Worcester Pigot & Co. Royal National and Commercial Directory 1842

Worcester is a city and county of itself, having exclusive jurisdiction; 111 miles N.W. by W. from London, 26 N.E. from Hereford, the like distance S.W. from Birmingham, 27 N. from Gloucester, 32 W.S.W. from Warwick, 47 S. from Stafford, 48 S.S.E. from Shrewsbury, 57 N.W. from Oxford, and three miles and a half from Spetchley station on the Birmingham and Gloucester railway. This ancient city is pleasantly situated at the base and on the acclivity of ground rising gently from the eastern bank of the fine river Severn, which is here crossed by a handsome stone bridge of five arches, erected in 1780, at an expense of nearly £30,000. Under the name of Caer Guorangon, it is enumerated by Nennius in his catalogue of cities belonging to the Britons. On the expulsion of that people by the Romans, it was erected into a fortress by the praetor Ostorias. By the Saxons it was called Wigorna Ceaster, afterwards Wigra Cester, and Wigorn Ceastre, which was subsequently contracted by the Normans to Wircester – and to this succeeded the present appellation and mode of spelling ‘Worcester.’ Soon after the conquest a royal castle was erected here; and in 1113 the greater part of the city was destroyed by fire, which nearly consumed the cathedral, erected by Sexulf, bishop of Mercia; in 1189 it sustained a similar calamity, when the cathedral also suffered, but was speedily repaired; but in 1233 the city again fell a prey to the flames, a great portion of which was destroyed, and its venerable church greatly damaged. In the war of the Roses, Worcester was seized for Henry VII; and several of the partisans of Richard were made prisoners here, and beheaded at the High Cross; and a fine of five hundred marks was paid to King Henry for the redemption of the city. In the parliamentary war Worcester was the first city that openly declared in favour of the king; and during this protracted contest the inhabitants were frequently engaged in sustaining sieges, and giving open battle to the parliamentarians: and it was in this town that Cromwell obtained his final victory over the adherents of Charles II, when he entered the royal fort by storm, put all the garrison to the sword, and gained possession of the city. The king, attended only by Lord Wilmot, narrowly escaped by the back entrance of the house in which he was quartered, at the moment Colonel Cobbett was entering at the front to make him prisoner, and, mounting a horse prepared for the occasion, rode to Boscobel, where he lay concealed till he found means of escaping to France.

Worcester is considered one of the most ancient and respectable cities in England; and there are but few reckoned superior to it in extent and population, and a less number in beauty. The principal part of the town occupies the most elevated ground from the north to the south. The Severn, which flows southerly, is often rapid in its stream; but the navigation is safe, commodious, and of greater length than that of any other river in the kingdom, and is of vast importance to the commercial inhabitants of Worcester and the adjacent neighbourhood. The streets of the city are handsome and regular; it is well supplied with water, and lighted with gas: indeed, for beauty, cleanliness, respectability, and as affording all the comforts of life, unsparingly, no visiter will be disappointed on his arrival at the city of Worcester, and but few will leave it without regret. The bridge over the river (before mentioned) is elegant, consisting of five handsome arches; the ends are returned with very neat balustrades, leading to two smaller arches under the bridge, for foot passengers, or towing paths; at the west end of the bridge are two ornamental toll-houses: altogether this erection has a grand and imposing effect, when viewed from the town side – the Malvern hills rising majestically in the perspective. The guild or town hall, which stands nearly in the centre of the High-street, must attract admiration from every stranger. This elegant edifice is built of brick, richly embellished with stone ornaments and many handsome figures. On each side of the grand entrance, in niches, are the statues of Kings Charles I and II, and over the doorway is also one of Queen Anne, all of which are finely executed, and the entire structure has a rich display. The shire hall, a very handsome stone edifice, in the Ionic order, was erected in 1835, at an expense of about £33,000. The entrance is by a noble portico, standing nearly one hundred feet back from the street, the fine pediment being supported by six symmetrical columns in front. The County Court (which is appropriated, likewise, to public meetings, &c.) is approached through a large vestibule. Besides the courts of justice, there are various requisite apartments, and the library; and behind the hall there is a very commodious brick building, called the Judge’s Lodgings, which presents a fine front to Sansom-walk. Exactly facing the guildhall is the entrance to the market, which is built of stone, with a large arched opening in the centre, supported by handsome Tuscan columns; on each side are two smaller arched entrances, the whole surmounted by a fine ornamented and panelled square pediment: the interior is arranged with every convenience; the vegetable market is conveniently situated behind. The hop market is a large space, nearly surrounded by ranges of capacious and regular built warehouses; and the corn market is in an extensive area. The city gaol was formerly a house of grey friars, and is the most entire of any religious house in Worcester; it was granted to the citizens by Henry VIII. The new county gaol is a large erection, and is situate just without the boundaries of the city, near the race course; the interior arrangements are judicious and commodious; it cost £19,000 building. The theatre is a spacious edifice, and first took the title of a royal one in the year 1805, when Betty, the young Roscius, was engaged to play in it eight nights for one thousand guineas. The musical festival of the choirs of Worcester, Hereford and Gloucester are held in the cathedral here triennially, and are attended by numerous and fashionable audiences: and races take place in August and November, near the margin of the Severn, by which river the course is bounded on one side: the grand stand is handsome and commodious.

Worcester was first constituted a city by Wulfhere, the sixth king of Mercia, and additional privileges were granted by Offa and Edgar. The inhabitants were first incorporated by Henry I, whose charter was confirmed by many succeeding monarchs, and, lastly, remodelled by James I, in 1621, who erected the city into a county of itself, under the designation of ‘the City and County of the City of Worcester.’ This charter received several additions and alterations, and was finally superseded by the municipal act, passed in 1835, for the reform of all corporations in England and Wales: by this enactment the city is divided into five wards, and the government vest in a mayor, twelve aldermen and thirty-six common councillors, with the usual assistant officers. The mayor, recorder and aldermen are justices of the peace within the city and county of the city. The corporation hold quarterly courts of session, for the trial of all offences not capital; and a court of record every Monday, for the recovery of debts to any amount. The assizes and general quarter sessions, and the election of knights of the shire to represent the western division of the county, are held here. The city first exercised the elective franchise in the 23rd year of Edward I, since which time it has regularly sent two members to parliament: those returned at the last general election (1841,) are Joseph Bailey, Esq., and Sir Thomas Wilde. Worcester confers the inferior title of marquess on the Duke of Beaufort. Four respectable journals are issued from the press of this city weekly; their titles, days of publication, and their publishers, will be found under the head ‘Newspapers.’

The trade and manufactures of Worcester principally consist of porcelain and fine china, which was first established in it about the year 1751. The ware has been brought to the greatest state of perfection, both in point of quality and beauty of painting and designs, and now equals any foreign china. Their Majesties George III George IV, and many other royal personages, have honoured the manufactories with their inspection. The glove trade, likewise, is very extensive here, and, from the beauty and quality of the article, is in great repute at the foreign market: this manufacture, it is estimated, furnishes employment to between seven and eight thousand persons in the city and its vicinity, besides numbers of the industrious classes in the adjacent parishes. Worcester is considered the most extensive hop market in the kingdom, and the average of that article sold here annually is 20,000 pockets. A distillery and a rectifying house are establishments of magnitude, as is also one for the manufacture of British wines and vinegar. The coal, corn, malt, timber and slate trades are of considerable importance; and there are iron foundries, tanneries and roperies, and several persons engaged in the currying and leather-dressing business. The Worcester and Birmingham canal, the direction of which is north-east for twenty miles, in the counties of Worcester and Warwick, forms a communication between Birmingham and the Severn, and affords the greatest facilities in forwarding goods from Manchester and the north of England, through Worcester, to Bristol and all parts of the west; besides which the railway before-mentioned is another, and more rapid, medium of transit. Several extensive dry warehouses are erected close to the canal, for housing goods; and there is a powerful steam-engine for supplying the canal with water from the river Severn.

The structures, appropriated to the performance of divine worship are very numerous, under the establishment, as well as for various other religious denominations: of these the venerable cathedral takes precedence. The original church was founded as early as the year 680, and was then dedicated to St. Peter; but in the year 983 St. Oswald, the great patron of the monks, completed the building of a new and more stately edifice, in the church-yard of the neglected St. Peter’s, which he dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and furnished with no less that twenty-eight altars. In 1084 Bishop Wulstan laid the foundation of the present cathedral, which, in subsequent periods, has been enlarged, repaired, and many parts rebuilt and altered by other prelates. The interior is extremely beautiful: its full length, from east to west, is three hundred and ninety-five feet, and, as well as the exterior, presents a great variety of architecture. The noble tower rises from the great cross aisle, and is two hundred feet in height, containing a fine set of bells. Several interesting monuments, some of which are elegant specimens of sculpture, adorn the interior. The present bishop is the Right Rev. Henry Peppys, D.D. The other churches are St. Peter’s and St. John’s, both vicarages; the former in the incumbency of the Rev. George Lardner Foxton, and the latter in that of the Rev. Townsend Forester; St. Michael’s, the Rev. Wm. Henry Weston; St. Andrew’s, the Rev. T. Wylde; St. Swithin’s, the Rev. Thomas Howard Shirley; St. Martin’s, the Rev. Allen Wheeler; St. Clement’s, the Rev. John Davies; and St. Paul’s, the Rev. Frank Hewson, – all rectories, in the gift of the dean and chapter. St. Helen’s, St. Alban’s, and St. Nicholas’s are also rectories, in the presentation of the Bishop of Worcester: the rector of St. Helen’s and St. Alban’s is the Rev. Donald Cameron; and the incumbent of St. Nicholas’ is the Rev. Robert Clifton. All Saints’, the benefice of which is in the gift of the Crown, has for its rector the Rev. Richard Francis Davis. Excepting St. Andrew’s, which is a considerable ornament to the city, these churches, posses but few pretensions to architectural beauty. The other places of worship are, chapels for Baptists, independents, Presbyterians, Wesleyan Methodists, Lady Huntingdon’s connexion, Roman catholics, and friends’ meeting-house.

The charitable establishments of Worcester are very numerous, comprising many schools, open for all conditions and sects; hospitals for the aged and infirm of both sexes; alms-houses, an infirmary, a dispensary, house of industry, female asylum, &c. The general infirmary is large, and very pleasantly situated – commanding a fine prospect over the race-course and river, which are close adjoining the town: it was erected in the year 1770. The house of industry is also a fine building, situated on an eminence, near to the canal, east of the city. Among the religious and scientific institutions for which this city is so justly noted, is a branch of the society for propagating Christian knowledge, established in 1818; an agricultural society, formed in 1816; two medical societies, the first established in 1796, and the other in 1815 – to the latter is attached a well selected library; and the natural history society, founded in 1833, for the diffusion of general knowledge. The building for the use of this association, erected in 1835-6, is a noble structure and a beautiful specimen of modern architecture: it contains a museum, the richest in the county; a spacious lecture hall, and other apartments. Near the cathedral is King Edgar’s tower, a very ancient erection and well worth of notice. It derives its appellation from the statue of that king and those of his two queens, Elfleda and Elfrida, being placed on its eastern front. This tower was formerly attached to a castle, the ancient seat of the Huiccian viceroys, and is the only portion of the remaining edifice: it contains some lofty rooms, including a kitchen, together with a winding staircase: the windows are of large dimensions, and the walls are ribbed and very thick. These venerable remains have an appearance of stately grandeur. The markets are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and the fairs on the third Mondays in January, February and March, the second Monday on April; fourth Mondays in May, June, and July; first Tuesday in August, Sept. 19, the first Monday in November, and second Friday in December. The population of the city of Worcester and its immediate suburbs, as taken by Mr. Young, in 1779, amounted to 11,001 inhabitants; in 1801, according to the government returns, (including St. Michael Bedwardine parish, with the College precincts,) to 12,012; in 1811, to 14,477; in 1821, to 18,632; in 1831, to 19,336; and, in 1841, to 27,140.

Source: Pigot & Co.’s Royal National and Commercial Directory and Topography of the Counties of Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Rutlandshire, Northamptonshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire 1841/1842