The Medieval Legacy

The date of the first permanent occupation of the site where Worcester now stands is not clear, although there was a defensive site from the Iron Age here, replaced later by a Roman town with defences which were strengthened on the 3^rd or 4^th centuries AD. By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, the earlier name of the settlement Weogoran ceastre was recorded as Wirecestre. Shortly after the Norman Conquest, a castle of timber, followed later by a stone one was built close to the river (now nos. 5 and 8 College Green) overlooking the part of the river that was fordable. The River Severn was tidal until the locks at Diglis were built in the 1840s.

During the Middle Ages Worcester was a hugely important town in the Midlands. It covered the area which now makes up the city centre. It was surrounded by a wall built in the 12^th century, fragments of which are still visible from City Walls Road to the south and Rack Alley, now part of the CrownGate Shopping centre. Originally with nine gates, only the Watergate leading from the riverside into the Cathedral precincts still survives. On 12th November 1189, the city of Worcester was granted its first charter by King Richard.