Editing Worcester, England (section)

===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"/>