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Plotting the Past, Planning
the Future - The Worcester 1250 Model
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The Green City - Worcester 1250 was a city that was growing
fast, but many areas within the city wall remained open. Away from
the central streets, gardens and built-up plots were intermingled,
and all around the margins lay further gardens, orchards, pasture
and waste ground. But even within the city centre, it would have
been rare for ordinary house-plots, or burgages, to have been totally
built over. |
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| Behind the houses were
yard areas containing service buildings and latrines, and behind these
would have been more gardens. These would have been used for growing
vegetables such as leeks and onions, beans, peas, and parsley. Madder,
used in dyeing cloth, may have been grown in the suburbs Several orchards are shown on the model. The apples from these would mainly have been used for making cider. At this date, as the climate was slightly warmer, there may even have been occasional vineyards in the city. Grazing, for livestock brought to the city's markets, was a crucial economic resource.
The City Defences
The City Walls are the single most impressive surviving monument
of 13th century Worcester. They were designed not just as a military
defence but as a statement of the city's growing sense of urban
identity. The wall was just one part of the system. The city gates
may have been built first: these were all demolished in the 18th
century (though part of the Sidbury Gate has been preserved in a
cellar). |
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