Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester (/ˈwʊstər/ WUUSS-tər, locally also ⁱ/ˈwᵻstə/ WISS-tə) is a city and the historic county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States until Massachusetts disbanded county government in 1998. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population was 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston. Worcester is located approximately 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston, and 38 miles (61 km) east of Springfield. Due to its location in Central Massachusetts, amidst Massachusetts' major metropolitan regions, Worcester is known as the "Heart of the Commonwealth", thus, a heart is the official symbol of the city. However, the heart symbol may also have its provenance in lore that Valentine's Day cards were invented in the city.

Worcester was considered its own region for centuries; however, with the encroachment of Boston's suburbs in the 1970s after the construction of Interstate 495 and Interstate 290, it now marks the western periphery of the Boston-Worcester-Providence (MA-RI-NH) U.S. Census Combined Statistical Area (CSA), or Greater Boston. The city features many examples of Victorian-era mill architecture.

Worcester, MA, 4/4/73

Worcester, MA, 4/4/73 is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded live at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts on April 4, 1973. It was released on May 20, 2003. It was the first of a series of albums that were released on the Kufala Recordings label in the 2000s and that contain complete New Riders concerts recorded in the 1970s.

Two members of the Grateful Dead sat in with the New Riders at the Worcester concert. Keith Godchaux played piano for the entire show, and Donna Jean Godchaux sang lead vocals on the Loretta Lynn song "You Ain't Woman Enough", and backing vocals on the ballad "Long Black Veil". The New Riders played nineteen original songs and six covers, a total of almost two hours of music.

Recording and sound quality

According to a statement on the back cover, the CD "was mastered directly from the original half track analog reel to reel tapes, recorded at 7.5 ips. While capturing the band at a fine point in time, the 30-year-old tapes may at certain points exhibit some imperfections due to the ravages of time."

Worcester

Worcester (ⁱ/ˈwʊstər/ WUUS-tər) is a city and the county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some 17 miles (27 km) southwest of the southern suburbs of Birmingham and 23 miles (37 km) north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 100,000 people.

The River Severn flanks the western side of the city centre, overlooked by the 12th-century Worcester Cathedral. The site of the final battle of the Civil War, Worcester was where Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army defeated King Charles II's Cavaliers, cementing the English Interregnum, the eleven-year period during which England and Wales became a republic. Worcester was the home of Royal Worcester Porcelain and, for much of his life, the composer Sir Edward Elgar. It houses the Lea & Perrins factory where the traditional Worcestershire Sauce is made, and is home to one of the UK's fastest-growing universities, the University of Worcester.

History

The trade route past Worcester which later formed part of the Roman Ryknild Street dates to Neolithic times. The position commanded a ford over the River Severn (the river was tidal past Worcester prior to public works projects in the 1840s) and was fortified by the Britons around 400 BC. It would have been on the northern border of the Dobunni and probably subject to the larger communities of the Malvern hillforts. The Roman settlement at the site passes unmentioned by Ptolemy's Geography, the Antonine Itinerary, and the Register of Dignitaries but would have grown up on the road opened between Glevum (Gloucester) and Viroconium (Wroxeter) in the AD 40s and 50s. It may have been the "Vertis" mentioned in the 7th-century Ravenna Cosmography. Using charcoal from the Forest of Dean, the Romans operated pottery kilns and ironworks at the site and may have built a small fort.

Worcester (surname)

Worcester is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include:

Worcester (UK Parliament constituency)

Worcester is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since 1885 it has elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election; from 1295 to 1885 it elected two MPs.

Boundaries

1918-1950: The County Borough of Worcester.

1950-1983: The County Borough of Worcester, the Municipal Borough of Droitwich, and the Rural District of Droitwich (the civil parishes of Crowle, Dodderhill, Doverdale, Elmbridge, Elmley Lovett, Hadzor, Hampton Lovett, Hanbury, Hartlebury, Himbleton, Hindlip, Huddington, Martin Hussingtree, North Claines, Oddingley, Ombersley, Salwarpe, Stock and Bradley, Tibberton, Upton Warren, Warndon, Westwood, and Worcester St Martin).

1983-1997: The City of Worcester, and the District of Wychavon wards of Drakes Broughton, Inkberrow, Lenches, Pinvin, Spetchley, and Upton Snodsbury.

1997-present: The City of Worcester.

The constituency covers the city of Worcester, with exactly the same boundaries as the city. It borders the Mid Worcestershire constituency to the east, and West Worcestershire to the west.