has now been closed and (as of 2006) will be redeveloped as the
University of Worcester city campus.
In the 1950s and 1960s large areas of the medieval centre of Worcester were demolished and rebuilt as a result of decisions by town planners. There is still a significant area of medieval Worcester remaining, but it's a small fraction of what was present before the redevelopments.
The current city boundaries date from 1974, when the
Local Government Act 1972 transferred the parishes of
Warndon and
St. Peter the Great County into the city.
Governance
In the
2007 election the City Council went from Conservative control to
No Overall Control, however,
the Conservative Party have the most seats overall with 17 out of 35 seats. Worcester has one
member of Parliament,
Michael Foster of the
Labour Party, who represents the
Worcester constituency.
Geography
The city is split into many suburbs including Astwood, Arboretum, Barbourne, Battenhall, Bevere, Blackpole, Blanquettes Estate, Brickfields, Broadheath, Cherry Orchard,
Claines, Copperfields, Diglis, Dines Green, Fort Royal, Henwick, Henwick Park, Merrimans Hill, Perdiswell,
St Peter the Great, St John's, Tolladine, Trotshill, Red Hill, Rainbow Hill, Lower Wick, Shrub Hill/Tallow Hill, Spetchley Estate,
Ronkswood, Northwick, Warndon Villages, Warndon, Woodgreen. Henwick, Lower Wick and St John's are on the opposite site of the River Severn from the city centre.
Demography
Worcester contains a diverse range of religious groups, as well as both
Catholic and
Church of England centres, there's also an
Islamic mosque, a large centre for
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (
Mormons), a
Baptist Church and a number of smaller interest groups regarding Eastern Religions such as
Buddhism and the
Hare Krishnas.
Economy
Industry is now quite varied. In the 19th and early twentieth century, Worcester was a major centre for glove manufacture, but this has declined greatly. The late-Victorian period saw the growth of ironfounders, like Heenan & Froude, Hardy & Padmore and McKenzie & Holland and the inter-war years saw the rapid growth of engineering, producing machine tools James Archdale, H.W.Ward, castings for the motor industry Worcester Windshields and Casements, mining machinery
MECO and open-top cans Williamsons. Still located in the city are the
Royal Worcester porcelain factory (near the cathedral), and, somewhat out of the centre, the factory that makes Worcester's most famous product,
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce. The engineering industry is still represented by
Joy Mining Machinery, of the United States, which has its UK manufacturing headquarters in the
St. Johns area, and by Carnaud Metalbox, part of
Crown Holdings, also of the United States, which has its seaming systems division located in the Perry Wood district. The foundry heritage of the city is represented by Morganite Crucible at Norton which produces graphitic shaped products and cements for use in the modern industry. The Kays mail order business was founded in Worcester in the 1880's and operated from numerous premises in the city until 2007. Worcester is the home of what is claimed to be the oldest newspaper in the world,
Berrow's Worcester Journal, which traces its descent from a newssheet that started publication in 1690. The city is also a major retail centre with several covered shopping centres that has most major chains represented. Worcester Bosch Group is in Warndon Villages. Another of Worcester's long standing companies is Froude Hofmann, originally named Heenan & Froude. This engineering company has occupied several sites around Worcester including buildings close to
Shrub Hill railway station and
Worcester City Football Club. They are currently located on Blackpole Trading Estate East.
Like many other town and cities Worcester has the traditional ‘
High Street’, though in Worcester’s case that's the actual street name of the main shopping thoroughfare. High Street is home to the major stores. Part of the High Street was revamped in 2005 amid much controversy, many of the issues focussing on the felling of long standing trees, the duration of the works (caused by the weather and an archaeological find) and the removal of flagstones outside the City’s 18th Century Guildhall. However, the revamped area has been mostly praised for its appearance, openness and brightness compared to the previous look. The other main thoroughfares are The Shambles and Broad Street, while the The Cross (and its immediate surrounding area) is seen as the city’s financial centre with the majority of Worcester’s main bank branches located here.
There are three main shopping centres, those being CrownGate, Cathedral Plaza and Reindeer Court. CrownGate is the largest and is split in to two centres. Both centres incorporate and in some cases back on to major stores. CrownGate also includes an outdoor market which was previously located in Cornmarket, and as such often referred to at The Corn Market despite its current location. Cathedral Plaza is the next largest and was called the Lychgate Shopping Centre prior to its revamp and current, and somewhat, controversial name.
Landmarks
There are three main parks in Worcester, these being Cripplegate Park, Gheluvelt Park and Fort Royal Park, the latter being on one of the battles sites of the
English Civil War.
Gheluvelt Park was opened as a memorial to commemorate the
Worcestershire Regiment's 2nd Battalion after their part in the
Battle of Gheluvelt, during
World War I.
There are also two large woodlands in the city, those being Perry Wood, at 12 hectares, and Nunnery Wood, covering 21 hectares. Perry Wood is often said to be the place where
Oliver Cromwell met and made a pact with the devil. Nunnery Wood is an integral part of the adjacent and popular Worcester Woods Country Park, itself next door to County Hall on the east side of the city.
Probably the most famous landmark in Worcester is its imposing
Worcester cathedral. The current building, formally named The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, was begun in 1084 while its crypt dates from the 10th Century. The chapter house is the only circular one in the country while the cathedral also has the distinction of having the tomb of
King John.
Transport
Worcester almost sits on the
M5 motorway and is served by junctions 6 and 7. This makes the city easily accessible to most parts of the country, including London which is only 120 miles/2 & half hours away (via the M5,
M42 and
M40).
Several A roads pass through the city. The
A449 road runs south-west to Malvern and north to Kidderminster. The
A44 runs south-east to Evesham and west to Leominster and provides the main city centre road bridge. The
A38 trunk road runs south to Tewkesbury and Gloucester and north-north-east to Droitwich and Birmingham. The
A4103 goes west-south-west to Hereford. The
A422 heads east to Alcester, branching from the A44 a mile east of the M5. The city is encompassed by a partial ring road (A4440) which is formed, rather inconsistently, by single and dual carriageways. The A4440 provides a second
road bridge across the Severn (Carrington Bridge) just west of the A4440-A38 junction.
The city is served by 2 stations,
Worcester Foregate Street and
Worcester Shrub Hill. Although featuring 2 tracks Foregate Street actually consists of 2 single working tracks, one of which forms part of the Birmingham-Malvern-Hereford line while the other is the end of the
Cotswold Line, which Shrub Hill also serves. Both stations frequently serve Birmingham and nearby towns/cities. London is also served frequently by both stations via the Cotswold Line and, infrequently, via the Birmingham-Bristol/Gloucester-Swindon/Bristol-London lines. Train services to/from London are operated by
First Great Western.
Although connected to an Inter City mainline only 2 miles away, in this case the Birmingham-Bristol 'Cross Country' line, Worcester isn't served by the Inter City
CrossCountry service. This makes Worcestershire the only county in England where 'Cross Country' services pass through but don't stop in during normal scheduled timetables. However, a proposed new station,
Worcester Parkway would end this. Being the bigger of the 2 stations, and due to its location, Shrub Hill is often used as a stabling point and a through route for freight trains.
The main operator of bus services in and around the city is
First's
First Midland Red Buses which prior to mergers and acquisitions was once
Midland Red West, itself one of the 5 companies that was formed from the split of the massive
Midland Red operation prior to deregulation. A handful of other smaller operators provide services in Worcester, most notably Astons and Bromyard Omnibus Company. The terminus/interchange for many bus services in Worcester is CrownGate Bus Station located in the City centre.
First also operate the Worcester Express service on behalf of Worcestershire County Council. The W1 service is a frequent and direct limited stop service between the Worcester North Park & Ride site and CrownGate Bus Station, while the W2/W3 routes operate a circular service via Worcester North Park & Ride and CrownGate Bus Station. The Worcester Express service will be operated by the county council direct from 2008.
Education
Worcester is home to the
University of Worcester (UW), which was awarded university status in 2005 by HM Privy Council. From 1997 to 2005 it was known as University College Worcester (UCW) and prior to 1997 it was known as Worcester College of Higher Education. The University is also home to the independent
Worcester Students Union institution. The city is also home to two colleges,
Worcester Sixth Form College and
Worcester College of Technology. The High schools located in the city are
Bishop Perowne CofE College,
Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College,
Christopher Whitehead Language College,
Elgar Technology College,
Nunnery Wood High School and
New College Worcester which caters for blind and partially sighted students from the ages of 11 to 18.. Worcester is also the seat of three public schools, The Royal Grammar School and Alice Ottley School have recently merged to form the Royal Grammar School Worcester and Alice Ottley School, Worcester aka
RGSAO. RGS Worcester is the oldest and largest school in the region boasting the largest array of facilities
The King's School, Worcester was re-founded in 1541 under King
Henry VIII and lays claim to having roots in the 8th Century ecclesiastical school based around the site of the present cathedral.
Saint Mary's Convent School, now the only all-girls school in the city, is the third private schools in the city.
Sport
Notable people
Probably Worcester's most famous citizen was composer Sir
Edward Elgar, whose father ran a music shop at the end of the High Street; a statue of Elgar stands near the original location of that shop. His birthplace is a short way outside Worcester in the village of
Broadheath.
Hannah Snell, famous for impersonating a man and being enlisted in the
Royal Marines in the 18th century was born and raised here.
Sir Charles Hastings, founder of the
British Medical Association lived in Worcester for most of his life - the newly built Worcestershire Royal Hospital stands in a road named in his honour.
Philip Henry Gosse, naturalist, was born in the city in 1810.
Sir
Thomas Brock, a
sculptor most famous for the
Imperial Victoria Memorial in London was born here in 1847.
Civil engineer Edward Leader Williams, designer of the
Manchester Ship Canal, was born and raised in Worcester, residing at Diglis House (now the Diglis House Hotel) with his brother, noted landscape
artist Benjamin Williams Leader.
William Morris, Lord Nuffield, automobile manufacturer, spent the first three years of his life in the city.
Poet and author Reverend
Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy, famously known as "Woodbine Willy", was for some time the Vicar of St. Pauls Church in the city. He rose to fame during
World War I when he became an army chaplain, his sermons and poetry helping boost morale to the troops. He acquired his nickname from his habit of handing out "Woodbine" cigarettes to the men in the trenches.
Writers
Mrs. Henry Wood and
Fay Weldon were born here.
Worcester is home to
electronic music producer and
Aphex Twin collaborator
Mike Paradinas and his
record label Planet Mu.
Cyclist
Ernest Payne was born in Worcester and rode for the local Worcester St Johns Cycling Club. He won a gold medal in the team pursuit at the
1908 Summer Olympics in
London.
Worcester is also the home town of
aviatrix Sheila Scott.
Culture
Every three years, Worcester becomes home to the
Three Choirs Festival, which dates back to the 18th century and is credited with being the oldest music festival in Europe. The location of the festival rotates each year between the Cathedral Cities of
Gloucester,
Hereford and Worcester. Famous for its championing of English music, especially that of
Elgar,
Vaughan Williams and
Gustav Holst, Worcester is next scheduled to host the festival in August 2008.
The Worcester Festival is a relatively new venture established in 2003. Held in late August, the festival consists of a variety of music, theatre,
cinema and workshops, as well as the already established
Beer Festival, which now runs under the Worcester Festival name.
The Victorian-themed Christmas Fayre is a major source of tourism every December.
Elton John came to the Worcestershire Cricket Ground, New Road on Saturday
9 June 2006.
The 8th
CAMRA Worcester Beer and Cider festival took place for three days from the
17 August 2006 and was held as usual on Pitchcroft Race Course. On entry there's a choice between a (free) half or pint glass, with this year's having orange writing.
Famous 18th century actress
Sarah Siddons made her acting debut here at the Theatre Royal in Angel Street. Her sister, the novelist Ann Julia Kemble Hatton, otherwise known as Ann of Swansea, was born in the city. Matilda Alice Powles, better known as
Vesta Tilley, a leading male impersonator and music hall artiste was born in Worcester.
In present-day Worcester the Swan Theatre stages a mixture of professional touring and local amateur productions. The Countess of Huntingdon's Hall is a historic church now used as venue for an eclectic range of musical performances, while the Marrs Bar is a venue for gigs and stand-up comedy. Worcester also boasts two multi-screen cinemas (a six screen Vue Cinema complex located on Friar Street and an Odeon Cinema, boasting seven screens, at the heart of the city on Forgate Street).
In the northern suburbs of the city is the
Art Deco Northwick Cinema. Built in 1938 it contains one of the only two remaining interiors in Britain designed by
John Alexander (the original perspective drawings are still held by
RIBA). It was a
Bingo Hall from 1966 to 1982 and then empty until 1991; it was then run as a music venue until 1996, and was empty again until Autumn 2006 when it became an antiques and lifestyle centre, owned by Grey's Interiors, who were previously located in The Tything.
There are also a number of Arts organisations in Worcester, one of which is C&T. Based at the University and also Bishop Perowne Performing Arts College is C&T [formerlyCollar & TIE]. C&T is an educational theatre company that specialises in theatre for young people tackling topical issues through a unique blend of drama and new media technologies.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Worcester'.
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