Ongoing work outside Worcester Cathedral is set to complete on schedule this month, the Cathedral has announced.
Phase one of Worcester Cathedral’s landscaping project sees improvements to College Yard (the main approach from the High Street), transforming the hard landscaping into an accessible, welcoming green space where the Cathedral and City come together.
Work started on site in September 2024, and Fitzgerald Contractors Ltd. have been working alongside a team of archaeologists from Worcestershire Archaeology and the Cathedral team on the project.
The College Yard area, on the north side of the Cathedral, was historically Worcester City’s burial ground for around 750 years, until the 19th Century. So, it’s not surprising that over the course of the project, archaeologists have unearthed a number of human remains.
All human remains have been excavated respectfully and will be analysed before being re-buried in the Cathedral’s charnel crypt. This important analysis helps to understand more about the structure, health, life and death of the historic population of Worcester. All grave markers have been returned to their original location.
The Cathedral stands centrally within a large Iron Age, subsequently Roman, defended enclosure that formed the origins of the city. For the first time, Iron Age features were found within this space, with substantial pottery recovered.
The Roman period was well-represented around the North Porch, with cobbled surfaces, postholes and ditches showing focussed settlement – more than has been seen previously within the historic enclosure. An area of late medieval industrial workshops was also found, so all-in-all the archaeology has given us a broad new understanding of the history of College Yard.
The preliminary archaeological findings will be explored in more depth at a symposium in the summer. The date is to be announced shortly, so keep an eye on the Cathedral website and social channels for updates.
Worcester Cathedral’s Clerk of Works, Kate Andrew, said: “On a landscaping project like this, you don’t see about 80% of the work involved as it takes place below the ground surface; repairing drains, for example.
“We have been working hard to future proof the cathedral so that we don’t need to dig holes though our beautiful new finishes. We have now established the new path across the centre of the green space, which has been in use successfully, for a while now, accommodating the biggest footfall we have ever seen during the Christmas period.
“Planting was completed last week with a series of new beds. There are a few outstanding tasks – some paving work, the installation of bespoke bollards which are being specially manufactured for the Cathedral and a final finishing layer of lighter-coloured tarmac or resin-bonded gravel.
“Despite work being held up by two very cold spells and high winds, we are confident that by the end of February, all of the infrastructure will be complete. The paths are in place and the fan outside the north porch looks wonderful.
“We will have outdoor power sockets, so we can use the space for festivals, fairs and other outdoor events. The central path will be illuminated by low-level lighting and lampposts that were previously damaged have been repaired.
“Our own team of masons have been working on-site on repairs and laying new walls. The longer-term aim is to create a pedestrianised route all the way around the Cathedral, from College Yard, through the west gardens, down to the river, then back through College Green and College Precincts, to the main College Yard entrance.”
The project has been made possible thanks to generous funding from the Kildare Trust, the Wolfson Foundation, The Dulverton Trust, Garfield Weston and the Towns Deal Levelling up Fund, as well as a number of anonymous donors.
