Explore the rich history of the United Kingdom on a guided walking tour, uncovering hidden gems and iconic landmarks in cities such as London, Edinburgh, and Bath. Led by expert guides, delve into the country's fascinating past, from ancient Roman ruins to medieval castles, and from royal palaces to historic pubs.
Last night Jade and I enjoyed the Ghost Walk in Worcester. Paul our guide from Discover History was so, so knowledgeable and just fascinating to listen too. It's so hard to remember everything but I made a few notes as we went round! Excuse any inaccuracies! Copenhagen Street was named after the 1807 battle of Copenhagen won by Nelson's fleet (completely unrelated but Mum & Dad had some timbers from his fleet in their house at Peachley Court) . Previously Copenhagen St was called Cucking street. This went from the Guildhall to the river and prisoners were wheeled on a cucking stool for their dunking punishment to the river. One lady was called Mary, a gossip who was taken to the river for her punishment. She basically opened her mouth at the wrong time, and drowned. It is said that her wet footprints can be seen on occasions from the river to the back of the Guildhall. The original St Helens church in Farrier St is older than the cathedral. Some of the original Anglo Saxon stones are still there. Dud Dudley & John Nash the MP for Worcester hated each other. They would be heard calling each other names across the Farriers Arms. They are however both buried in St Helen's church in Farrier St. One on north side one on the south side. Stories of crashing and banging and arguing can be heard from within the church even to the point where Police have been called but no damage is ever found inside!! Across from the Cathedral (not Worcesters original Cathedral. There were several wooden attempts that got burnt down by the Vikings) the Lychgate was the only medieval Lychgate in the whole of England, sadly no longer there. The river Severn was completely tidal, levels were higher and you could come into watergate via boat (archway along the tarmac river walk leading to the cathedral) The Cardinals Hat was the Hook House for Friar Street. A Hook House was in each street due to the large amount of fires Worcester had. They stored 'Hooks' which were on long poles and used to pull the burning house down to stop it spreading to the next. The Cardinals Hat had its own fire in 1770. Greyfriars is the oldest house. Thomas Green owned it. The Battle of Worcester royalists came into city literally fighting house to house. King Charles come down Farrier St to a dead end blocked by a wagon. He went under the wagon onto the Kings Arms which was a huge mansion extending to the end of the street out towards the Cornmarket. He gathered his things then fled the city. The building has further history .... In 1606 3 people who were part of the gunpowder plot in 1605 were caught and appeared before the Sherif in the part of the mansion on the Cornmarket side. They were then pulled through the streets of Worcester on horse drawn racks/sledges to the gallows at Red Hill (Opposite Waitrose) where they were hung, drawn and quartered. Blessed Edward Oldcorn (how the school got its name from this Catholic Priest) was one of the 3. This is just a snippet of some of the fascinating facts of Worcester we learnt. Discover History has so many tours to take advantage of, if you can, it's so worth booking on. This tour was about 1 hour 40 mins and we are looking forward to taking part in future ones for sure. Thanks Paul!
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Last night Jade and I enjoyed the Ghost Walk in Worcester. Paul our guide from Discover History was so, so knowledgeable and just fascinating to listen too. It's so hard to remember everything but I made a few notes as we went round! Excuse any inaccuracies! Copenhagen Street was named after the 1807 battle of Copenhagen won by Nelson's fleet (completely unrelated but Mum & Dad had some timbers from his fleet in their house at Peachley Court) . Previously Copenhagen St was called Cucking street. This went from the Guildhall to the river and prisoners were wheeled on a cucking stool for their dunking punishment to the river. One lady was called Mary, a gossip who was taken to the river for her punishment. She basically opened her mouth at the wrong time, and drowned. It is said that her wet footprints can be seen on occasions from the river to the back of the Guildhall. The original St Helens church in Farrier St is older than the cathedral. Some of the original Anglo Saxon stones are still there. Dud Dudley & John Nash the MP for Worcester hated each other. They would be heard calling each other names across the Farriers Arms. They are however both buried in St Helen's church in Farrier St. One on north side one on the south side. Stories of crashing and banging and arguing can be heard from within the church even to the point where Police have been called but no damage is ever found inside!! Across from the Cathedral (not Worcesters original Cathedral. There were several wooden attempts that got burnt down by the Vikings) the Lychgate was the only medieval Lychgate in the whole of England, sadly no longer there. The river Severn was completely tidal, levels were higher and you could come into watergate via boat (archway along the tarmac river walk leading to the cathedral) The Cardinals Hat was the Hook House for Friar Street. A Hook House was in each street due to the large amount of fires Worcester had. They stored 'Hooks' which were on long poles and used to pull the burning house down to stop it spreading to the next. The Cardinals Hat had its own fire in 1770. Greyfriars is the oldest house. Thomas Green owned it. The Battle of Worcester royalists came into city literally fighting house to house. King Charles come down Farrier St to a dead end blocked by a wagon. He went under the wagon onto the Kings Arms which was a huge mansion extending to the end of the street out towards the Cornmarket. He gathered his things then fled the city. The building has further history .... In 1606 3 people who were part of the gunpowder plot in 1605 were caught and appeared before the Sherif in the part of the mansion on the Cornmarket side. They were then pulled through the streets of Worcester on horse drawn racks/sledges to the gallows at Red Hill (Opposite Waitrose) where they were hung, drawn and quartered. Blessed Edward Oldcorn (how the school got its name from this Catholic Priest) was one of the 3. This is just a snippet of some of the fascinating facts of Worcester we learnt. Discover History has so many tours to take advantage of, if you can, it's so worth booking on. This tour was about 1 hour 40 mins and we are looking forward to taking part in future ones for sure. Thanks Paul!
