SQUARED AWAY IN WORCESTER

A perfect Georgian Square   Worcester

Each year we are lucky enough to spend a weekend in Worcester with our friends, Chris and Liz. They live in a lovely house on Britannia Square, one of the most complete areas of Georgian architecture in the country.

The Romans were there first; remains of their buildings have been discovered in the Square. A circular building was discovered in 1829, quite possibly a temple, or part of a country house or villa, and a large number of coins found all dating from the 4th century.

After the Romans the city continued to prosper. Situated on the banks of the River Severn it was an important trading point. As time passed the good, the great and the rich, felt in need of impressive homes and built these houses assembled around a piece of land (Britannia Square) that, until the late 1700’s had been rented out to farmers by the good Bishop of Worcester.

This whole part of the city is now a conservation area with the Roman bit an Ancient Monument. With naturally strict planning laws some of which were in force in the 1800’s when building regulations stated

“The front to be plastered with Roman Cement and the roof covered with slate [The buyer] should not erect any Manufactory, Warehouse, Coach House, Stable or any other building on the purposed line for the front of the buildings nor permit Piggeries or any other nuisance whatsoever to be erected.”