| Worcester Cathedral | |
|---|---|
| Cathedral Church of Christ and Blessed Mary the Virgin | |
 Worcester Cathedral | |
  Worcester Cathedral Location within Worcestershire | |
| 52°11′20″N2°13′15″W / 52.18889°N 2.22083°W /52.18889; -2.22083 | |
| Location | Worcester (Worcestershire) |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Previous denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | worcestercathedral.co.uk |
| History | |
| Former name | Worcester Priory |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Style | Norman,Gothic |
| Years built | 1084–1504 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 130 m (426.51 ft) |
| Nave length | 53 m (173.88 ft) |
| Width | 44 m (144.36 ft) |
| Nave width | 9 m (29.53 ft) |
| Nave height | 20 m (65.62 ft) |
| Number of towers | 1 |
| Tower height | 62 m (203.41 ft) |
| Bells | 16 hung for change ringing |
| Tenor bell weight | 48cwt - 0qr - 2lb in B |
| Administration | |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Diocese | Worcester (since 670) |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop | vacant |
| Dean | Stephen Edwards |
| Precentor | vacant |
| Canon | Kimberly Bohan (Canon Librarian) |
| Honorarypriest(s) | Minor Canons: Mark Dorsett & Robin Parry |
| Laity | |
| Organists |
|
Worcester Cathedral, formally theCathedral Church of Christ and Blessed Mary the Virgin, is aChurch of England cathedral inWorcester, England. The cathedral is the seat of thebishop of Worcester and is themother church of thediocese of Worcester; it is administered by itsdean andchapter. The cathedral is agrade I listed building and part of ascheduled monument.[1][2]
The cathedral was founded in 680. The earliest surviving fabric dates from 1084, when the cathedral was rebuilt in theRomanesque style by BishopWulfstan. Thechapter house dates from 1120, and thenave was extended in the 1170s. Between 1224 and 1269 the east end was rebuilt in theEarly English Gothic style. The remainder of the nave was rebuilt in the 1360s, and the "exquisite" central tower completed in 1374.[3] The cathedral retains a set of medievalmisericords, now set into Victorian choir stalls; the cathedral washeavily restored in the nineteenth century, and contains a set of furnishings byGeorge Gilbert Scott. It contains several funerary monuments, including those ofKing John;Arthur, Prince of Wales; and the prime ministerStanley Baldwin.
The cathedral was founded in 680, with a Northumbrian priest, Tatwine, appointed as its first bishop. Tatwine died before he could be consecrated, however, so his successorBishop Bosel may be regarded as Worcester's first serving bishop.[4] The first cathedral church, dedicated to SaintsPeter andPaul, was built in this period, but no remains of its architecture survive. Thecrypt of the present-day cathedral dates from the 11th century and the time of Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester.
The community associated with the cathedral in the early eighth century included members of various clerical orders.[5] The cathedral community was regulated along formal monastic lines as a consequence of the Benedictine reforms in the second half of the tenth century (one author gives the time range 974–977; another considers 969 more likely). There is an important connection withFleury Abbey in France, asOswald, bishop of Worcester from 961 to 992, was professed at Fleury and introduced the monastic rule of Fleury to the monastery that he established at Worcester around the year 966, which was dedicated – as the present cathedral church is – to St. Mary.[6]
Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester, was the last surviving Anglo-Saxon bishop, living until 1095. He was later made a saint. The cathedral is the burial place ofKing John, who died in 1216.
The cathedralpriory, one of a number of religious institutions in the city,[7] was a major landowner and economic force, in both Worcester and the county. Its properties included the priory manor ofBromsgrove.[8] It was a centre of learning, providing schooling, and was associated with hospitals. The Church received a portion of local taxations, and administeredecclesiastical law as applied to Christian morals, which could result in punishments. It had close political associations with leading gentry and aristocracy. It thus had a central role in the medieval life of the city and county.[9]
The Diocese was notably hostile to the small Jewish community in Worcester.Peter of Blois was commissioned by a Bishop of Worcester, probablyJohn of Coutances, to write a significant anti-Judaic treatiseAgainst the Perfidy of Jews around 1190.[10]William de Blois, as Bishop of Worcester, imposed particularly strict rules on Jews within the diocese in 1219.[11] As elsewhere in England, Jews were officially compelled to wear rectangular white badges, supposedly representing tabulae.[clarification needed][12] In most places, this requirement was waived as long as fines were paid. In addition to enforcing the church laws on wearing badges, Blois tried to impose additional restrictions onusury, and wrote toPope Gregory IX in 1229 to ask for better enforcement and further, harsher measures. In response, the Papacy demanded that Christians be prevented from working in Jewish homes, "lest temporal profit be preferred to the zeal of Christ", and insisted on enforcement of the wearing of badges.[13]
The priory came to an end withKing Henry VIII'sDissolution of the Monasteries. Shortly beforehand, in 1535, the priorWilliam More resigned, and was replaced byHenry Holbeach. More had a reputation for fine living, although his standards seem in line with other senior ecclesiasts of the time. However, there certainly were problems with the administration of the priory, including divisions within the community.[14]
The ProtestantHugh Latimer was bishop from 1535, and preached for reform and iconoclasm. He resigned as bishop in 1539, as a result of a theological turn by Henry VIII towards Roman Catholicism, in theSix Articles.John Bell, a moderate reformer, was bishop from 1539 to 1543, during the period of the priory's dissolution.
In the early 16th century, Worcester had around 40 monks. This declined slightly in the years immediately before 1540, as recruitment seems to have halted. There were 35 Benedictine monks plus thePrior Holbeach at the time of dissolution, probably 16 January 1540; eleven were immediately given pensions, while the remainder became secular canons in the new Royal College. Holbeach was re-appointed as the first Dean. A further five former monks were pensioned from the college in July 1540.[15]
The former monastic library of Worcester contained a considerable number of manuscripts which are now scattered over, among other libraries,Cambridge, London (British Library), Oxford (Bodleian), and the Cathedral library at Worcester of today.[16] Remains of the priory dating from the 12th and 13th centuries can still be seen.
John Bell's successor as bishop,Nicholas Heath, was religiously much more conservative and Catholic.
During theCivil War, the cathedral was used to store arms, possibly as early as September 1642.[17] Worcester declared itself for the Crown and was quickly occupied by extraRoyalist forces, who were using the building to store munitions when theEarl of Essex briefly retook the city after a skirmish on its outskirts. The Parliamentary troops then ransacked the Cathedral building. Stained glass was smashed and the organ destroyed, along with library books and monuments.[18]
The See was abolished during theCommonwealth and theProtectorate, approximately 1646–1660.[19] The bell tower was demolished in 1647 and the building used as a prison in the aftermath of the 1651 battle.[20]
In the 1860s, the cathedral was subject tomajor restoration work planned bySir George Gilbert Scott and A. E. Perkins.
An image of the cathedral's west facade appeared on the reverse of the Series E British£20 note commemorating Sir Edward Elgar, issued between 1999 and 2007, remaining in circulation as legal tender until 30 June 2010.[21][22]
Worcester Cathedral embodies many features that are highly typical of an English medieval cathedral. Like the cathedrals ofSalisbury andLincoln, it has twotransepts crossing thenave, rather than the singletransept usual on the Continent. This feature of English cathedrals was to facilitate the private saying of theHoly Office by many clergy or monks. Worcester is also typical of English cathedrals in having achapter house andcloister. To the north side of the cathedral is an entrance porch, a feature designed to eliminate the draught which, prior to the installation of modern swing doors, would blow through cathedrals whenever the western doors were open.
There are important parts of the building dating from every century from the 11th to the 16th. Its tower in theperpendicular style is described byAlec Clifton-Taylor as "exquisite"[3] and is seen best across theRiver Severn.[23]
The earliest part of the building at Worcester is the multi-columnedcrypt inNorman style with cushioncapitals remaining from the original monastic church begun by bishop Saint Wulfstan of Worcester in 1084. Also from the Norman period is the circularchapter house of 1120, made octagonal on the outside when the walls were reinforced in the 14th century. The nave was built and rebuilt piecemeal and in different styles by several different architects over a period of 200 years, from 1170 to 1374, some bays being a unique and decorative transition between Norman and Gothic.[3][24] The oldest parts show alternate layers of green sandstone fromHighley in Shropshire and yellowCotswold limestone.[25]
The east end was rebuilt over the Norman crypt by Alexander Mason between 1224 and 1269, coinciding with, and in a very similarEarly English style to,Salisbury Cathedral. From 1360,John Clyve finished off the nave, built its vault, the west front, the north porch and the eastern range of the cloister. He also strengthened the Norman chapter house, addedbuttresses and changed its vault. His masterpiece is the central tower of 1374, originally supporting a timber, lead-coveredspire, now gone. Between 1404 and 1432, an unknown architect added the north and south ranges to the cloister, which was eventually closed by the western range by John Chapman, 1435–1438. The last important addition isPrince Arthur’s Chantry Chapel to the right of the south choir aisle, 1502–1504.[3][24]
Worcester Cathedral wasextensively restored from 1857 to 1874 by W. A. Perkins and SirGeorge Gilbert Scott. Most of the fittings and the stained glass date from this time. Some early 17th century screens and panelling, removed from the choir and organ casing in 1864, are now atHoly Trinity Church, Sutton Coldfield.[26]
The Cathedral contains the tomb ofKing John in itschancel. Before his death inNewark in 1216, John had requested to be buried at Worcester. He is buried between the shrines of St Wulfstan andSt Oswald (now destroyed).
The cathedral has a memorial, Prince Arthur's Chantry, to the young princeArthur Tudor, who is buried here. Arthur's younger brother and next in line for the throne wasHenry VIII. Worcester Cathedral suffered badly fromiconoclasm but was spared total destruction by Henry VIII during the English Reformation because of his brother'schantry in the cathedral.
An epitaph in Latin toHenry Bright, headmaster of theKing's School, Worcester, can be found near the north porch.[27] Other notable burials include:
The Cathedral Library at Worcester, located since the 19th century in the loft above the South Nave, contains 289 medieval manuscripts, 55incunabula, and 6600 post-medieval printed books. The library and archive of Worcester Cathedral also has a total of 19000 archived documents, along with a music collection containing works from famous composers such as Edward Elgar and Thomas Tomkins. Of particular note are the WorcesterAntiphoner (the only book of its kind to survive the Reformation), the will of King John, and a 1225 copy ofMagna Carta.[29] The largescriptorium at Worcester produced many manuscripts and was a place of work for many famous scribes, such as the chroniclerJohn of Worcester and the unnamed monk identified by his distinctive handwriting asThe Tremulous Hand of Worcester.[30]
Thirty-nine of themisericords date from 1379 and include a complete set of theLabours of the Months. The subject matter includes biblical stories, mythology and folklore including N-07,The Clever Daughter, which shows a naked woman draped in a net, riding a goat and carrying a rabbit under her arm. Three of the misericords are Victorian replacements such as N-02,Judas in the jaws of Satan.
The tower has aring of twelve bells plus four semitone bells and a 4.1 tonne non-swingingbourdon.[31] The current peal of 15 ringing bells were cast in 1928 by John Taylor & Co., ofLoughborough, from the metal of the original ring cast in 1869. The bourdon bell was cast in 1869 and retuned in 1928. It is only used by the clock to strike the hours and sometimes tolls for special events. The ring is the sixth heaviest ring of twelve in the world; only the bells in the cathedrals of Liverpool, Exeter, York, and St Paul's in London, and ofSt Mary Redcliffe church in Bristol are heavier. The bells are also considered to be one of the finest toned rings ever cast, a close contender to York Minster. The bells hang in a wooden frame that was constructed in 1869 for the previous ring. Worcester Cathedral is unique in having a purpose-built teaching centre equipped with eight special training bells, linked to computers.[31]The Cathedral is also famous for being the only church in the world to have a ring of ten bells in a harmonic minor key.[citation needed]
A new clock byJ. B. Joyce & Co was installed in 1871[32] at a cost of about £500 (equivalent to £60,400 in 2023).[33] It was built to the designs ofEdmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe using the double three-legged gravity escapement.[34]
Worcester Cathedral has three choirs:Worcester Cathedral Choir (the principal choir which has both boys' and girls' sections, normally working independently),Worcester Cathedral Voluntary Choir, and Worcester Cathedral Chamber Choir. All three were involved in the BBC broadcast of the midnight and Christmas morning services in 2007, with the boys and the girls of the Cathedral Choir, respectively, taking the lead in the two services.[35] Since the 18th century, Worcester Cathedral Choir has taken part in theThree Choirs Festival, the oldest music festival in the world.
The composerEdward Elgar spent most of his life in Worcestershire. The first performance of the revised version of hisEnigma Variations – the version usually performed – took place at the cathedral during the 1899 Three Choirs Festival. He is commemorated in a stained glass window which contains his portrait.
Worcester Cathedral has a long history oforgans dating back to at least 1417. There have been many re-builds and new organs in the intervening period, including work byThomas Dallam, William Hill and most famouslyRobert Hope-Jones in 1896. The Hope-Jones organ was heavily re-built in 1925 byHarrison & Harrison, and then regular minor works kept it in working order until Wood Wordsworth and Co. were called in 1978. It was a large four-manual organ with 61 speaking stops. It had a large Gothic Revival case with heavily decorated front pipes as well as two smaller cases either side of the quire.[36]
This organ (apart from the large transept case and pedal pipes) was removed in 2006 in order to make way for a new instrument byKenneth Tickell, which was completed in the summer of 2008.[37] The nave has a separate three-manual Rodgers organ.[38]
Notable organists at Worcester have includedThomas Tomkins (from 1596),Hugh Blair (from 1895),Ivor Atkins (from 1897) andDavid Willcocks (from 1950). From 2012 to 2018, the Director of Music and Organist wasPeter Nardone.
Worcester Cathedral hosts the annual graduation ceremonies for theUniversity of Worcester. These ceremonies are presided over by the vice-chancellor of the university, and take place over four days in November.[39]
Since 2018, Worcester Cathedral became the host to the annual honours celebration of theRoyal Life Saving Society UK, celebrating the long service and meritorious achievements of their lifesaving members.
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The Elgar notes are being withdrawn under authority given to the Bank by virtue of Section 1 (5) of the Currency and Banknotes Act 1954. The Elgar £20 banknote was first issued on 22 June 1999
A treatise addressed to John Bishop of Worcester, probably John of Coutances who held that See, 1194–8.
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