Editing Worcester, England (section)

==History==
{{further|History of Worcester}}{{see also|History of Worcestershire}}

===Early history===
The trade route past Worcester, later part of the [[Roman roads in Britain|Roman]] [[Ryknild Street]], dates from [[Neolithic]] times. It commanded a ford crossing over the [[River Severn]], which was tidal below Worcester, and [[British hillforts|fortified]] by the [[Britons (Celtic people)|Britons]] about 400 BC.<ref>City of Worcester. [https://web.archive.org/web/20050313094721/http://www.cityofworcester.gov.uk/HERITAGE/story.shtml "The First Settlers".] Worcester City Council (Worcester), 2005.</ref>

Charcoal from the [[Forest of Dean]] enabled Romans to operate pottery kilns and ironworks. They may also have built a small fort. While there is some evidence that the late Iron Age defensive ditches on the east bank may have been dug out during the first century AD, there is no other evidence to suggest that this was used as a fort by the Romans. Scatters of military equipment and coins found in the city centre from this early period may instead have been lost during the course of road building, or won by the local inhabitants in battle, rather than being left by a Roman military garrison.<ref>City of Worcester. [https://web.archive.org/web/20050313094548/http://www.cityofworcester.gov.uk/HERITAGE/roman.shtml "Vertis—The Roman Industrial Town, 1st–4th centuries A.D."] Worcester City Council (Worcester), 2005.</ref> There is no sign of municipal buildings to indicate an administrative role.<ref>{{harvnb |Pevsner |Brookes |2007 |p=14}}</ref>

In the 3rd century AD, Roman Worcester occupied a larger area than the subsequent medieval city, but silting caused the abandonment of Sidbury. Industrial production ceased and the settlement contracted to a defended position along the lines of the old British fort at the river terrace's southern end.<ref name="subromancow">City of Worcester. [https://web.archive.org/web/20050313094536/http://www.cityofworcester.gov.uk/HERITAGE/postroman.shtml "The Late Roman and Post-Roman Settlement, 4th century – 680". Worcester City Council (Worcester), 2005.]</ref>

===Anglo-Saxon town===
{{see also|History of Worcester#Anglo-Saxon|History of Worcestershire#Anglo-Saxon}}
The form of the place name varied over time. At its settlement in the 7th century, by the Angles of Mercia, it was ''Weogorna''. After centuries of warfare against the Vikings and Danelaw it had become a centre for the Anglo-Saxon army or ''here'' known as ''Weogorna ceastre'' (Worcester Camp). The [[Weorgoran]] were probably a sub-tribe of the larger kingdom of the [[Hwicce]], which occupied present-day Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and western Wiltshire. In 680, Worcester was chosen as their fort over the larger [[Gloucester]], and the royal court at [[Winchcombe]] as the [[episcopal see]] of a new [[Anglican Diocese of Worcester|bishopric]], suggesting there was already an established and powerful [[Celtic Christianity|Christian]] community.

[[File:Oswald and Eadnoth.jpg|thumb|[[Oswald of Worcester|Oswald]] and [[Eadnoth]]{{who|date=December 2024}}]]
Worcester became a centre of monastic learning and church power. [[Oswald of Worcester]], appointed Bishop in 961, was an important reformer alongside the Archbishop of York. The last Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Worcester, St [[Wulfstan (died 1095)|Wulfstan]] or Wulstan, was a reformer, who remained in office until he died in 1095.

The city became a focus of violent tax resistance against the monarch [[Harthacnut (1020–1042)|Harthacnut]] (also King of Denmark) in 1041. The townspeople tried to defend themselves by occupying the Severn island of Bevere, two miles up river. After Harthacnut's men had sacked the city and set it alight, agreement was reached and the populace returned to rebuild.<ref name=bhoworcester>{{harvnb |Willis-Bund |Page |1924}}</ref>

===Medieval===
{{see also|History of Worcester#Medieval}}

====Norman Conquest====
The first Norman Sheriff of Worcestershire, [[Urse d'Abetot]] oversaw the construction of a new castle at Worcester,<ref name=Rufus152>Barlow ''William Rufus'' p. 152</ref> although nothing now remains of the castle.<ref name=Castles280>Pettifer ''English Castles'' p. 280</ref> [[Worcester Castle]] was in place by 1069. Its outer bailey was built on land that had previously been the cemetery for the monks of the Worcester cathedral chapter.<ref name=AlectoNorman>Williams "Introduction" ''Digital Domesday'' "Norman Settlement" section</ref> The [[Motte and Bailey|motte]] of the castle overlooked the river, just south of the cathedral.<ref name=Holt132>Holt "Worcester in the Time of Wulfstan" ''St Wulfstan and His World'' pp. 132–133.</ref>

====Early medieval====
Worcester's growth and position as a market town for goods and produce rested on its river crossing and bridge and its position on the road network. The nearest Severn bridges in the 14th century were at [[Gloucester]] and [[Bridgnorth]]. The main road from London to mid-Wales ran through Worcester, then north-west to [[Kidderminster]], Bridgnorth and [[Shrewsbury]], and via [[Bromsgrove]] to [[Coventry]] and on to [[Derby]]. Southward it connected with [[Tewkesbury]] and Gloucester.<ref name="bhoworcester"/>

[[File:Worcester Cathedral Cloister, Worcestershire, UK - Diliff.jpg|thumb|left|The medieval cloisters]]
Worcester was a centre of religious life. The several monasteries up to the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolution]] included [[Worcester Greyfriars|Greyfriars]], [[Worcester Blackfriars|Blackfriars]], the Penitent Sisters, and the Benedictine Priory, now Worcester Cathedral.<ref>{{harvnb |Willis-Bund |Page |1971b |pp=167–173}}</ref> Monastic houses provided hospital and educational services, including [[Royal Grammar School Worcester|Worcester School]].

The 12th-century town (then better defended) was attacked in 1139, 1150 and 1151 during the civil war between [[Stephen of England|King Stephen]] and [[Empress Matilda]], daughter of [[Henry I of England|Henry I]]. The 1139 attack again resulted in a fire that destroyed part of the city, with citizens being held for ransom. Another fire in 1189 destroyed much of the city for the fourth time that century.<ref name="bhoworcester"/>

Worcester received its first [[royal charter]] in 1189. In 1227 under a new charter allowed a guild of merchants was created, with a trading monopoly for those admitted.<ref name="bhoworcester"/> Worcester's institutions grew more slowly than those of most county towns.<ref name="bhoworcester"/>

====Jewish persecution and expulsions====
{{see also|History of Worcester#Jewish life, persecution and expulsions}}
Worcester had a small [[Jewish community of Worcester#The Jews in Worcester in the Middle Ages|Jewish population]] by the late 12th century. Jewish life probably centred round what is now Copenhagen Street.{{sfn|Hillaby|1990|pp=92-5}} The Diocese was hostile to the Jewish community. [[Peter of Blois]] was commissioned by a Bishop of Worcester, probably [[John of Coutances]], to write an anti-Judaic treatise around 1190.<ref>{{harvnb |de Blois |1194}}, {{harvnb |Lazare |1903}}</ref> [[William de Blois (bishop of Worcester)|William de Blois]] as Bishop of Worcester imposed strict rules on Jews within the diocese in 1219.<ref>{{harvnb |Vincent |1994 |p=217}}</ref> As elsewhere in England, Jews had to wear square white badges, supposedly representing ''tabulae''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jewish Badge |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-badge |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106150945/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-badge |archive-date=6 November 2018 |access-date=23 November 2018 |website=Jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref> Blois wrote to [[Pope Gregory IX]] in 1229 to request further powers of enforcement.<ref>{{harvnb |Vincent |1994 |p=209}}</ref> In 1263 Worcester's Jewish residents were attacked by a baronial force under [[Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby|Robert Earl Ferrers]] and [[Henry de Montfort]]. Most were killed.<ref name="bhoworcester"/> The Worcester massacre was part of a wider campaign by allies of [[Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester|Simon de Montfort]] at the start of the [[Second Barons' War]]. In January 1275, Jews still in Worcester were expelled to [[Hereford]].<ref name="bhoworcester"/>

====Late medieval====
Worcester elected its [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] at the Guildhall, by the loudest shout rather than the raising of hands. Members of Parliament had to own freehold property worth 40 shillings a year. Their wages were levied by the Constable.
[[File:Tudor Buildings Friar Street Worcester.JPG|thumb|Tudor buildings in Friar Street]]
The city council was organised by a system of co-option, with 24 members of the high chamber and 48 of the lower. Committees appointed two bailiffs and made financial decisions; the two chambers agreed the city's rules or ordinances.<ref name="bhoworcester"/>

By late medieval times the population had reached 1,025 families, excluding the cathedral quarter, so that it probably stood under 10,000.<ref>See Green, in History of Worcester Volume ii.</ref> Worcester's suburbs extended beyond the limits of its walls<ref name="bhoworcester"/>

Manufacture of cloth and allied trades was significant for the city.<ref name="bhoworcester"/>

===Craft guilds===
Medieval and early modern Worcester developed a system of craft [[guild]]s to regulate who could work in a trade, lay down trade practices and training, and provide social support for members. The city's late medieval ordinances banned tilers from forming a guild and encouraged tilers to settle in Worcester to trade freely. Roofs of thatch and wooden chimneys were banned to reduce risks of fire.<ref name="bhoworcester"/>

===Early modern period===
{{see also|History of Worcester#Early modern period}}
[[File:Worcester, 1610 map.jpg|thumb|Worcester, 1610 map]] The Dissolution saw the Priory's status change, as it lost its Benedictine monks. As elsewhere, Worcester had to set up "public" schools to replace monastic education. This led to the establishment of [[King's School, Worcester|King's School]]. Worcester School continued to teach. St Oswald's Hospital survived the dissolution, later providing [[almshouses]];<ref>{{harvnb |Willis-Bund |Page |1971a |pp=175–179}}</ref> the charity and its housing survives to the present day.

The city gained the right to elect a [[mayor]], and was designated a [[county corporate]] in 1621, giving it autonomy from local government. Thereafter Worcester was governed by a mayor, recorder and six aldermen. Councillors were selected by co-option.<ref name="bhoworcester"/>

Worcester contained green spaces such as orchards and fields between its main streets, within the city wall, as appears on [[John Speed|Speed]]'s map of 1610. The walls were still more or less complete at the time, but suburbs had been established beyond them.

====Civil war====
{{further|Worcestershire in the English Civil War|Battle of Worcester}}
{{see also|History of Worcester#Civil war}}
[[File:Battle of Worcester.jpg|thumb|left|Battle of Worcester]]
Worcester equivocated, then sided with Parliament before the outbreak of the [[English Civil War]] in 1642 but was swiftly occupied by the Royalists. Parliament briefly retook the city after the [[Battle of Powick Bridge]] of September 1642, and ransacked the cathedral, where stained glass was smashed and the organ destroyed, along with library books and monuments.<ref>{{harvnb |Atkin |2004 |pp=52–53}}</ref>

The Parliamentary commander, the [[Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex|Earl of Essex]] was soon forced to withdraw, and the city spent the rest of the war under Royalist occupation. Worcester was a garrison town and had to sustain and billet a large number of Royalist troops. During the Royalist occupation, the suburbs were destroyed to make defence easier. High taxation was imposed, and many male residents [[Impressment|pressed]] into the army.<ref>{{harvnb |Atkin |2004}}</ref>

As Royalist power collapsed in May 1646, Worcester was placed under siege. Worcester had some 5,000 civilians and a Royalist garrison of about 1,500 men facing a [[New Model Army]] force of 2,500–5,000. The city surrendered on 23 July.<ref>{{harvnb |Atkin |2004 |pp=125–127}}</ref>

In 1651 a Scottish army, 16,000 strong, marched south along the west coast in support of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]'s attempt to regain the Crown. As the army approached, Worcester Council voted to surrender, fearing further violence and destruction. The Parliamentary garrison withdrew to [[Evesham]] in the face of the overwhelming numbers against them. The Scots were billeted in and around the city, joined by very limited local forces.<ref>{{harvnb |Atkin |2004 |pp=142–143}}</ref>

The [[Battle of Worcester]] took place on 3 September 1651. Charles II was easily defeated by Cromwell's forces of 30,000 men. Charles II returned to his headquarters in what is now known as King Charles House in the Cornmarket, before [[Escape of Charles II|fleeing]] in disguise with help of one of his officers, [[Francis Talbot, 11th Earl of Shrewsbury|Francis Talbot]] to [[Boscobel House]] in [[Shropshire]], from where he eventually escaped to France. Worcester was then heavily looted by the Parliamentarian army. The city council estimated £80,000 of damage was done and subsequent debts were still not recovered in the 1670s.<ref>{{harvnb |Atkin |2004 |pp=142–147}}</ref>

====After the Restoration====
{{see also|History of Worcester#After the Restoration}}
After the [[Stuart Restoration|restoration of the monarchy]] in 1660, Worcester cleverly used its location as the site of the final battles of the First Civil War (1646) and Third Civil War (1651) to mount an appeal for compensation from [[King Charles II of England|Charles II]]. Though not based on historical fact, it invented the epithet ''Fidelis Civitas'' (The Faithful City), since included in the city's [[coat of arms]].<ref name="Civic Heralrdy"/><ref>{{harvnb |Atkin |1998}}</ref>

During the 18th century Worcester experienced significant economic growth, and in 1748 [[Daniel Defoe]] could note that 'the inhabitants are generally esteemed rich, being full of business, occasioned chiefly by the clothing-trade'.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Defoe |first=Daniel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HSgJAAAAQAAJ |title=A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain. Vol. 2. |publisher=S. Birt |year=1748 |location=London |access-date=1 October 2023}}</ref> The [[Royal Worcester|Royal Worcester Porcelain Company]] was established at Warmstry Slip in 1751,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Bridges |first1=Tim |title=Worcester: A Pictorial History |last2=Mundy |first2=Charles |publisher=Phillimore |year=1996 |isbn=0850339901 |location=Chichester}}</ref> and from the  later 18th century the city became a major centre for the [[glove]]making industry.<ref name=":0" />

[[File:The Guildhall, High Street, Worcester.jpg|thumbnail|200px|[[Worcester Guildhall]]]]
The wealth of 18th- and 19th-century Worcester is reflected in the city's architecture, which has been described as 'one of the most impressive Georgian streetscapes in the Midlands'.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Morriss |first1=Richard K |title=The Buildings of Worcester |last2=Hoverd |first2=Ken |publisher=Alan Sutton |year=1994 |isbn=0750905573 |location=Stroud}}</ref> Many public buildings were built or rebuilt in this period, including the Grade I listed [[Worcester Guildhall]],<ref name=":1" /> the city bridge, and the [[Worcestershire Royal Hospital|Royal Infirmary]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Alan |title=The Buildings of England: Worcestershire |last2=Pevsner |first2=Nikolaus |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2007 |isbn=9780300112986 |location=New Haven}}</ref> Large stretches of the city walls were removed by 1796,<ref name="bhoworcester" /> allowing for continued expansion along Foregate Street, The Tything, and Upper Tything,<ref name=":0" /> and many townhouses were built or remodelled in brick.<ref name=":1" />

Worcester was a popular destination for wealthy visitors, who came to the annual [[Three Choirs Festival]] and horse races on [[Worcester Racecourse|Pitchcroft]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Drummond |first=Pippa |title=The Provincial Music Festival in England, 1784-1914 |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9781409400875 |location=London |pages=12}}</ref> However, parts of the city suffered from significant poverty, and in 1794 a large [[workhouse]] was built on the edge of the city at Tallow Hill.<ref name=":0" />

===Industrial revolution and Victorian era===
{{see also|History of Worcester#Industrial revolution, Victorian and Edwardian eras}}
[[File:Worcester in 1806. Engraving by J.Roper from a drawing by G.Cole.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Map of Worcester in 1806]]
Worcester in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was a major centre for glove-making, employing nearly half the glovers in England at its peak (over 30,000 people).<ref name="WorcesterGloveMaking"/> employed by 150 firms. At this time nearly half the glove makers in Britain could be found in Worcestershire. In the 19th century, the industry declined as import taxes on foreign competitors, mainly French, were much reduced.

Riots took place in 1831, in response to the defeat of the [[Reform Act 1832|Reform Bill]], reflecting discontent with the city administration and the lack of democratic representation.<ref name="bhoworcester"/> Citizens petitioned the House of Lords for permission to build [[Shire Hall, Worcester|a County Hall]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Journal of the House of Lords: Volume 63, 1830-1831. Originally published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, [n.d.]. |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/lords-jrnl/vol63/pp836-840#h3-0002 |access-date=4 August 2020 |website=British History Online |archive-date=16 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516180054/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/lords-jrnl/vol63/pp836-840#h3-0002 |url-status=live }}</ref> Local government reform took place in 1835, which for the first time created election procedures for councillors, but also restricted the ability of the city to buy and sell property.<ref name="bhoworcester"/> Political corruption, particularly bribing of voters, was endemic in Parliamentary elections, contributing to a string of [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] victories even against a wider swing to the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberals]], and was investigated in the 1890s and by a [[Royal Commission]] in 1906.{{sfn|Reekes|2019|pp=118-123}}

The [[British Medical Association]] (BMA) was founded in the Board Room of the old Worcester Royal Infirmary building in Castle Street in 1832.<ref name="BMA"/> Corn trading which had taken place in the Corn Market on the east side of the city moved to the new [[Corn Exchange, Worcester|Corn Exchange]] in Angel Street in the mid-19th century.{{sfn|Historic England|1359548}}

The [[Kays Catalogues|Kays]] mail-order business was founded in Worcester in 1889 and operated from various premises in the city until 2007. It was then bought out by Reality, owner of the Grattan catalogue. The Kays warehouse was demolished in 2008 and replaced by housing.{{sfn|Kays Heritage}}

In 1815 the [[Worcester and Birmingham Canal]] opened. Railways reached Worcester in 1850, with [[Worcester Shrub Hill railway station|Shrub Hill]], initially only running to Birmingham. [[Worcester Foregate Street railway station|Foregate Street]] was opened in 1860. The WMR lines became part of the [[Great Western Railway]] after 1 August 1863. The railways gave Worcester jobs building passenger coaches and signalling. Alongside Worcester Shrub Hill station in Shrub Hill Road were the Worcester Engine Works. Their [[Polychrome#19th century polychrome brickwork|polychrome]] brick building was erected about 1864 and probably designed by [[Thomas Dickson (architect)|Thomas Dickson]]. However, only 84 locomotives were built there and the works closed in 1871.<ref>Richard Morriss ''The Archaeology of Railways'', 1999 Tempus Publishing, Stroud. Plate 93 p147</ref> The chairman was [[Alexander Clunes Sheriff]].<ref name=Debrett>[https://archive.org/stream/debrettshouseo1870londuoft#page/248/mode/2up Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1870]</ref>

In 1882 Worcester hosted the Worcestershire Exhibition with sections for fine arts, historical manuscripts and industrial items, receiving over 222,000 visitors.

===20th century to present===
{{see also|History of Worcester#1914 to present}}
The Foregate Street [[Cast-iron architecture|cast-iron railway bridge]] was remodelled by the [[Great Western Railway]] in 1908 with a decorative cast-iron exterior serving no structural purpose.<ref>Richard Morriss ''The Archaeology of Railways'', 1999 Tempus Publishing, Stroud, p. 89.</ref> Rail reorganisation in 1922 saw the Midland Railway's routes from Shrub Hill absorbed into the [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]].

[[File:Gloves, Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum, England - DSCF0752.JPG|thumb|150px|Gloves, [[Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum]]]] By the mid-20th century, only a few Worcester glove firms survived, as gloves became less fashionable and free trade enabled cheaper imports from the [[Far East]]. Nevertheless, at least three glove manufacturers survived into the late 20th century: [[Dents|Dent Allcroft]], Fownes and Milore. In the 1940s, some Jewish refugees from Europe settled in Worcester. Emil Rich, a refugee from Germany, founded one of Worcester's last remaining glovemakers, Milore Glove Factory.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-21 |title=Plans for blue plaque in Worcester to remember Jewish community |url=https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/23669866.plans-plaque-worcester-remember-jewish-community/ |access-date=2024-01-22 |website=Worcester News |language=en}}</ref> Queen [[Elizabeth II]]'s coronation gloves were designed by Emil Rich and manufactured in the Worcester factory.<ref name="GloveMaking"/><ref name="WorcesterNews21062010"/>

Worcester was a centre for recruitment of soldiers to fight in the [[First World War]], into the [[Worcestershire Regiment]], based at [[Norton Barracks]]. The regiment took part in early battles in the war, most notably at the [[Battle of Gheluvelt]] in October 1914.{{sfn|Reekes|2019|pp=124-129}} The Vicar of St Paul's, [[Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy]], became an army chaplain, later known as 'Woodbine Willy', as he brought cigarettes to soldiers during fighting and exposed himself to physical danger.{{sfn|Reekes|2019|pp=130-135}}

The inter-war years saw rapid growth in engineering and machine-tool manufacturing firms such as James Archdale and H. W. Ward, castings for the motor industry from Worcester Windshields and Casements, valve design and manufacture from [[Sentinel Valve Works|Alley & MacLellan, Sentinel Valve Works]], mining machinery from Mining Engineering Company (MECO) – later part of [[Joy Mining Machinery]] – and open-top cans from Williamsons, although G. H. Williamson and Sons had become part of the Metal Box Co in 1930. Later the company became Carnaud Metal Box PLC.

During the [[Second World War]], the city was chosen to be the seat of an evacuated government in case of mass [[Operation Sealion|German invasion]]. The [[War Cabinet]], along with [[Winston Churchill]] and some 16,000 state workers, would have moved to [[Hindlip Hall]] (now part of the complex forming the Headquarters of [[West Mercia Police]]), {{cvt|3|mi|km}} north of Worcester. The former [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] station [[RAF Worcester]] was located north-east of Worcester.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/worcester-ii-perdiswell/ |title=Worcester II (Perdiswell) |publisher=[[Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust]] |accessdate=27 May 2020 |archive-date=4 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804140303/https://abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/worcester-ii-perdiswell/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

A fuel-storage depot was built for the government in 1941–42 by [[Shell-Mex and BP]] (later operated by [[Texaco]]) on the eastern bank of the River Severn, about a mile south of Worcester. It was at one time used as a civil reserve storing gas oil and then aviation kerosene for [[United States Air Forces in Europe|USAFE]]. It closed in the early 1990s.<ref>Tim Whittle: ''Fuelling the Wars – PLUTO and the Secret Pipeline Network 1936 to 2015'', published 2017, p. 223. {{ISBN|9780992855468}}</ref> Worcester Porcelain operated in Worcester until 2009, when the factory closed due to the recession.

In the 1950s and 1960s large areas of the medieval centre of Worcester were demolished and rebuilt. This was condemned by many such as [[Nikolaus Pevsner]] who described it as a "totally incomprehensible... act of self-mutilation".<ref>The Buildings of England – Worcester, Penguin, 1968</ref> There is however still a significant area of medieval Worcester remaining, examples of which can be seen along City Walls Road, Friar Street and New Street.