Discover History

06/10/2025

Disarming pupils before a Stone Age workshop is always an unusual thing to do on a Monday. It was on Sunday, and we love teaching history.

05/10/2025

We are big supporters of the Regimental Museums. Paul is one of the Trustees, and will be helping to see the museum move to its new home at the Commandery. If you can support this event, please do.

A great way to help raise funds for our new museum, is to consider buying a ticket to - 'A Night to Remember'. This special black tie event at the Commandery will allow you to see the plans for the new museum. You will also hear a series of talks, including one from an Antiques Roadshow expert. Contact our Curator, Stamford Cartwright for further details.
Email stamfordstmfcr@aol.com

04/10/2025

We still have spaces on The Worcester Story walk, at 2pm today. Tickets cost £7.50 per person. Email discoverhistory@aol.com to secure a place.

03/10/2025

85 years ago, at around this time, the MECO Factory and a small part of St Johns was bombed by a lone German Bomber. We pause every year to remember those killed and injured on that day.

03/10/2025

On you're encouraged to do something to make someone smile. Ion visited the Natural History Museum in London recently. He made me smile, when he presented me with this beautiful Wooly Mammoth. Now we need to name her. Thank you Ion.

03/10/2025

- Apples have been a staple fruit for thousands of years. The wild Apple or Malus Sieversii originated in Central Asia. Almaty in Kazakhstan was once known as Alma Ata, meaning Father of Apples. Eventually, by careful Hydridisation and Intergression with the wild, bitter Apples they became the domestic Apple or Malus Domestica. This may have taken place in the Tian Shan Mountains. This larger, tastier Apple soon spread along the Silk Roads and eventually made it to Europe and Britain. Today there are over 7,000 varieties of Apples, from Cooking Apples and Eating Apples, to Cider Apples and those used for Apple Juice. The varieties range in size, shape, colour and taste. The word Apple comes from the old English word for general fruit - æppel. Apples are extremely popular at this time of the year, especially with Halloween later this month. They will be used for Apple Bobbing, mounted on sticks and covered in Toffee, cooked in pies and used in warm Spiced Apple Punch. For Apples to last a long period of time, they are best placed in cool, dark storage areas. These were sometimes roof spaces or barns. Later in history it was suggested wrapping them in newspaper and placing in a cool dry cellar. Even Pliny the Elder suggested placing them carefully on straw with good air circulation. He also said picked Apples should be kept away from windfalls, or those that have dropped from trees in Autumnal Gales. In the Medieval period Orchards were carefully created. These were sometimes walled in Monasteries, so the stone that was warmed in the daytime kept the trees warm overnight. Some Apples were cut into rings and strung together to dry and preserve them for future autumn and winter dishes. Apples in storage should be inspected regularly to ensure one rotten Apple doesn't damage the whole harvest. In the 19th Century a Welsh proverb told of the importance of Apples for health. 'Eat an apple on going to bed, and you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread.' In the 1920s this would become 'An Apple a day keeps the doctor away.' In 1874 the Worcester Pearmain was created by Mr Hale. This Worcester variety is still popular today. Orchards can be found across Worcestershire and a Blossom Trail is now a popular Spring activity. Some Orchards with a bountiful crop at this time of the year, invite people to pick their own. We saw this recently at Lower Brockhampton near Bromyard. Every year the World produces over 97 Million Tons of Apples! Sadly this weekends annual Tenbury Wells Apple Festival, a celebration of the Apple, has been cancelled due to bad weather. Do you have a favourite variety?

02/10/2025

Today is . This year the theme is play. Paul loves this poem, originally written in 1892 by Henry Newbolt. The poem ‘Vitai Lampada', or The Torch of Life compares the cricket ground to the battleground.

02/10/2025

To get ready for Halloween, this month Paul's local history talk at St Johns Church looks at Murder and Mayhem. This talk is based on our walking tour of the same name. Will we see you there?

01/10/2025

We still have spaces on the 2pm Worcester Story walk on Saturday 4th October 2025. Tickets cost £7.50 per person. This popular walk looks at the history of our great City. Email discoverhistory@aol.com to secure your place.

01/10/2025

- Leading walking tours of Worcester means we see the City evolving on a regular basis. The City has moved with the times for Centuries. In some cases older buildings have made way for the new. In other ways older buildings have been altered or given a new lease of life. Many people believe this is a modern thing, however its been going on for hundreds of years. Its great to see an empty shop being prepared for reopening and getting a glimpse of it's past. If you walk on the High Street you may remember Jack Wills, which was once Waterstones. Both the old and modern facia boards have been removed and you can now see a gold painted sign reading 'Cathedral Galleries', bracketed by the words 'China' and 'Crystal', all in Gothic script. Its painted to look like it is carved into the stone. Today the property is 95 High Street, however, it was originally built as a Terrace of shops, possibly in the late 18th or early 19th Centuries. This was a period which saw new buildings being built in place of old Medieval shops along the High Street. The wine merchants Josiah Stallard and Sons used the premises in 1808. This well known Company is still trading from its Fish Street Premises today. The property was given a new frontage in the 1870s, which survives to this day. This new frontage is red brick, with large windows, and detailed stone decorations. The stone additions are used to edge the Parapet Coping, Windows Sills, Moulding Eaves and ornate Corbal Brackets. Some carvings are very detailed such as those showing thistles, fruit and stalks of grain. One of the most striking features are the polished Marble, Cornithian Columns. Decorative iron railings also sit in front of the downstairs windows. The Cornish Bakery is currently preparing the shop and carefully preserving the character of this building, inside and out. Inside, wooden floors and 19th Century Plasterwork can be seen. The building has been owned and used by numerous people over the years. When you view old directories or adverts at the HIVE, old Worcester books and view photographs on sites such as The Changing Face of Worcester you can see its many uses such as Webster's Book Shop. The Cathedral Galleries, which we are seeing today specialised in the sale of fine bone china and glassware. More recently, of course, it was Waterstones and Jack Wills. The building was Grade II listed in the Summer of 1973, to ensure the building was looked after and not altered beyond recognition. Im sure like many of you, we will pay it a visit when it opens.