Worcester Tourist Board

Things To Do In Worcester

The most famous landmark in Worcester is the Anglican Worcester Cathedral. Officially the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, it was known as Worcester Priory before the English Reformation. Construction began in 1084. Its crypt dates from the 11th century. It includes the only circular chapter house in the country. It houses the tombs of King John and Prince Arthur.

Near the cathedral is the spire of St Andrew’s Church, known as Glover’s Needle. The rest of the church was demolished in 1949.^[58]

The Parish Church of St Helen, on the north side of the High Street, is mainly medieval, with a west tower rebuilt in 1813. The east end, re-fenestration and porch were completed by Frederick Preedy in 1857–1863. There was further restoration, by Aston Webb in 1879–1880. It is a Grade II*listed building.^[59]

The high-water marks from the flood of 1670 and more recent flood levels are shown on a brass plate on a wall adjacent to the path along the river that leads to the cathedral.

Museums include Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum, Greyfriars’ House, the Infirmary Museum, Tudor House Museum, George Marshall Medical Museum, RAF Defford Museum, Museum of Royal Worcester, Mercian Regiment Museum, the Commandery, and Worcestershire Yeomanry Museum. The Battle of Worcester site is just south of the city. Limited parts of Worcester’s city wall remain.

The Hive, on the north side of the River Severn at the former cattle market site, is Worcester’s joint public and university library and archive centre, heralded as “the first of its kind in Europe”, and a prominent feature on the skyline. With seven towers and a golden rooftop, it has gained recognition, winning two international awards for building design and sustainability.^[60][61]

The city’s three main open spaces Cripplegate Park, Gheluvelt Park and Fort Royal Park, the last on the site of an English Civil War battle. In addition, there is an open area known as Pitchcroft to the north of the city centre on the east bank of the River Severn, which is a public space except on days when it is used for horse racing. Gheluvelt Park commemorates the part played by Worcestershire Regiment‘s 2nd Battalion in the Battle of Gheluvelt in the First World War.^[62]

A statue of Sir Edward Elgar, commissioned from Kenneth Potts and unveiled in 1981, stands at the end of Worcester High Street facing the cathedral, yards from the original location of his father’s music shop, which was demolished in the 1960s.^[63] Elgar’s birthplace was the nearby village of Broadheath.

There are also two large wooded areas in the city, Perry Wood and Nunnery Wood, covering 12 and 21 hectares. Perry Wood is often said to be where Oliver Cromwell met and made a pact with the Devil.^[64] Nunnery Wood is integral to the adjacent Worcester Woods Country Park, itself next door to County Hall on the east side of the city.

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