Worcester

WORCESTER, a city, a county of itself, having exclusive jurisdiction, and the head of a union, locally in the county of Worcester, of which it is the capital, Worcester and W. divisions of the county, 111 miles (N. W. by W.) from London; containing 25,401 inhabitants. This place, which is unquestionably of great antiquity, is enumerated by Nennius under the name of Caer Guorangon in his catalogue of cities belonging to the Britons, by whom, from the advantages of its situation near a fordable part of the river Severn, and on the confines of a thick forest, it was selected as a place of strength and security. On the expulsion of that people by the Romans, it was retained, with other British towns, by the conquerors; and if not one of their principal stations, as some (judging from the Roman roads in the vicinity appearing to concentrate here) have supposed, it was one of those fortresses which the praetor Ostorius erected on the banks of the Severn, to secure his conquests. Great numbers of coins and other relics have been discovered in and near Worcester, the sites of Roman encampments have been brought to light, and vestiges of Roman pottery-works have been met with; of all which, an interesting description is given by Mr. Jabez Allies in his recent publication on the British, Roman, and Saxon antiquities of the county.

When the Romans left Britain, Worcester came again into the possession of its ancient inhabitants; from whom, however, it was taken in 628, by Penda, King of Mercia, whose son Wulfhere, on his accession to the throne, appointed Osric his viceroy over the province of Huiccia, including the counties of Worcester and Gloucester, with part of Warwickshire. Osric, either repairing the Roman fortress, or erecting another in this city, which by the Saxons was called Wigornaceastre, made the place his residence, and fortified it as a frontier against the Britons, who had retreated into the territories on the other side of the Severn. Sexulf, Bishop of Mercia, founded here the first Christian church within his diocese, which he dedicated to St. Peter; and in the reign of Ethelred, that monarch having resolved to divide Mercia into five separate dioceses, Osric prevailed upon him to establish one of them at Wigornaceastre, the metropolis of his province. In 679, Bosel was consecrated first bishop by the style of Episcopus Huicciorum, and invested with full authority to preside over the ecclesiastical affairs of Huiccia or Wiccia. From the death of Osric nothing is recorded, either of the province or of the city, till the time of Offa, in one of whose charters Uhtred, a Wiccian prince, is styled Regulus et Dux propriæ gentis Huicciorum (ruler and duke of his own people the Huiccii), while his brother Aldred is described as Subregulus Wigorniæ civitatis (lieutenant of the city of Worcester), by licence of King Offa.

After the union of the kingdoms of the heptarchy, Alfred the Great appointed Duke Ethelred, a Mercian prince, to whom he gave his daughter Elfleda in marriage, to the government of Mercia; and in 894, Ethelred and Elfleda rebuilt the city, which had been destroyed by the Danes. Soon after this, Wærfred, Bishop of Worcester, desirous of defending the city and the cathedral from the future attacks of these rapacious invaders, obtained from Ethelred a grant of one moiety of the royal dues, with which he repaired the ancient seat of the Huiccian viceroys, and erected several fortresses around the cathedral, of which the only one now remaining is Edgar's tower. In 1041, a tax imposed by Hardicanute excited an insurrection of the citizens, who seized the collectors when endeavouring to shelter themselves in Edgar's tower, and put them to death. To punish this outrage, the king sent an army to Worcester, and the inhabitants, abandoning the city, retired to the river-island Bevere, in which they fortified themselves, determined to hold out to the last extremity. The forces of Hardicanute, having plundered and set fire to the town, attacked the inhabitants in their place of refuge; but were so vigorously repulsed that, after repeated fruitless attempts to dislodge them, the general was compelled to grant honourable terms of capitulation, and the inhabitants returned to their city, and repaired it.

Soon after the Conquest, a royal castle was erected here, of which Urso d'Abitot, who had accompanied William into England, was appointed constable, being also made sheriff of the county. He extended the buildings of the castle, and, to the great annoyance of the monks, infringed upon the site of the cathedral, the outer ward occupying what is now the College Green. In 1074, Roger, Earl of Hereford, Ralph de Guader, Earl of East Anglia, and other powerful barons, entered into a conspiracy against the Conqueror, and invited aid from Denmark: but their design having been discovered, they were obliged to enter the field before the expected succour arrived; and Bishop Wulstan, Urso d'Abitot, and Agelwy, abbot of Evesham, assisted by Walter de Lacey, assembled a body of troops to guard the passes of the Severn, intercepted their progress, and terminated the rebellion. The inhabitants, in 1088, maintaining the cause of William Rufus the reigning monarch, Bernard de Neumarché, Lord of Brecknock, Osborn Fitz-Richard, Roger de Lacey, Ralph de Mortimer, and other partisans of his elder brother Robert, assembled a large force, and assaulted the city. On this occasion, Bishop Wulstan armed his tenants, and retiring into the castle with the citizens and their wives and children, animated the garrison to a resolute defence. The assailants set fire to the suburbs; but more intent on plunder than prudent in securing their ground, they spread themselves over the open country, for the sake of pillage; and the garrison, taking advantage of the opportunity, sallied from the castle, and advancing upon them suddenly, while in the act of ravaging the bishop's lands at Wick, captured or killed 500 men, and put the rest to flight. In 1113, the greater part of the city was destroyed by a fire, which nearly consumed the cathedral and the castle: this calamity is supposed to have been inflicted by the Welsh, who had resolved on the entire devastation of the English marches.

In the reign of Stephen, William de Beauchamp, constable of the castle, joining Matilda, incurred the resentment of that monarch, who deposed him from his government, and appointed in his place Waleran, Count of Meulant, whom he created Earl of Worcester. Matilda, in 1139, having gained several advantages in various parts of the kingdom, and greatly increased the number of her partisans, marched from Gloucester with a considerable force, and arriving before Worcester, laid siege to it. Before her arrival, the inhabitants had deposited every thing valuable in the cathedral, and made the necessary preparations for defending their city. The assailants attacked it on the south side, but being repulsed, they renewed the attack on the north side, and, gaining an entrance, set fire to it in several places. Having succeeded in obtaining possession of the castle, William de Beauchamp was reinstated in his government by Matilda; and his appointment was subsequently confirmed by her son, Henry II. In 1149, Stephen, to punish the inhabitants for the assistance which they had given to his opponent, took the city and burnt it; but the castle having been strengthened with additional fortifications, resisted all his attempts, and Eustace, his son, subsequently investing it without success, again set fire to the city in revenge. Worcester, which was so frequently the victim of intestine war and of accidental calamity, was fortified by Hugh de Mortimer against Henry II.; but on the approach of that monarch to invest it, Mortimer, on his submission, received pardon, and the city escaped damage. In 1189, it was almost totally destroyed by an accidental conflagration; and in 1202 again suffered a similar calamity, when the cathedral and adjacent buildings were consumed: the walls however not being demolished, the edifice was speedily repaired.

In the contest between King John and the barons, the latter having obtained the aid of Louis, Dauphin of France, the inhabitants adhered to their cause, and, opening the gates of the place, received William Mareschall, son of the Earl of Pembroke, as governor of the castle for the Dauphin, in 1216. Ranulph, Earl of Chester, however, with a body of the royal forces, took the fortress by surprise, and afterwards obtained possession of the city. The inhabitants were made prisoners, and compelled by torture to discover their treasures; the soldiers of the garrison, who had taken sanctuary in the cathedral, were forcibly dragged out; the church and convent were plundered; and a fine of 300 marks was imposed upon the inhabitants, for the payment of which they were obliged to melt down the precious metals with which the shrine of St. Wulstan was enriched. In the course of the same year, the king was buried in the cathedral. In 1217, the outer ward of the castle was granted to the monks for the enlargement of their close, by the Earl of Pembroke, guardian to the young king; after which the earls of Worcester ceased to reside in it. The inner ward, comprising the citadel and keep, was alone kept up as a fortress. In 1218, Bishop Sylvester obtained from Henry III. the grant of a fair for four days in honour of St. Wulstan, to commence on the festival of St. Barnabas. During the reign of this monarch, a tournament was celebrated here, in the year 1225; all who took part in it were subsequently excommunicated by Bishop Blois. A great part of the city, in 1233, was destroyed by an accidental fire, which greatly damaged the cathedral buildings. In 1263, Robert Ferrers, Earl of Derby, Peter de Montfort, son of Simon de Montfort, Robert, Earl of Leicester, and others of the confederate barons, laid siege to the city, which they took after several assaults; they spared the church, but plundered the houses of the inhabitants, and put several Jews to death. After the battle of Lewes, in which Henry III. was made prisoner, that monarch was brought by the Earl of Leicester to Worcester, whence, together with his son, Prince Edward, he was removed to Hereford Castle; the latter, having made his escape, repaired hither, and assembled an army, with which he defeated the earl and the confederated barons in the celebrated battle of Evesham. In 1299, the street leading to the suburb of St. John's was destroyed by an accidental fire, that also burnt down the wooden bridge over the Severn, which was afterwards replaced with one of stone.

The city, in 1401, was plundered and partly burnt by the forces of Owain Glyndwr, in one of his attacks upon the English frontiers in the reign of Henry IV., against whom he maintained a desultory warfare for a considerable time. The king at length advancing against him, drove him back into Wales, and retiring after his victory to Worcester, took up his residence in the city, whence, after disbanding his army, he withdrew privately to London. In the reign of Edward IV., Queen Margaret, on the defeat of her party at the battle of Tewkesbury, and the subsequent murder of her son, was taken from a convent near that town, into which she had entered the day after the battle, by Lord Stanley, and brought before the king, who was then at Worcester. In 1484, the Duke of Buckingham having raised an army of Welshmen to oppose Richard III., a sudden inundation of the Severn impeded their progress and disconcerted the enterprise. After the battle of Bosworth-Field, in which that monarch was slain, Worcester was seized for Henry VII.: several partisans of Richard were made prisoners here, and beheaded at the high cross; and a fine of 500 marks was paid to the king for the redemption of the town. In 1486, Sir Humphrey Stafford and his brother, Lord Lovell, having escaped from their sanctuary at Colchester, levied a force of from 3000 to 4000 men, and laid siege to this city; but on the approach of an army sent against them by the king, under the command of the Duke of Bedford, they raised the siege and dispersed. During the prelacy of Whitgift, Sir John Russel and Sir Henry Berkeley came to the sessions here, with a large band of armed followers, to decide by force a quarrel which had arisen between them. By the vigilance and activity, however, of the bishop, who placed strong guards at the city gates, they were arrested and brought to his palace, when he prevailed upon them to deliver up their arms to his servants, and appeased their animosity. During the destructive pestilence that raged here in 1637, the inhabitants abandoned the city, and shut themselves up in the island of Bevere.

In the parliamentary war, Worcester was the first city that openly declared in favour of the king, and the inhabitants gave admittance to Sir John Byron, at the head of 300 cavaliers, whom they assisted to fortify the city against the parliament. These, being afterwards joined by Lord Coventry with some troops of horse, and expecting further aid from the king, began to act on the defensive; but before the promised succours arrived, Colonel Fiennes, at the head of 1000 dragoons, and accompanied by the train-bands from Oxford, and a detachment of the troops under Lord Say, arrived before the city, and summoned it to surrender. The inhabitants indignantly refusing, he immediately commenced the attack; and a shot having been fired into the city, through a hole made in the gate, the cavaliers sallied out on the parliamentarians, and having killed several of Colonel Fiennes' troops, returned without being pursued. Prince Rupert, with his brother Prince Maurice, arriving soon after with a considerable body of troops, joined Sir John Byron, and the royalists drew out their forces into Pitchcroft meadow, adjoining the town, to give the enemy battle. A spirited encounter took place, and was kept up for some time, but Rupert perceiving a considerable reinforcement, under the Earl of Essex, advancing to the assistance of the parliamentarians, withdrew his forces into the city, where the engagement was continued till night, to the great disadvantage of the Prince, who, with a party of his troops, retreated to Hereford in disorder. The Earl of Essex arrived on the same evening, but, for fear of surprise, did not enter the city till the following morning, when the parliamentarian troops were quartered in the cathedral, which they stripped of its ornaments, destroying the altar, and committing every kind of depredation: having explored the vaults, they found a large store of provisions and supplies which had been sent from Oxford for the king's use, and a considerable quantity of plate. The mayor and aldermen, being taken into custody for surrendering the city to the cavaliers, were conveyed under a strong guard to London; and 22,000 pounds' weight of plate was sent off under the same escort. A gallows was erected in the market-place, for the execution of such of the citizens as should be found guilty of having betrayed Colonel Fiennes' soldiers to Prince Rupert; and a commission was appointed by authority of the parliament, under which Sir Robert Harlow and Sergeant Wilde were sent down, to secure the city and try the delinquents: these officers, as a preliminary step, imposed a fine of £5000 on the inhabitants. After having repaired the fortifications, and obtained from the citizens a loan of £3000 for the parliament, the Earl of Essex divided his army, consisting of 24,000 men, into three brigades. Two of them he detached in different directions, to intercept the king's forces on their march towards London; and leaving a garrison in the city, he advanced at the head of the third brigade to Shrewsbury, in pursuit of that part of the royal army which was headed by the king in person.

The citizens, after the departure of the earl and his army, still maintained their loyalty, and the corporation passed several resolutions in favour of the royal cause: they elected for mayor and sheriff two ardent royalists, provided additional ordnance and ammunition, strengthened the fortifications, and raised levies of money, which they transmitted for the king's use. These measures again drew upon them the vengeance of the parliament. In March, 1646, Sir William Brereton and Colonels Morgan and Birch appeared before the city, with a force of 2500 foot and horse, and demanded its surrender; this being peremptorily refused, they drew off their forces at night towards Droitwich, and advanced to assist in the siege of Lichfield. The citizens sent messengers for directions to the king, who had escaped from Oxford, and was at that time at Newark; in the mean time General Fairfax, who was then at Headington, near Oxford, wrote a letter to the governor of Worcester, requiring him to deliver up the city to the parliament, and on his refusal despatched Col. Whalley, with 5000 men, to reduce it. The garrison, which consisted of 1500 men, made a resolute defence; but after having sent repeatedly to the king for instructions, and receiving no reply, their ammunition and provisions beginning to fail, and while in hourly expectation of the arrival of Fairfax with an army of 10,000 foot and 5000 horse, they capitulated on honourable terms, on July 23rd.

After a respite of five years, Worcester again became the seat of war. The citizens, firm in their loyalty, notwithstanding the opposition of the garrison, opened their gates to Charles II., who arrived at the head of a Scottish army of 12,000 men, attended by the Dukes of Hamilton and Buckingham, and other officers of distinction, on the 22nd of August 1651; and, after some slight opposition from the garrison, entered in triumph, preceded by the mayor and corporation, by whom, on the following day, he was solemnly proclaimed. On the 28th, Cromwell, at the head of 17,000 men, arrived at Red Hill, within one mile of the city, where he fixed his head-quarters; and being soon after joined by the forces under Generals Fleetwood, Lambert, and Harrison, his army amounted to 30,000 men. Lambert, having surprised a detachment of the king's forces ordered to guard fhe pass of the Severn, approached to besiege the city. A general engagement now took place, and the parliamentarians were beginning to give way, when a reinforcement arriving from the other side of the Severn, the royal forces were overwhelmed, and compelled to retire into the city in disorder. A part of the Scottish troops laying down their arms, and the enemy advancing on all sides, every hope of victory was dispelled; Cromwell carried the royal fort by storm, putting all the garrison to the sword, and gained possession of the city. The king, attended only by Lord Wilmot, narrowly escaped by the back entrance of the house in which he was quartered, at the moment Col. Cobbet was entering at the front, to make him prisoner; and mounting a horse which had been got ready for him, rode to Boscobel, where he was hospitably entertained, and concealed till he found means of escaping into France. The battle was still sustained for some time with desperate valour; the citizens made their last stand at the town hall, but without success, and the city was eventually given up to plunder. Cromwell describes his success upon this occasion as a " crowning mercy;" and in token of his joy for the victory, he ordered a sixty-gun ship, which was soon after launched at Woolwich, to be named the " Worcester."

The City is pleasantly situated at the base and on the acclivity of elevated ground rising gently from the east bank of the river Severn, over which is a handsome stone bridge of five elliptical arches, connecting it with the suburb of St. John's. This bridge was built in 1780, at an expense of £29,843, towards defraying which H. Crabb Boulton and John Walsh, Esqrs., members for the city, contributed £3000. Of the several spacious and regular streets, the Foregate is a stately and lengthened avenue of well-built houses, terminating with a fine view of St. Nicholas' church. The approaches exhibit rich and beautiful scenery. Bromsgrove-Lickey to the north-east, the Malvern hills to the south-west, and the Shropshire hills and the Welsh mountains in the distance, are strikingly contrasted with the windings of the Severn, and the luxuriant vales, orchards, hopgrounds, and fertile meadows, for which the surrounding country is distinguished. The streets are well paved, lighted with gas, and supplied with river water by means of a steam-engine, erected on the eastern bank of the Severn at a place called Little Pitchcroft, in 1810. An act of parliament was obtained in 1823, for more effectually paving, lighting, and watching the city, under the authority of which several improvements have been effected; and in 1846, another act was passed for a better supply of gas.

A public subscription library was established in Angelstreet in 1790, containing upwards of 5000 volumes; and a building was erected for the institution a few years since by subscription, occupying a more eligible situation on the eastern side of the Foregate, near Sansom Fields. The Atheneum was founded in January, 1829, on the plan of the mechanics' institutions; the building was erected in 1834, by W. Laslett, Esq., and contains a lecture-room measuring 40 feet by 28, a library, and other accommodations. Two medical societies have been formed, the first in 1796, and the other, to which an extensive and well-assorted library is attached, in 1815; there is also a society for the encouragement and improvement of native artists, whose first exhibition of paintings took place in the town-hall, in September 1818. The Museum of the Worcestershire Natural-History Society was opened in 1836. The theatre, a neat and appropriate building, erected in 1780, by a tontine subscription in shares of £50 each, and handsomely fitted up, is opened occasionally; and assemblies and concerts are held in the large room at the town-hall. The musical festivals of the choirs of Worcester, Hereford, and Gloucester, take place here in the cathedral, every third year, and are attended by fashionable audiences: the surplus amount of receipts is appropriated to the benefit of the widows and orphans of the poorer clergy of the associated dioceses. Races are held in August and November, those at the former time continuing for three days: the course is on Pitchcroft meadow, where a grand stand is erected, near the margin of the Severn.

The manufacture of broad-cloth prevailed here to a very great extent in the reign of Henry VIII., at which time there were 380 looms, employing 8000 persons; on its decline the carpet manufacture was introduced, which, after flourishing for a short time, was transferred to Kidderminster. The present manufactures are of porcelain and gloves, for the former of which the city has obtained a degree of reputation unequalled at home, and not surpassed abroad, the Worcester china being alike valued for its fineness and transparency, the elegance of its patterns, and the beauty of its embellishments. This branch of manufacture was established in 1751, by Dr. Wall and some other proprietors; its progress has been rapid and successful, and there are at present three factories, which have splendid showrooms, visited by persons travelling through Worcester, with infinite gratification. The glove manufacture is upon a very extensive scale, affording employment to not less than 8000 persons in the city, exclusively of many thousands in the neighbouring villages: the gloves made are in high estimation, not only in the several parts of England, but in the foreign markets, to which they are exported in great quantities. A distillery upon a large scale, a rectifying establishment, and a Britishwine manufactory, are successfully conducted; ironfoundries have been erected on the banks of the Worcester and Birmingham canal and the Severn, and a considerable trade is carried on in hops, of which there are plantations in the vicinity. The canal affords great facility of communication between Birmingham and the Severn, and for the conveyance of goods from Manchester and the north of England, through Worcester. The Severn, also, which is navigable for barges of considerable tonnage, and on the banks of which are commodious quays and warehouses, contributes much to promote the trade. The Spetchley station of the Bristol and Birmingham railway is only four miles east of the city, and in 1845 an act was passed for a railway from Oxford to Wolverhampton, with a branch of a mile and a half to Worcester.

The market-days are Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Fairs are held on the Saturday before Palm-Sunday, the Saturday in Easter-week, August 15th, and September 19th, which is a great fair for hops; a cattlefair is held on the first Monday in December, and there are markets free of toll on the second Monday in February, and the first Mondays in May, June, July, and November. The market-place, nearly opposite the town-hall, in High-street, is spacious, erected in 1804, at an expense of £5050; the main entrance is through a handsome arched portal of stone, with pillars of the Tuscan order, supporting a panelled entablature. The corn-market is at the east end of Silver-street: the hopmarket is held opposite Berkeley Chapel, at the south end of the Foregate.

Worcester was first constituted a city by Wulfhere, sixth king of Mercia, and additional immunities were granted by Offa and Edgar. The inhabitants were incorporated by Henry I., whose charter was confirmed by numerous subsequent sovereigns, who extended the privileges of the city, and one of whom made it a county of itself. The present corporation consists of a mayor, 12 aldermen, and 36 councillors, under the act 5th and 6th of William IV., cap. 76; the borough is divided into five wards; a sheriff is appointed by the council, and the number of magistrates is 15. The freedom is inherited by the eldest sons of freemen, or acquired by servitude. The city first exercised the elective franchise in the 23rd of Edward I., since which time it has regularly returned two members to parliament; in 1832, the right of election was extended to the £10 householders of an enlarged district, which comprises 1253 acres: the sheriff is returning officer. The recorder holds quarterly courts of session for all offences within the city and county of the city, not capital; a court of record takes place every Monday, for the recovery of debts to any amount, and a sheriff's court occurs monthly. The powers of the county debt-court of Worcester, established in 1847, extend over the registration-districts of Worcester and Martley.

The town-hall is a handsome brick building, with quoins, cornices, and ornaments of stone, consisting of a centre and two slightly-projecting wings, surmounted by a close-panelled parapet, decorated with urns and statues: in the centre is a statue of Justice, on each side of which are statues of Peace and Plenty. The entrance is ornamented with two engaged columns of the composite order, on one side of which is a niche containing a statue of Charles I., and on the other a statue of Charles II.; the pediment over the entrance bears the city arms. In a niche occupying the central window of the principal story is a fine statue of Queen Anne: above is a circular pediment, in the tympanum of which are the arms of England, supported by angels. The lower room is divided into two parts, by the crown bar on the north, and the nisi prius court on the south, and is adorned with portraits and ancient armour. On the upper story is the grand council-chamber, or ballroom, of the same dimensions as the lower room, with circular terminations, and divided into three compartments by two screens of columns crossing the room near the ends. It is lighted by numerous lustres, and is appropriately decorated for civic entertainments and for assemblies, which occasionally take place in it; opposite the principal entrance is a full-length portrait of George III., presented by that monarch when he visited the city in 1788. The city gaol and bridewell was built in 1824, at an expense of £12,578; the county gaol and house of correction in 1809, at an expense of £19,000. The assizes and general quarter-sessions are held in the shire-hall, in the Foregate, a fine stone edifice of the Ionic order, built in 1837, at a cost of £25,000: the entrance is by a noble portico, standing nearly 100 feet back from the street. The interior comprises a hall, approached through a large vestibule, and measuring 90 feet by 40; a crown court and nisi prius court, each 50 feet by 37; a grand-jury room, 30 feet by 20; a record-room, library, and other apartments. In the rear is a very spacious brick building, the Judges' Lodgings, presenting an elegant front to Sansom-walk.

Worcester was first erected into a see in the reign of Ethelred, and, in 679, Bosel was consecrated first bishop. The establishment, which was amply endowed by successive Saxon monarchs, consisted of Secular canons till the eighth century, when a convent, dedicated to St. Mary, was founded near the cathedral of St. Peter, of which Ethelburga was abbess. On her death, the convent was converted into a monastery for monks of the Benedictine order. The disputes which subsequently arose between the Secular clergy and the monks terminated in 969, by the surrender of the church of St. Peter to the latter; and the church of St. Mary became the cathedral of the diocese. After the Conquest, the establishment continued to increase and flourish till the Dissolution, at which time its revenue was valued at £1386. 12. 10. It was refounded by Henry VIII., for a bishop, dean, archdeacon, ten prebendaries or canons, a number of minor canons, ten lay clerks, ten choristers, two schoolmasters, forty king's scholars, and other members. Prior to the passing of the act 6th and 7th of William IV., cap. 77, the jurisdiction of the see extended over the whole of the county of Worcester, with the exception of fifteen parishes and eight chapelries, and over nearly one-third of Warwickshire. By that act it is declared that the diocese shall consist of the counties of Worcester and Warwick, comprising 394 benefices. The bishop has the patronage of the two archdeaconries, the chancellorship, and 27 benefices, with an income of £5000; the dean and chapter have the patronage of the minor canonries and 36 benefices, with an income of £8479, of which the dean has two-twelfths, and each of the six canons one-twelfth. Four of the canonries have been suspended, and the produce applied to the funds of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. There are eight honorary canons.

The ancient cathedral of St. Peter, after its surrender to the monastery of St. Mary, was rebuilt by St. Oswald, in 983, but being destroyed by Hardicanute in 1041, Bishop Wulstan in 1084 founded the present cathedral, which was enlarged and improved by several of his successors. It is a spacious and venerable pile, in the form of a double cross, with a noble square tower, rising from the centre to the height of 167 feet; the prevailing style is the early English, intermixed with portions of Norman, decorated, and later English architecture. The tower is a fine composition, enriched with series of canopied niches, in which are statues of kings and bishops, and embellished with sculpture of elegant design. The exterior of the cathedral possesses simplicity of elegance, arising from the loftiness of its elevation and the justness of its proportions; the interior is remarkable for the airiness and lightness of its appearance, and in many parts for the correctness of its details and the appropriate character of its embellishments.

The Nave contains specimens of the Norman style, and, in some places, portions in the decorated. It is separated from the aisles by finely-clustered columns and pointed arches, and lighted by a range of clerestory windows, the tracery of which is in the later style; the roof is groined, and ornamented with bosses of flowers, antique heads, and other devices. The Choir, to which is an ascent of several steps, is of early English character. The groining of the roof and the details are in general of very elegant design, and in high preservation: the altar-screen is of carved stone, and the pulpit, also of stone and of octagonal form, is sculptured with symbols of the Evangelists, and devices illustrative of scripture history; the bishop's throne and prebendal stalls are richly embellished with tabernacle-work. The east window, as well as the great west window of the nave, are modern compositions of later English architecture. The Lady chapel, also early English, consisting of a nave and aisles, is equally remarkable for the symmetry of its parts and the goodness of its preservation. In the south-eastern transept is the monumental chapel of Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII., in the later English style, of which it is an elegant specimen, containing his tomb highly enriched with sculpture emblematical of the union of the houses of York and Lancaster, and other embellishments; adjoining is the dean's chapel, and to the north the bishop's chapel, with others in various parts of the building. In the centre of the choir is the tomb of King John; the slab bearing the effigy of that monarch is of a date soon after his decease, but the tomb, which is in the later style, was probably erected at the same time as Prince Arthur's chapel. There are several other interesting monuments, among which those of Bishops Hough, Maddox, and Johnson, and of Mrs. Rae, are good specimens of sculpture.

To the south of the cathedral are the Cloisters, in the later English style, inclosing a spacious quadrangular area, on the south side of which is the ancient refectory of the monastery, now the King's school, in the decorated style, with some elegant windows, and a doorway highly enriched. On the eastern side is the Chapter-house, in which is the library, an ancient building in the form of a decagon, the roof of which, finely groined, is supported on a central column: the windows are of modern insertion; the walls are ornamented with a series of Norman intersecting arches. The Deanery is a modern embattled edifice of brick, decorated with stone, pleasantly situated on the margin of the Severn, and containing several spacious apartments.

The city comprises the parishes of St. Alban, with 247 inhabitants; All Saints, with 2203; St. Andrew, 1677; St. Clement, 2155; St. Helen, 1323; St. Martin, 50S3; St. Nicholas, 1919; St. Peter, 4575; and St. Swithin, 891. Those of St. Clement, St. Martin, and St. Peter, are partly in the Lower division of the hundred of Oswaldslow. The living of St. Alban s parish is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £5; net income, £74; patron, the Bishop. The church, a small ancient edifice, was repaired a few years ago, being in a dangerous state: what remains of the original structure is in the transition style from Norman to early English; over one or two of the arches is to be seen the nail-head moulding, and above the capitals of the pillars is some foliage, indistinct. All Saints' is a discharged rectory, valued at £13. 12. 4½., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £138. The living of St. Andrew's is a discharged rectory, valued at £10. 5. 10; net income, £165; patrons, the Dean and Chapter. The church has undergone extensive reparation. The tower, which in 1814 was cased with freestone, is 90 feet in height, and is surmounted by an octagonal spire, regularly and symmetrically diminishing from 20 feet at the base to only 7½ inches at the top, the whole terminated by a Corinthian capital and a gilt weathercock, and forming one of the most striking ornaments of the city. The spire was erected in 1751, by Nathaniel Wilkinson, a stone mason of the city. The parish of St. Clement comprises about 95 acres, chiefly meadow land. The living is a discharged rectory, valued at £5. 5.; patrons, the Dean and Chapter; net income, £150. The old church, a small structure of stone, stood on the eastern bank of the Severn, although the principal part of the parish is on the western side; being much decayed, and liable to be flooded, a new edifice on an enlarged scale was built, which was opened in 1823. It is situated on the upper road to Henwick, &c, and is in the Norman style. The expense of its erection was nearly £6000, and was defrayed by subscription, aided by the appropriation of several small benefactions, and a grant from the Society for Building Churches. On taking down the old church, a most interesting and unique Saxon gold coin was discovered. The living of St. Helen's is a discharged rectory, valued at £11; net income, £136; patron, the Bishop. The church was repewed in 1836: it consists of a nave and aisles, and is in the later English style, with some early English windows on the south-east side. St. Martin's parish comprises 1392a. 1r. 35p., of which 383 acres are arable, 725 meadow and pasture, 93 woodland, and 21 in homesteads and gardens. The living is a rectory, valued at £15. 3. 4.; net income, £378; patrons, the Dean and Chapter. St. Nicholas' comprises 47 acres, homesteads and garden-ground. The living is a discharged rectory, valued at £16. 10. 7½.; net income, £260; patron, the Bishop. The church is a uniform modern structure, with a handsome steeple, and from its situation in the more open part of the town forms a conspicuous and interesting object in the perspective of the Foregate and Broad-street. The living of St. Peter's is a vicarage, valued at £12. 4. 2.; net income, £233; patrons, the Dean and Chapter; appropriators, the Dean and Canons of Christ-Church, Oxford. The church was rebuilt in 1838. St. Swithin's is a discharged rectory, valued at £15. 15., and in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter; net income, £170. A district church was consecrated in 1845 at Blockhouse, which see. There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends, the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, Independents, Wesleyans, and Roman Catholics.

The Royal grammar school connected with the cathedral was founded at the time of that establishment by Henry VIII., for forty boys: there are two exhibitions to Balliol College, Oxford, founded by Dr. Bell, Bishop of Worcester, which are restricted to this diocese. The Free grammar school was instituted by Queen Elizabeth, in 1561, for twelve boys. It stands the third in claim to six scholarships established by Sir Thomas Cookes, Bart., founder of Worcester College, Oxford, which lead to the six fellowships in that college by the same founder, as vacancies occur. The Rev. John Meek, in 1665, bequeathed to Magdalen Hall, Oxford, estates then producing £100 per annum for ten scholars from this school. Joseph Worfield, in 1642, assigned land for the maintenance and education of fourteen boys to be sent to either of the universities for seven years: the income is about £240 per annum, and is appropriated to the payment of £30 each a year to seven students in the university. The Free school, and Trinity almshouses, were founded in 1558, by Thomas Wilde, who endowed them with land now producing, with subsequent donations, an income of nearly £300: the buildings, situated partly in the parish of St. Nicholas, and partly in that of St. Swithin, consist of a schoolroom, with a dwelling-house for the master, and 29 apartments for the almspeople. Schools for sixteen boys and eight girls were established in 1713, by Bishop Lloyd, who endowed them with a small estate now worth about £80 per annum.

St. Oswald's hospital was established prior to 1268, and originally endowed for a master, chaplain, and four brethren; at the time of the Dissolution it was given to the Dean and Chapter, but had been deprived of a considerable portion of the lands which it possessed. In 1660, Dr. John Fell, Bishop of Oxford, having been appointed to the mastership, successfully exerted himself for the recovery of its alienated property; a new charter of foundation was obtained in the 15th of Charles II., and almshouses for ten men and a chapel were erected. Thomas Haynes, Esq., in 1681 built rooms for six additional brethren, and added £50 per annum to its endowment. Its present revenue is £1681, which is appropriated to the support of sixteen aged men and twelve women. Some almshouses founded by Richard Inglethorpe for six aged men and a woman to attend upon them, have an endowment of £53 per annum, exclusively of fines on the renewal of leases, which amount to a considerable sum; they have been rebuilt for nine inmates. John Nash, alderman of the city, in 1661 founded ten almshouses, to which he assigned lands, for eight aged men, and two aged and unmarried women to wait upon them; the endowment produces an income of £367, which is paid to seventeen almspeople. He likewise left an apprenticing fund of £4 per annum to each of the nine parishes. Michael Wyatt, in 1725, left property in trust to the corporation, for the erection and endowment of houses for six freemen; the premises are neatly built of brick, and the annual produce of the endowment is £49. Berkeley's hospital was founded in 1692, by Robert Berkeley, Esq., of Spetchley, who endowed it with £6000 from the rents of his lands, in annual sums of £400, for twelve aged men and one aged woman, and for the payment of £20 per annum to a chaplain for performing service in the chapel. Geary's almshouses, for four aged women, are endowed with about £30 per annum. Shewring's hospital was founded in 1702, by Thomas Shewring, alderman, who assigned to it land producing at present nearly £150 per annum, for six aged women. William Jarviss, in 1772, bequeathed property now worth £122. 13. per annum, for the support of three aged freemen and one widow, and for apprenticing four boys of the parish of St. Andrew annually. Eight almshouses bequeathed in 1567, by John Walsgrove, to the poor of that parish, were rebuilt in 1825. There are numerous other charitable bequests and donations, amounting in the aggregate to a very considerable sum per annum; in addition to which, Worcester is one of the cities partaking of Sir Thomas White's charity. The parish of St. Swithin is in possession of lands and houses, the annual value of which is computed at £763, appropriated to the repair of the church and the relief of needy parishioners. The City and County Infirmary, erected in 1770, adjoining Pitchcroft meadow, was completed at an expense of £6085, by subscription: it has two handsome fronts; the internal arrangements are well adapted, and a considerable quantity of garden and pleasure ground is attached. The House of Industry, an extensive brick building to the east of the town, was erected by act of parliament obtained in 1792, for the accommodation of the incorporated parishes of the city; the buildings were erected at an expense of £7318, and the purchase of the land belonging to it cost £2273. The poor-law union comprises the parishes within the city, with those of St. Martin, St. Clement, St. Peter, and St. John Bedwardine, and the tything of Whistones in the parish of Claines.

Among the ancient Monastic Establishments was an hospital founded in the south-east part of the city, in honour of St. Wulstan, bishop of the see, in 1088; the revenue at the Dissolution was £79. 12. 6., and the remains, denominated the Commandery, are considerable. Here were also, a convent of Grey friars, without St. Martin's gate, instituted about the year 1268, by the Beauchamps, earls of Warwick, the remains of which were for several years used as the city gaol; a convent of Dominican friars in the west part of the city, the site of which is now covered with buildings; and a convent of White nuns of the Benedictine order, which existed at the time of the Conquest, and at the Dissolution had a revenue of £53. 13. 7. The site of this last still bears the name of the White Ladies; a small portion of the buildings is visible, and a farm, about a mile from the city, called the Nunnery, is probably a part of its ancient demesne. The Guild of the Holy Trinity was instituted by Henry IV., and, on its dissolution, was converted into an hospital by Queen Elizabeth.

Of the prelates of the see have been, the venerable Latimer, and Drs. Prideaux, Stillingfleet, and Hurd: Florence and William of Worcester were brethren in the monastery. Nicholas Facio de Duillier, born in Switzerland, and author of several mathematical and philosophical works, resided here for thirty-three years, and was buried in St. Nicholas' church, in 1753. Dr. Thomas, son of Bishop Thomas, and author of a survey of the Cathedral of Worcester; and Drs. Mackenzie, Johnstone, and Wall, eminent medical practitioners, were also residents. Among the eminent natives have been, Edward Kelley, noted for his knowledge of chymistry and astrology, born in 1555; John, Lord Somers, the celebrated lawyer; and Mr. Thomas White, a distinguished sculptor and architect. Worcester gives the inferior title of Marquess to the Duke of Beaufort.

Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.