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Worcester[woos´tur] Pronunciation Key, city (1991 pop. 75,466) and district, Worcestershire, W central England, on the Severn River. The making of porcelain, gloves, and sauces are long-established industries; metal goods and machines are also manufactured. The site became a bishopric c.680. Worcester's cathedral is chiefly 14th cent., with a Norman crypt and tombs; in it are held, alternately with Hereford and Gloucester, the Festivals of the Three Choirs. Several old parish churches and timbered houses remain. The Commandery, restored in 1954, was a hospital in the 11th cent. In the English civil war, Worcester was the scene of Oliver Cromwell's final victory with the complete rout of Charles II and the Scots in 1651. Two old public educational institutions are Royal Grammar School (13th cent.) and King's School (1541). The Worcester Journal, Britain's oldest surviving newspaper, was founded (1690) in the city.
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