Wirecestra.
("Doomsday Book.")
Apart from its beautiful Cathedral, this ancient city has gained
notoriety from its famous manufacture of porcelain. Who is there who has
not heard of "Old Worcester" china? From the experiments of china clay,
china stone from Cornwall, feldspar from Sweden, fire-clay from
Stourbridge and Broseley, marl, flint, and calcined bones, Dr. Wall
evolved those exquisite creations of Worcester china which now claim
universal admiration and obtain fabulous prices.
It has been said that for political reasons the joint efforts of Dr.
Wall, a physician; William Davies, an apothecary; and Edward Cave, the
founder of _The Gentleman's Magazine_, gave birth to the foundation of
the Worcester Porcelain Company. This desirable event took place in
1751, six years after the invasion of the Pretender's armed forces,
which penetrated as far as Derby. Whether the establishment of this
industry helped George II.'s party to gain votes in the county against
the numerous supporters of the Pretender, who made their presence felt
in Worcester, or not, is now of little consequence. The existence of
this branch of art clearly demonstrates the insecure footing of
politics, and asserts the triumph of its founders.
Mr. Collins gives us another proof that "art is long" by his skilful
rendering of the beautiful portion of Worcester Cathedral here shown.
At the period of the Roman invasion of England, two British tribes, the
Cornavii and Dobuni, were in part ownership of Worcestershire. This
British settlement was promptly annexed by the Romans as a military
station, and was included in the division called Flavia Caesariensis.
They named it Vigorna, but being low and woody it offered little
attraction to them, and received little attention at their hands. With
the establishment of the Saxon Octarchy this territory became included
in the kingdom of Mercia. Like many of the English towns that served as
Roman military posts, the Saxons grafted the Roman appellation "cester"
for a camp, to Wigorna.
Wigorna-cester gradually changed to Worcester. The city's advancement
was temporarily checked by the ravages of the Danes, who burnt it more
than once. In spite of the opposition of the Bishop of Lichfield, the
See of the city was founded by Archbishop Theodore, in 673, though not
finally established till 780. It then severed its connection with the
See of Lichfield.
Save for predatory incursions of the Danes, especially on two occasions,
when the Dane chief Canute was, in 1016, defeated by Edmund Ironsides
near Blockley; and at another time, when the Danes deemed it necessary,
in 1041, to punish the Saxons for refusing to pay them tribute called
"danegelt,"--save for these little misfortunes, little else interfered
with the gradual growth of the city's prosperity.
Naturally, with increased prosperity, the city freed itself from bondage
to Danes. At the date of the Conquest it had even attained sufficient
importance to have a mint. The existence of various English mints at
that period, as shown here, and in Oxford and other towns, according to
their importance and the exigencies of the neighbourhood, must have been
solely due to the geographical partition of England.
Prior to the Conquest we notice the frequent distribution and
redistribution of England into kingdoms, in ratio to the superior power
or stratagem of one king over another.
By this is made evident the lack of unity and support against the common
foe, the foreign invader. Each kingdom of necessity issued its own
currency, besides framing its own laws to suit the character of the
subjects and the nature of the surroundings.
Though each king attempted to restore this chaos to order by the simple
process of grabbing his neighbours' land during the intermission of
hostilities against foreign invaders, it was only Alfred the Great who
really attempted some scheme of unity--and then failed to accomplish
what seemed an impossibility. But this impossibility was entirely
overcome by William the Conqueror, who straightway grasped the
situation. He erected castles everywhere, with the twofold purpose of
curbing the Saxons and keeping out their former foes. Under his rule
internal dissensions were quelled, effete customs were abolished, new
and necessary laws were introduced, architecture was encouraged, trade
was fostered, and a recognised currency was adopted. All this can be
readily gathered at a glance into that marvellous book he caused to be
drawn up, called "Doomsday Book." In it a correct valuation of all
property, from the noble lord's down to the agricultural implements of
the peasant, is entered, with the position of every church and castle
extant conspicuously marked on the chart in Latin. He wished to
thoroughly gauge the resources of his recent conquest. With this
information he gained an index to the complete establishment of his
sovereignty over England. This may be considered a digression, but we
submit that a brief sketch of the wonderful change that took place under
this monarch is essential to the right understanding of the history
alike of cathedral and city. No other reigning prince of England, before
or since William's reign, has left such lasting evidences of his
personality except it be Henry VIII., who is inseparable with the
dissolution of the monasteries.
The drawing of Mr. Collins gives an excellent idea of the character of
Worcester Cathedral. Its site is on the eastern bank of the river
Severn, and is the most important building of the city. Yet it cannot be
compared to the massive grandeur of Ripon. Though its beauty could not
entirely be marred by restoration, yet, having been allowed to get out
of repair, the task was entrusted in 1857 to Mr. Perkins, the cathedral
architect. He has managed to sweep away a great part of the old work,
and in some instances has replaced the original by conjectural work of
Early English style.
[Illustration: WORCESTER