Worcester

{| border=1 cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" width=300 |- !colspan=2 align=center bgcolor="#ff9999"|City of Worcester |- |align=center| |align=center|
''Shown within Worcestershire'' |- !colspan=2 bgcolor="#ff9999"|Geography |- |width="45%"|Status:||City (1189) |- |Regions of England:||West Midlands (region) |- |Admin. County:||Worcestershire |- |Surface area:
- Total||List of English districts by area
1 E7 m� square kilometre |- |Admin. HQ:||Worcester |- |ONS coding system:||47UE |- !colspan=2 bgcolor="#ff9999"|Demographics |- |Population:
- Total (2003 est.)
- Density||List of English districts by population
93,530
2,810 / km² |- |Ethnicity:||96.5% White
2.0% S.Asian |- !colspan=2 bgcolor="#ff9999"|Politics |- |colspan=2 align=center|Worcester City Council
http://www.cityofworcester.gov.uk/ |- |Local_government_in_England#Councils_and_councillors:||Leader & Cabinet |- |Executive:||Labour Party (UK) |- |MPs elected in the UK general election, 2005:||Michael John Foster |- |colspan=2 align=center|United Kingdom general election, 2005 results |- |Michael Foster, Labour||19,421 (41.9%, down 6.7%) |- |Margaret Harper, Conservative Party (UK)||16,277 (35.1%, down 0.4%) |- |Mary Dhonau, Liberal Democrats (UK)||7,557 (16.3%, up 3.7%) |- |Richard Chamings, UK Independence Party||1,113 (2.4%, down 0.9%) |- |Martin Roberts, British National Party||980 (2.1%, up 2.1%) |- |Chris Lennard, Green Party (UK)||921 (2.0%, up 2.0%) |- |Prudence Dowson, Independent||119 (0.3%) |} The city of Worcester (IPA chart for English ) is the county town of Worcestershire in England; the river Severn runs through the middle, with the city's large Worcester Cathedral overlooking the river. ==History== The site of Worcester was first used by the Roman Empire in the 1st century, linking Gloucester to Wroxeter. In Anno Domini 407 the village was thought to have been abandoned, only to be resurrected as a settlement in the mid 7th century by the Saxons, giving it the name of "Weogoran cester". The town was almost destroyed in 1041 after a rebellion against the punitive taxation of Harthacanute. Worcester was the site of the Battle of Worcester (September 3, 1651), in which Charles II of England's attempt to retake the country from Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians was decisively defeated, in the fields a little to the west and south of the city, near the village of Powick. After being defeated, Charles returned to his headquarters in what is now known as King Charles house in the Cornmarket, before fleeing in disguise to Boscobel House in Shropshire and his eventual escape to France.
Worcester was one of the cities loyal to the King in that war, for which it was given the epithet "The Faithful City". ==Industry and commerce== Industry is now quite varied; in the 19th century and early twentieth century, Worcester was a major centre for glove manufacture, but this has declined greatly. Still located in the city are the Worcester porcelain factory (near the cathedral), and, somewhat out of the centre, the factory that makes Worcester's most famous product, Worcestershire sauce. Worcester is the home of what is claimed to be the oldest daily newspaper in the world, ''Berrow's Worcester Journal'', which traces its descent from a newsheet that started publication in 1690. ==Public schools== Worcester is also the seat of the famous public schools the Royal Grammar School Worcester founded ante 1291, and the Worcester Cathedral School which was founded in 1541 under King Henry VIII as The King's School, Worcester. ==Famous citizens== Probably Worcester's most famous citizen was composer Sir Edward Elgar, whose father ran a music shop at the end of the High Street; a statue of Elgar stands near the original location of that shop. His birthplace is a short way outside of Worcester in the village of Broadheath. Sir Charles Hastings, founder of the British Medical Association lived in Worcester for most of his life - the newly built Worcestershire Royal Hospital stands in a road named in his honour. Poet and author Reverend Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy, famously known as Woodbine Willy, was for some time the Vicar of St. Pauls Church in the City. He rose to fame during World War I when he became an army chaplain, his sermons and poetry helping boost morale to the troops. He acquired his nickname from his habit of handing out of "Woodbine" Cigarettes to the men in the trenches. Civil engineer Edward Leader Williams, designer of the Manchester Ship Canal, was born and raised in Worcester, residing at Diglis House (now the Diglis Hotel) with his brother, noted landscape artist Benjamin Williams Leader. ==Culture and Arts== ===Festivals and Shows=== Every three years, Worcester becomes home to the Three Choirs Festival, which dates back to the 18th Century and is credited with being the oldest music festival in Europe. The location of the festival rotates each year between the Cathedral Cities of Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester. Famous for its championing of English music, especially that of Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst, Worcester is next scheduled to host the festival in August 2005. The Worcester Festival is a relatively new venture established in 2003. Held in late August, the festival consists of a variety of music, theatre, cinema and workshops, as well as the already established Beer Festival, which now runs under the Worcester Festival moniker. The Christmas Fayre is a major source of tourism every December. ==Miscellaneous== Home of the Worcestershire County Cricket Club. Home of Conference North side Worcester City FC (link to official site below) who play at St George's Lane (soccer). Home to Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club (WRFC), a Premier League rugby union team. The Member of parliament for the constituency of Worcester is Michael John Foster. ==External links== *http://www.thisisworcester.co.uk *http://www.berrowsjournal.co.uk *http://www.localhistories.org/worcester.html *[http://www.worcestercityfc.co.uk/ Worcester City Soccer Club] *http://www.3choirs.org *http://www.worcesterfestival.co.uk/ *[http://www.wrfc.co.uk/ Worcester Rugby Football Club] Worcester Towns on the River Severn Cities in England English county towns Local government in Worcestershire

Worcester

==Pronunciation== Regarding the pronounciation of Worcester, I would argue that "Wuster" gives the impression that it should be said as in the word "CUS-tard", where as the first sylible ("Worc") ''should'' be pronounced as in the word "Puss" (as in Cat). I haven't put in a correction because, as I'm sure you'll appreciate, it takes up a bit too much room to explain this! :I pronounce the ''cus'' from custard and ''puss'' the same! User:Violetriga User_talk:violetriga 21:55, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC) ::What is the OED standard for the OO sound of Worcester? -- User:Francs2000 | User talk:Francs2000 21:56, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC) :::It's not an OO sound - it's an "uh". Perhaps "Wuh-ster" might be a better way of writing it. User:Violetriga User_talk:violetriga 22:00, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC) ::::That's what I meant - I was going by the oo in 'wood', for which my copy of the OED gives an upside down omega. I think your idea's probably better. -- User:Francs2000 | User talk:Francs2000 22:05, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC) :::::Ahh sorry, read OO as in "goo". I'll change the main article to ''Wuh-ster'' now. User:Violetriga User_talk:violetriga 22:17, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Worcester

Worcestershire Cities in England

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