During summer of 2013, along with Gemma’s family, we embarked upon a massive trip that was nearly 2 weeks long, starting in the Cities of Worcester, Hereford and Gloucester, with a day trip around some South Wales towns and then down to the South of England for a week. Each part of the holiday will be posted about, so here is part 1, the city of Worcester…
Worcester:
Status: City of Worcester District, Worcestershire, City, England
Date: 07-08/08/2013
Travel: Car
Eating & Sleeping: Greggs
Attractions: Cathedral, River Severn, Town Hall, Crown Court, Porcelain Museum, Museum and Art Gallery, The Commandery, St Andrew’s Church, Edward Elgar Statue, Edward Elgar Birthplace Museum, Tudor House Museum, Visitor Information Centre etc
We parked up in a car park along the river (on the opposite bank) on our way down to the city of Hereford where we were staying for a few days. The river is the Severn, which flows down to Gloucester and then out into the Bristol Channel between Bristol and South Wales around Newport and Cardiff.
There is a video I found of when I came to Worcester with my family when I was only little, and it was taken from this exact spot and this was the view on it so I wanted to replicate it in my photograph.
On the far right hand side is the tower of Worcester Cathedral that overlooks the river and was our next stop, whilst the tall spire visible more to the left of the photograph is all that remains of the medieval church of St Andrew. The spire and the tower its sat on is a stand alone structure in the middle of a small park next to the University. The rest of the church is long gone, as it was badly damaged during World War II.
The tower itself is from the 15th century, whilst the spire is the second to grace it. The original wooden one was hit by lightning and destroyed around 1730, so a new stone one was built in the 1750’s.
I took this picture from Worcester Bridge, which carries A44. The Cathedral is now in full view, sat up on a bank over the river. Its a beautiful building, and we decided our first stop would be the Cathedral to explore.
There are two main entrances, one at the side overlooking the river, accessible from a path that leads up from the riverside into a small garden, and one at the side of the Cathedral looking out onto the main road. We used the river entrance, and walked into the main hall, which is just stunning. It is a massive space, amazingly detailed and it really was awe inspiring. We had a good look round, which took a while as it’s a decent size, and then headed out the front to work our way around the rest of the city.
The Cathedral dates back to 1220 when construction started, and completed in 1386. The building contains examples of every major type of building between those periods including Norman and Perpendicular Gothic. Additions were made between 1404 and 1432 when the cloister had the North and South ranges added.
In the 19th century the whole building was restored, and a lot of the stained glass windows date from this period.
The tower is particularly noteworthy, and there is also a famous Normal Crypt under the building. The main tower is 52 metres tall, with the pinnacles on the top taking it up to 62 metres.
The Cathedral appeared on the United Kingdom £20 bank note along with Edward Elgar (see below) between 1999 and 2007.
We did nip back the next day to try the Cathedral shop which was shut the first time we arrived but again I was too late.
This is the statue of Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934) at the Cathedral end of the pedestrianised section. He was a famous English composer, and was born just outside Worcester in the nearby village of Lower Broadheath. He was an enthusiastic cyclist, and made many cycle maps. He moved to the nearby city of Hereford in 1904, and he cycled most of the way there. Another statue in Worcestershire is situated in the town of Malvern. Some of his most famous works were religious choral work, as well as another of his successes being “Enigma Variations” in 1899.
Around the main shopping centres, the CrownGate Centre and Kingfisher Centre, we found the Worcester Guildhall (pictured above) which also contains the Visitor Information Centre. This very impressive building was built in 1721, and although it is called the Guildhall it is the city’s Town Hall and the seat of local government.
Further down the road we found a cluster of interesting buildings, including the terracotta one on the end, known as the Hop Market Hotel. Built at the beginning of the 20th century, it was originally a hotel and played host to important guests such as Princess Victoria (later queen) and Lord Nelson himself.
Today it houses shops instead, but the name hotel is still visible etched into the stone work outside. It is a lovely building and it’s a shame its not a hotel any more as it would be a great place to stay.
The building behind it, with the stone tower is an old church that has been converted into a restaurant/pub, again a great example of architecture in the city, with this area of the city centre quite varied design wise.
We continued down the main road (by this point we were back onto a main road and out of the pedestrianised zone) and arrived at the Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum. We were too late in the day to go in as it was already shut, but its housed in an interesting building. At the moment there is a major Egyptian exhibit inside and it’s a shame we didn’t get chance to have a look. It was founded in 1833 and has been in the Victorian building since 1896.
The last landmark we found, sat next to the Museum, is the Shire Hall, which has a statue of Queen Victoria outside, and houses the Crown Courts.
Built between 1834 – 1835, the statue was added in 1887, even though she only died in 1901. The statue was designed by the same man (Thomas Brock, 1847 – 1922) who also designed the Albert Memorial and Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace in London.
It’s a great building, with the ornate columns at the front making it stand out, and poor Victoria had a seagull sat on her head, I’m sure she was not amused!
That concludes our visit to the city of Worcester, and we went on to Hereford next.
By rail there are regular trains to London, and local towns and cities such as Hereford and Gloucester. There are a few stations in the city, including Worcester Shrub Hill and Worcester Foregate Street. The city is located just next to the M5 motorway (South for Bristol and Exeter, North for Birmingham and the M6 towards Lancashire, Cumbria and Scotland) which is where we came off on our journey down, straight in to the city.
For anyone driving around the city, it does have a large one way system so keep an eye on the signs to make sure you get to where you want to go. There are two large shopping centres so there is plenty of opportunity to do some shopping whilst you sightsee.
Worcester is a pleasant city, and the riverside affords some great views of the landmark buildings including the Cathedral. There are a few museums aside from the ones mentioned, including the Worcester Porcelain Museum, The Commandery, Edward Elgar Birthplace Museum and a Tudor House Museum. There is something for everyone in Worcester, so take a look if you can.
The British Isles were the limit, but now the world! 