Beyond Wulfstan - 14th Century onwards

When King John died in 1216, this marked the beginning of further great change for Worcester Cathedral. King John was buried before the high altar and St Wuflstan's body was translated into a shrine after his canonisation in 1206. A huge amount of restoration had occurred within the building and the cathedral was rededicated in the presence of Henry III in 1218. But only 6 years followed these events before Bishop William of Blois re-planned the east end of the Cathedral. This block of work continued until around 1250, the result was the Lady Chapel and Choir End of the cathedral. Then there was a pause in the redevelopment for about 60 - 70 years.

Following important dates include:
1317 - Rebuilding of nave commenced under Bishop Cobham
1386 - North porch built and new tower built
1502 - Great chantry built to hold the tomb of Prince Arthur
1540 - Monastery dissolved

The cathedral remained important to the community through the centuries and the cathedral itself suffered at the hands of war like the people that worshiped within its walls. Throughout the civil war the cathedral was damaged largely by the Parliamentairians. But although there was much destruction, the repair and upkeep of the cathedral continues to the present day, most notably in 1855 when a 20 year program of restoration saw the cathedral restored to the building that is familiar to us today.