Worcester - Cathedral

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Cathedral Description

The best view of the Worcester cathedral is from the far bank of the Severn. Built of red sandstone, it's exterior was considerably altered during the course of restoration work carried out by Sir George Gilbert Scott between 1857 and 1873. Despite this, the cathedral continues to display all forms of style ranging from Norman to late Perpendicular. During the 10th century Bishop Oswald built a church on the site of an Anglo-Saxon predecessor. The church was affected so detrimentally by Danish attacks, however, that Bishop Wulfstan (bishop from 1062 until 1095) had it torn down, and a new Norman-style cathedral erected. Of this, following a fire, only the crypt, two niches in the nave, and parts of the walls survive. The choir and the

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Hobbies & Activities category: Architecture - Medieval; Towers, monuments, observation deck; Christian sites

Cathedral Highlights

Cathedral Chapterhouse & Refectory

The chapterhouse is one of the earliest examples of vaulting borne on a single central pillar. The original circular construction dates from 1150, it gained its decagonal exterior in about 1400

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Cathedral Crypt and Cloister

The crypt of Worcester Cathedral (1084-1092), a relic of the Norman cathedral, has 50 elegant pillars. Here as in the cloister (Perpendicular) the vault has fine bosses. The Tree of Jesse, and

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Cathedral Interior

No other English church can compete with the continuous, 387ft/118m-long, vaulting of the otherwise varied interior of Worcester Cathedral. Bishops' tombs dating from various eras can be found in

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Three Choirs Festival

Founded in 1712, the Three Choirs Festival is the oldest European music festival, it runs for one week in late August. The festival takes place in Worcester every third year, and travels to

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