Edgar Tower is an 14th-century gatehouse originally constructed to protect the entrance to the great court of Worcester Cathedral.
History
Edgar Tower is a gatehouse constructed at the former entrance to Worcester Castle. The castle had been originally built on lands which included the graveyard of Worcester Cathedral, leading to a long running legal dispute between the Beauchamps family, who controlled the castle, and the bishops. A 1217 resolution divided the castle in two, with the cathedral taking back one side of the site.
The Crown authorised – and at times instructed – the bishops of Worcester to fortify their cathedral complex and the parts of the city walls they now controlled. As part of this process, a new gatehouse began to be constructed in the 1300s on the side of the original entrance of the castle, but now controlling access to the great court of the cathedral monastery. It was probably finished after 1369 when a final set of royal permissions for fortifications were granted.
The tower was restored during the 19th century. Today, the tower is protected under UK law as a Scheduled Monument and as a Grade I Listed Building.
Architecture
The gatehouse is a two-storey building, built from stone. The ground floor comprises a porch and a vaulted gate-hall, flanked by two chambers, including a porter’s lodge, and octagonal turrets. A spiral staircase in the north-west turret leads up to the first floor, which is divided into four chambers, which would originally have been used to house guests. The gatehouse was fortified with arrow-loops and murderholes.
Bibliography
- Oxford Archaeology. (2007) Worcester’s city walls – Conservation Management Plan. Oxford Archaeology: Oxford, UK.
- Page, William and J. W. Willis-Bund (eds) (1924) “The city of Worcester: Cathedral and Priory”, in the Victoria County History of Worcestershire Volume 4.
Attribution
The text of this page is licensed under under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Photographs on this page include those drawn from the Wikimedia website, as of 29 May 2020, and attributed and licensed as follows: “Edgar’s Tower“, author Celuici, released under CC BY-SA 3.0; “Edgar Street from below the Edgar Tower“, author Philip Halling, released under CC BY-SA 2.0.
