Worcester was an important settlement in the [[Anglo-Saxon]] kingdom of [[Mercia]] and was created the seat of a bishopric in AD 680.<ref>http://www.cityofworcester.gov.uk/index.php?id=556</ref> In the late ninth century a fortified [[burh]] was created at Worcester; following the [[Norman Conquest]] a castle was constructed south of the cathedral. Worcester was a prosperous medieval city, although it fell into relative decline in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was known as a centre for glove-making,<ref>http://www.cityofworcester.gov.uk/index.php?id=551</ref> Royal Worcester Porcelain,<ref>http://www.royal-worcester.co.uk/</ref> and for the manufacture of the piquant Worcestershire Sauce. This was begun by Lea & Perrins in the 19th century.<ref>http://www.leaperrins.com/selecta.php</ref> | Worcester was an important settlement in the [[Anglo-Saxon]] kingdom of [[Mercia]] and was created the seat of a bishopric in AD 680.<ref>http://www.cityofworcester.gov.uk/index.php?id=556</ref> In the late ninth century a fortified [[burh]] was created at Worcester; following the [[Norman Conquest]] a castle was constructed south of the cathedral. Worcester was a prosperous medieval city, although it fell into relative decline in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was known as a centre for glove-making,<ref>http://www.cityofworcester.gov.uk/index.php?id=551</ref> Royal Worcester Porcelain,<ref>http://www.royal-worcester.co.uk/</ref> and for the manufacture of the piquant Worcestershire Sauce. This was begun by Lea & Perrins in the 19th century.<ref>http://www.leaperrins.com/selecta.php</ref> |