Cathedrals

52 53 Nestled against the River Severn, the site was settled in the Iron Age, then occupied by the Romans and Saxons. Around 679 the diocese encompassing Mercia was divided up by Archbishop Theodore of Canterbury to create new Bishoprics for the various tribes and subkingdoms, and the church of St Peter was established with a chapter of secular clerks. In 961 Oswald was appointed bishop and established in 983 a new church and Benedictine order dedicated to St Mary, transferring St Peters powers to St Marys which became Worcester Cathedral, but the new building was soon burned and plundered by Vikings in 1041. The Saxon bishop Wulstan of Worcester 106295 was the only prelate in the country not to be replaced by Norman ecclesiastics. Deploring the Norman habit of tearing down Saxon churches and replacing them with new buildings, he began to rebuild St Marys himself, paying special attention to the crypt that was to contain the remains of St Oswald. A fire in 1113 slowed building work, however, and it was not until 1170 that the nave was completed in the newer transitional style. Building work continued until the late 14th century, with the cloisters eventually being completed in the 1432. Despite enthusiastic restoration work carried out in the 18th and 19th centuries Worcesters architecture and interior are exquisite. WORCESTER Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary