This was the first half of my weekend away, a chance to go and tick two cathedrals off my list. Worcester is only 40mins by train from my base in Gloucester, but trains were only every 2 hours, so I had to make sure I kept to good timings.
I was hoping to take a quick look at the Guildhall, built in 1721, but it was closed for a private function. I only got to see the statues of the Charles 1 and 11 outside.
A short stroll down the High Street to Worcester Cathedral and it turned out I was just in time for a guided tour. It was a quiet day and there were only 3 of us on it, but we got a good trip around the history of the place. Although weirdly, the tour guide missed out two of the key burials in the building which was surprising given their impact on British history. First of all, Arthur, Prince of Wales was buried there, who died in nearly Ludlow. If he hadn’t there would have been no Henry VIII, no reformation, no Church of England and no Elizabeth 1. It would have been a very different country.
The second burial was of King John (well, most of him, his heart was buried in Newark where he died). Without him here would be no Magna Carta. I’m pretty sure that the changes associated with that may have come about eventually, but John was the catalyst. Arthur had a very ornate chantry for his burial, but John was placed right there in the chancel in front of the alter.
Although the foundations are Norman and a lot of the fabric is medieval, the cathedral has been extensive restored and there is a lot of George Gilbert Scott around the place
Just round the corner from the cathedral, there was the remains of the Royal Worcester Porcelein works, with a shop and a museum but it looks like the rest of the place is being turned into houses.
Heading back into town, I took a Tour around the Tudor House, run by a local community group, with a series of rooms set up to illustrate the house through various ages as it was occupied by a variety of trades such as weavers, tailors and bakers. In the 1800’s, it even had a bowling alley.
The final visit of the day was to the town museum, which had a lot of interesting displays, including one of Worcestershire Sauce through the ages. I was disappointed there was no history of Worcester display, as I tend to like learning about the towns like that.
