Updated on June 14, 2013
King John’s tomb
Worcester Cathedral is famous as the burial place of King John who reigned from 1199 as king of a huge empire stretching from England to the south of France.
King John stayed at Worcester several times. His first visit was 1189 when he met Welsh nobles. He also attended Worcester on Easter Day in 1200, two years before a great fire which damaged much of the city.
In 1215 King John was forced by opposing barons to sign the Magna Carta in order to remain king.
History
The cathedral was founded in 680. Saint Oswald then built another cathedral in 983 and established a monastery.
Saint Wulfstan rebuilt the cathedral in 1084 and began the building of the present cathedral.
Worcester was a centre of learning from Anglo-Saxon times to the Middle Ages. Worcester’s Benedictine monks went to university to study theology, medicine, law, history, mathematics, physics and astronomy. Some of their medieval textbooks are preserved in the library.
Henry VIII dissolved monasteries across the kingdom in the mid 1500s. Worchester’s monastery was dissolved in 1540 and the last of the monks then worked at the cathedral.
The building was badly damaged in the civil wars but was partially repaired under Charles II. Repairs were not completed until the 1864-75 when a large amount of repair work was undertaken. Saint Oswald and Saint Wulstan are both buried in the cathedral.
Cathedral tours
The cathedral provides tour guides from April to the end of November, to show visitors around the cathedral.
Tours are at 11am and 2.30pm from Monday to Saturday. Cost £4 per person.
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