Staying with the pre-1972 counties, this week we are in Worcestershire (pronounced ‘Woostershear'), the eastern part of the new county of Hereford and Worcester. Worcester, cathedral city and county town, has given its name to three things of note: Worcester pottery, Worcester Pearmain apples and Worcester sauce, without which no bloody Mary would be complete.
The Worcester County Cricket Club ground is one of the most attractively sited in England, lying as it does alongside the River Severn with the cathedral on the opposite bank.
In the south of the county are the pleasant towns of Evesham and Pershore but the north verges on the industrial heartland of England and is far less attractive. The most scenic part of the county is in the west where the Malvern Hills are the source of the Queen's favourite Malvern water. Edward Elgar, the famous English composer, was born near Worcester and I always imagine the Malvern Hills when I hear ‘Nimrod' being played. Our picture shows the hills rising behind the church in the village of Colwall.
Worcestershire has to be one of my favorite words in the entire English language... just for the confusion it causes native and non-native speakers.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever heard of Woolfardisworthy? A village in Devon pronounced Woolsery.
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