England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Worcester St Alban

The Parish

The city of Worcester lies in the southern portion of central Worcestershire and is the county town and an ancient cathedral city. Worcester is located roughly 30 miles southwest of Birmingham and 60 north of Bristol and straddles the River Severn at the crossing point of the A38 (Bristol to Birmingham) road with the A44(Oxford through Worcester to Leominster) road. The presence of the "cester" in its name indicates its prominence as a Roman settlement but was probably founded prior to their conquest. Its position by a fordable part of the Severn enabled it grow into a regional market centre and inland port of some consequence. Worcester was already one of the country's major cities by the time of the Norman conquest who immediately fortified the city and built the cathedral that defined its city status. The city's market was granted by Henry I and growth continued through medieval times as a major centre for weaving. Those industries became cheaper in other areas and trade moved into the making of gloves and fine porcelain, for which the city is noted. Worcester is divided into 12 parishes, most within the heart of the city others containing areas that were once rural. Today's Worcester is a large city sprawling for some 4 miles from north to south and a similar distance from west to east. All of the usual modern developments are here, railway lines lead to the surrounding major cities and the M5 motorway almost defines the eastern edge of the city. The city is drained, and occasionally flooded, by the River Severn southwards to the Bristol Channel. Worcester is sited at between 10 and 60 metres above the sea, the river being at 10 metres whilst the southeastern suburbs are at 60 metres, a height which is seldom exceeded for many miles in fairly gentle terrain. St Alban parish occupied a small area a few hundred yards north of the cathedral based upon today's Deansway. nowadays a largely redeveloped area it would have been crowded with residents supporting a population of around 250 parishioners. Worcester, like many large places, is mentioned in Domesday Book as a holding of both the King and of Evesham Abbey but its assets were not detailed merely indicating its great wealth to the King, in particular.

The Church

The former church of St Alban, now closed for worship and used as a Day Centre for the homeless, sits on Deansway at its junction with Fish Street. This is one of the earliest churches in Worcester with elements dating back to the earliest stone-built churches, there is much which is Norman or even possibly Saxon about the building. Pevsner points to the south wall have the most coherent stonework from the Norman 12th century period. Within the interior are Late Norman rounded piers within the northern arcade which are intact. The chancel, prior to the extensive restoration was from the 13th century early English Gothic period. The massive restoration of 1850 not only removed many dating details, it rebuilt the chancel adding two bays further east, added the current doorway and replaced many of the windows in a Neo-Norman style. Like most urban churches this is one to visit on foot after finding a city car park. The urban setting, Deansway is a main thoroughfare through the city makes many angles difficult due to the traffic leaving only the views from Fish Street available for the photographer.