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Update #59 Welcome friends, its time to put the kettle on, settle into a comfortable armchair, and enjoy the best of Britain with Britain Update. But before you do, please take the time to forward this newsletter to someone who loves UK travel and heritage as much as you do. ******************* ******************* ******************** Approach through the city on foot, however, and your first impression may be one of disappointment, for heavy restoration work in the Victorian period has left its mark. Almost all the outer stonework is Victorian, as are the west front and the eastern end of the building. The cathedral precincts are hemmed in by modern brick buildings, so that it can be hard to get a good view. The cathedral is surrounded by surviving bits and pieces of the Benedictine monastery that was founded here in 680AD. The remains of the cloister and the walled gardens create a quadrangle which gives the cathedral close the intimate air of an Oxford college. In 680 the see of Worcester was created by the monks of Whitby, under the protection of the powerful kings of Mercia. In the 9th century Viking raiders travelled up the Severn, causing the monks to scatter and flee for their lives. In 1062 Wulstan became bishop, a position he was to hold under the most difficult of circumstances through the Norman invasion. Wulstan was the only Saxon bishop to retain his see under the Normans, a reward for repeatedly preaching that the English defeat was a punishment from heaven for their sins. Wulstan made the decision to pull down the Saxon church built by St. Oswald and build a fine new cathedral. Only small portions of the transepts remain above ground from Wulstan's building, but below ground it is a different story; the crypt constructed by Wulstan to contain the shrine of Oswald is a remarkable bit of architecture, and one of the most attractive parts Worcester Cathedral. Around 1120 a round chapter house was added. Wulstan was canonised in 1203, and Worcester became a popular centre of pilgrimage. When King John lay dying of his famous "surfeit of peaches" in 1216, he asked to be buried in Worcester Cathedral, and his wish was carried out. His tomb is fanciful creation of dark Purbeck marble topped with an effigy. Just 2 years later the church was rededicated in the presence of John's son, Henry III. Nearby is the Lady Chapel, begun by Bishop Blois in 1224. Blois also began the rebuilding of the choir, and there, too, much use was made of the Purbeck stone. The Lady Chapel and choir are ascribed to Alexander Mason, who may have been responsible for the nave at Lincoln. The Norman nave was rebuilt in the 14th century, and a central tower added in 1374. The cloisters were created at the same time. There was also an octagonal bell tower outside the Lady Chapel, but this was destroyed during the Commonwealth. As mentioned earlier, a large amount of restoration work was performed in the Victorian period, and the interior is blessed with some of the finest Victorian sculpture in England, some of it the work of Sir George Gilbert Scot. Worcester Cathedral is home of the famous Three Choirs Festival, an annual choral event which is rotated between the cathedrals of Gloucester, Hereford, and Worcester. There is an exhibition in the crypt on the early history and archeology of the cathedral. Aside from King John, mentioned above, Worcester Cathedral is the final restiing place of several other luminaries. Prince Arthur, eldest son of Henry VII and heir to the Tudor throne, is buried in the choir, while in the nave lie two royal commanders-in-chief. Sir Thomas Lyttleton led the royal army under Charles I in the Civil War, while William Hamilton, who held the same post under Charles II, died from wounds inflicted during the Battle of Worcester. The best views of Worcester Cathedral are to be had from the cricket grounds on the opposite bank of the Severn. The city of Worcester contains a fine collection of medieval and Tudor buildings including The Commandery, a maze of half-timbered buildings that served as the Royalist headquarters for the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The Commandery now houses exhibitions on the Civil War and the fateful battle. The Guidhall, which still houses the civic administration, is a later building by Thomas White, a protégé of Christopher Wren. The Royal Worcester china works can be toured, and visitors can pick up a bargain at the works shop. Visitor
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Contents © 2001 David Ross and Britain Express |
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