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Plotting the Past, Planning the Future - Life in 13th Century Worcester
 
 
 
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The 1189 Charter (28k)
The Charter of 1189

 Government and Power - Worcester’s civic government provided the institutional backdrop to the city’s wealth and development in the middle ages. Although there would have been some form of city government from the origins of the borough in the 9th century, it was medieval documents, in particular the charter of 1189, which provided its legitimacy.
The Worcester City Seal (23k)

The River Severn at Worcester by W. Marlowe (17k)

City Government and Infrastructure - The city was also responsible for providing and maintaining much of the physical infrastructure, and was active in using this to promote Worcester as a safe and regulated market and trading centre - the largest in the region. Much of the money for the building of the city walls and gates in the first half of the 13th century was raised through tolls on merchants visiting the city, and duty on goods traded there, for instance on the ‘king’s wine’, which was imported and then distributed from Worcester.

The River Severn
and the Quays
The City Walls at Sidbury - 1970s (22k)
The City Walls
Taxes collected to pay for the defences were known as ‘murage’. Similar taxes - ‘pontage’, ‘pavage’ and ‘quayage’ - were levied to pay for the work on the Severn bridge, the city streets, and the two public quays respectively. Locally raised contributions were often matched by grants from the king. As a result of this expenditure, as well as of the enterprise of its citizens, in the 12th century Worcester was rated as the tenth most prosperous place in the kingdom. However, it had declined relative to other towns by the mid 13th century.
Panel 1 - Panel 2 - Panel 3
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© Worcester City Museums 2001
 
Introduction
Aerial Views of Worcester
The Worcester 1250 Model
Making the Model
Life in 13th Century Worcester

The Life of a Plot
Inheriting the Landscape
Plotting the Past, Planning the Future Exhibition
 
Related Topics
 
Potted Histories - Medieval Worcester
Worcester Maps & Plans
 
Things To Do
 
Worcester City History Awards for Schools