Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/881

Rh WOOTTON-WAWEN. WORCESTER. Spa, where a pump-room and baths have heen built for the use of invalids resorting to the spa. The surface is flat, and the greater portion of the parish is taken up by the park and grounds of Wootton House, the seat of the Marquis of Chandos ; the mansion was built after the model of old Buckingham Palace, at Pimlico, on the site of a more ancient one, which was painted by Thorn- hill, but destroyed by fire in 1821. There is a tradition that the living was once held by Thomas-a-Becket, and the manor is known to have come through Walter Giffard and Richard de Grenville to the Dukes of Buckingham. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Oxford, val. 90. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is of the 12th century, recently modernised at the expense of George, late Duke of Buckingham. On the S. side is the Gren- ville chapel, or mausoleum, built in 1343 by William and Mary Grenville. There are numerous monuments and several stained-glass windows bearing the shields and armorial devices of the Dukes of Buckingham. Schools for boys and girls are supported by the Marquis of Chandos. WOOTTON-WAWEN, a par. in the hund. of Bar- lichway, co. Warwick, 8 miles N.W. of Stratford-on- Avon, and 6 from Knowles station on the Great Western railway. It is situated on the river AIne and the Bir- mingham canal, and includes the chplry. and market town of Henley-in-Arden. WORCESTER, a cathedral city and county of itself, market and assize town, a parliamentary and municipal borough, capital of the shire, and the seat of a bishopric, in the hund. of Oswaldslow, and in the union, diocese, archdeaconry, and deanery of Worcester, 29 miles N. of Gloucester, 26J S.W. of Birmingham, and 111 N.W. of London by road, and 121 by Great Western railway. The city is built on a gently undulating plain, on the eastern bank of the Severn, is situated in the midst of a well-wooded county, and is one of the most ancient cities in the kingdom. It is supposed to have been originally built and fortified by the Britons, subsequently occupied by the Romans, and considerably enlarged under the Saxons, who gave it the name of Weoryan- eeaster. A strong wall at one time encircled it, remains of which still exist. It became the see of a bishop in 680. Its increase and prosperity were much checked by the continual inroads of the Welsh; nevertheless it was a place of importance at the time of the Norman conquest. It suffered severely in the reign of John from the in- cursions of its old foes, was often besieged, and several times captured and pillaged. Henry I. granted it a charter. In 1G22, by a charter of James I., it became a city and county of itself, and was governed by a mayor and corporation. In 1835, under the Municipal Reform Act, the city was divided into five wards, and is now governed by a mayor, 12 aldermen, and 36 councillors. Worcester has generally played a conspicuous part in the great struggles that have successively rent the land, and has paid dearly for her partisanship. The cily suffered much during the wars between the houses of York and Lancaster, but it was in the civil war between Charles I. and the parliament that it sutfered most severely. Worcester espoused the royal cause, and from its faithful adherence to it received the motto still in- scribed on its arms, " Civitas in hollo et in pace fidelis." In 1642 took place the engagement between the Royalists under Prince Rupert and the parliamentary forces, when the former were defeated. In 1646 the city was besieged by the Roundheads, and after a resistance of four months was compelled to capitulate, but obtained honourable terms. But the most remarkable event in connection with the history of.Worcester was the battle between the English army under Cromwell, and the Scotch, who had espoused the cause of Charles II. In 165 1 Charles entered Worcester and repaired the fortifica- tions. He was shortly followed by Cromwell, who laid siege to the city, and on the 3rd of September was fought the battle of Worcester. The struggle continued for upwards of four hours, and ended in the total defeat of the Scotch, and the flight of the King to France. The Scotch loss was 2,000 killed, aud 8,000 wounded or pri- soners. Since this event Worcester has not been the scene of any remarkable occurrences. Worcester returns two members to parliament, and has done so since the year 1293. By the act of Edward I. the right of voting was conferred upon all 10 shareholders and re- sident freemen not receiving alms. The population, according to the census of 1861, is 30,969. In 1851 it was '27,677. The area of the registrar's district is 6,699 acres. The population of the separate parishes is as follows : St. John Bedwardine, 2,974 ; St. Clement, 2,434 ; All Saints, 2,421 ; St. Swithin, 764 ; St. Oswald, AVhistones Tything, 3,191; St. Nicholas, 1,933; St. Martin, 5,601 ; Blockhouse, 1,671 ; St. Andrew, 1,768 ; College Precincts, 89 ; St. Alban, 323 ; St. Michael Bedwardine, 570; St. Helen, 1,484; St. Peter, 5,746. The town has much extended within the last few years. The principal streets are broad, and are set off by many good shops and handsome commercial buildings ; red brick has been chiefly employed in its architecture. The city is well supplied with gas, and an abundant supply of water is procured from works recently constructed at Popeiron. It has rail and water communication with all parts of the coun- try. Both the Midland and the Great Western (lato West Midland) Railway Companies have access to the city. There are two stations, that in Foregate-street belonging to the Great Western, and that on Shrub Hill, which is largo and commodious, and occupied jointly by the two companies. The extensive railway works belonging to the West Midland (Great Western) were destroyed by fire in 1864, and have not been rebuilt. The Severn is navigable for ships of eighty tons as high as Worcester, and extensive alterations have been effected to improve the navigation, and numerous canals connect the Severn with other rivers. A stone bridge spans the river, connecting the city with the suburb of St. John Bedwardine. It was erected in 1781, at a cost of 30,000, and widened in 1841. It consists of fivo arches, is 270 fuet long, and 33 feet wide. An iron rail- way bridge of two spans also crosses the river. The ehief architectural ornament of Worcester is its cathedral. The see was founded by Kthelred, King of Mercia. Bishop Oswald completed the cathedral in 983, and it was burnt by Hardicanute's soldiers in 1041. The foundation of a new edifice was laid by Bishop Wolstun in 1084, and tbo building roofed in in i089. The church and monastery was injured by fire in 1113, and again in 1202. In 12U7 King John visited the cathedral, and contributed 100 marks towards its restoration. In 1218 Bishop Sylvester dedicated the new building in the presence of Henry III. In 1224 the charnel house and Lady Chapel were erected by Bishop William de Blois. In 1320 Bishop Wake- field erected the W. window and the porch. The cathedral is in the form of a double cross ; the outside is plain and void of ornamentation. The beauty of the edifice consists in its height, space, and the lightness of its architecture, which is aided by dimerous pinnacles rising from all points of the building. Its proportions are: length 614 feet, breadth 78, height 68, aud the tower, which rises from the centre of the W. transept, is 200 feet high. Portions of the old Norman structure remain in the walls, but the architecture generally is of the Early English and Decorated styles. The windows are of a later date. The nave is Early English. The tracery of the W. window is of the Decorated stylo. The triforiuin and clerestory run the whole length of the edifice. The lancet window at the E. end has been filled with stained glass by Hardman. The choir, which is tiarly English, has a groined roof, stone altar-screen handsomely carved, and stone pulpit with ornamented sculptures. The bishop's throne and the stalls are not in keeping with the rest of the building, and are to be re- placed by others. The altar-screen it is intended to remove to the N. side of the altar, and a reredos by Skidmore, presented by the dean, is to take its place. The Lady chapel is in the Early English style of archi- tecture. The cloisters are in very perfect preservation. Round the chapter house is a tier of Norman arches intersecting one another. There are numerous monu-