Worcester

It was early February I visited Worcester, but the weather was surprisingly good; no rain, not too cold and even blue skies for some of the time. Only a few weeks earlier it had experiences bad flooding!

The focal point of the city is undoubtedly the cathedral. Founded in 680, it was completely rebuilt in 1084. This is the view from the east, where the A44 passes it.

The interior is impressive, but if I am honest, pretty much like most other cathedrals...

It is, however, notable that King John is buried here, as is Arthur, older brother of Henry VIII.

Looking to the right of the cathedral, is an old hexagonal pillar box, with fine buildings beyond.

Heading north along the A44 in that direction, we find St Andrew's Spire. Also known as Glover's Needle, this is all that remains of  St Andrews Church. The rest was demolished in 1949, as it had fallen into disuse. Wikipedia claims stones were lifted by kite flying during construction. Can that be true?

Further along the A44 is All Saints church, which has fared a little better.

And not much further the A44 crosses the River Severn. This is the only road crossing in Worcester; the next one up stream is over five miles away, the next downstream is the M5, two miles away, and then it is over eight miles to the next. Little wonder, then, that they widened the Bridge in 1931.

You can see debris from the recent flooding. Apparently it got so high the outer arches were completely submerged.

This is the view from the bridge, looking downstream, towards the cathedral.

Just north along the river is the Old Rectifying House - where alcohol was rectified to make spirits. I would guess the building beyond used to be a warehouse of some sort. There used to be a quay here, served by a siding from the railway.

The railway crosses the river on a magnificent viaduct upstream of the road bridge, originally opened in 1859, though the two-span girder section crossing the river was built in 1905, and replaced three brick arches. The viaduct extends some distance into Worcester, and as-built originally comprised 65 arches.

At the east end of the viaduct, there is another iron bridge where it crosses the A38, before entering Worcester Foregate station (entrance on the right on the image below). I would guess that is not original either.

Many of the arches are used by businesses, including an axe throwing place, and a bar called Arch Rivals - which was closed for an event when we tried to get in.

A little further on is Sabrina Bridge, built in 1992, and taking its name from Hafren, a Welsh Goddess or perhaps a British Princess who drowned in the river (or a princess who drowned and became a goddess?). Her name in Latin is Sabrina, and maybe the root of the name of the River Severn.

The footbridge connects the main university campus to the rest of the city.

Back to the road bridge, and wandering down the river, on the east bank... There is a swan sanctuary here, and hundreds of swans. Rowers on the river must have great fun trying to dodge them.

The river passes the back of the cathedral, and there is access via the Watergate, though whether this is for public use I am not sure.

There is a ferry that has crossed the river here for about 600 years, with a hiatus from the late 1950s to 1983. Nowadays it only runs Sundays and Bank Holidays across the summer.

Beyond the cathedral, is this rather fancy boathouse, which belongs to King's School.

Heading now east, away from the river, along Severn Street, we find the Royal Worcester Porcelain factory.

One of the two oldest porcelain brands in England, it was established in 1751, and had a contract for 20 tons a year from mines in Cornwall, presumably transported by boat up the Severn. There is a museum celebrating the factory's past here too.

Severn Street ends at Edgar Tower, part of the cathedral complex. This was originally part of the city walls, and one of the few parts still extant.

It was built in the fourteenth century, and part of or adjacent to the castle that has since disappeared. It gets its name from Anglo Saxon king Edgar the Peaceful whose statue stood on it at one point.

Heading north we go along College Precincts, with some find old buildings on the right. The image below is looking back down it.

At the end, we cross the A44, and go east a short step, to get to Friar Street, which is just chock full of delightful buildings, starting with Ye Olde Talbot on the corner, which is where I was staying.

A little way up on the right is the Cardinal's Hat.

Equally wonderful on the inside, with lots of little rooms, and a good selection of beer. In fact, it was noticeable that not only did the pubs along the street look good, they had great beer too!

The view looking further up the road, now ironically called New Street.

I love how crooked these shops are.

The Eagle's Vault looks positively modern.

Looking back down the street.

The Pheasant is another fine building.

The Swan, again relatively modern, and the King Charles II. The latter is supposedly where King Charles II hid after losing the Battle of Worcester, the final battle of the English Civil war, before he escaped to Normandy.

Parallel to Friar Street and New Street is the High Street, where we find the Guildhall. Built in 1723, this placed an earlier structure dating from ca. 1227. An impressive building.

Much of the High Street is modern, but there is a view of the cathedral looking down it.

Now going west down Fish Street from the High Street, there is St Helen's Church on the right. it looks a bit odd because the tower was bathed in sunshine, and the rest was in shadow.

On the other side is the Farriers Arms. A nice pub, but a bit of an odd atmosphere...

And further along the Plough, which was closed. There was nothing to suggest why - I hope it has not gone out of business.

Jumping somewhat, we are now going southeast along the A44, beyond Friar Street. The road crosses the Worcester and Birmingham canal, and we find this fine old building, now a museum about the Civil War, called the Commardery. 

The wall just beyond it is actually the canal bridge - there is no way to access the canal from here.

This is a bit further along the A44; you can see the Commandery far left.

We turn left now, up Wyld's Lane, and the Plumbers Arms, which I did not sample (it was twenty to nine in the morning).

Just after that, on the other side of the road, I came across this wonderful mural on the side of a house.

Finally, turning left into Midland Road - named after the railway company - we find what is arguably Worcester's biggest claim to fame - Lea and Perrins Worcester Sauce factory.

They started selling Worcester sauce in 1838, and as far as I can tell on the same site (though now owned by Heinz). The process of manufacture is a secret, but a recipe from the mid-nineteenth century was found in a skip in 2009.

Worcester is a beautiful city, well worth a visit. It is small, but full of interesting sights; the entire route described above is not much over three miles long.