Worcester Cathedral

Worcester Cathedral

Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, England; situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn.

Worcester Cathedral has been described as possibly the most interesting of all England’s cathedrals, especially architecturally. It was founded it in AD 680. Saint Oswald then built another cathedral in 983, and established a monastery attached to it. Saint Wulfstan, who rebuilt the cathedral in 1084, began the present building. During Anglo-Saxon times, Worcester was one of the most important monastic cathedrals in the country. It was a centre of great learning, which continued into the later middle ages, when Worcester’s Benedictine monks went to university to study a variety of subjects, such as theology, medicine, law, history, mathematics, physics, and astronomy. Some of these medieval university textbooks still survive in the cathedral library today.

The monastery continued until 1540 when Henry VIII dissolved it, and some of the last monks became the first Dean and Chapter. The cathedral was badly damaged in the civil wars, and as a consequence a major programme of rebuilding was required after the Restoration of Charles II. From the late seventeenth until the nineteenth centuries there were several campaigns to restore parts of the cathedral, but the Victorians from 1864-75 carried out the largest of these.

Visiting

The Cathedral is one of England’s loveliest cathedrals. With royal tombs of
King John and Prince Arthur, medieval cloisters, ancient crypt and chapter house, and magnificent Victorian stained glass. There is also a fascinating ancient library and archive, which houses the second largest collection of medieval manuscripts in any cathedral in the UK.

Visit the new Crypt exhibition and try out the interactive touchscreens and mobile App trails to find out more about the Cathedral’s Anglo-Saxon roots, special saints, glorious heritage and much more.

Worcester Cathedral is open daily 7.30am-6pm, with Services three times daily. Entry is free

Cloister Cafe

Opens daily from 9.30am to 4.15pm Monday - Saturday and from 10.30am - 4pm on Sundays
(Excluding Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Day and Good Friday).

The coffee Shop is situated in the cloister, near College Green and opposite the Garth Garden. It offers a range of hot and cold food, a variety of delicious light meals including soups, sandwiches, baked potatoes and salads, as well as home made cakes.
Refresh yourself with a filter coffee, cappuccino, latte, expresso, choice of teas, fresh orange juice, bottled water or range of soft drinks from the fridge. Takeaway food is available.  

Parties and groups are welcome, but prior booking is essential. To enquire about booking, email our coffee shop manager Suzanne Byrne.

Cathedral Shop

There is a wonderful shop with an extensive range of books and guides not only about Worcester but other English cathedrals, abbeys and churches, history, music (especially Elgar!), Christian books, bibles, prayer books and hymn books. Also a comprehensive selection of children's books.

If you want a tasteful and affordable memento of Worcester Cathedral, the shop has a wide choice of postcards, pens, notepads, mugs and bookmarks (not to mention spoons, thimbles and of course fridge magnets!). There is also a good range of jewelry and exceptional range of music to suit all tastes, a comprehensive selection of classical music, recordings of the cathedral choirs, nostalgia, Christmas music in every genre and more.

Worcester Cathedral