On the Tenth Day of Christmas my true love gave to me…ten dots.

Each of the torteaux on the Cathedral’s coat of arms represent the ten parishes which comprised the City of Worcester at the time of the re-foundation of the Cathedral Church by King Henry VIII.

The Church of St Michael, a ‘peculiar’ (parish exempt from the jurisdiction of the diocese in which it lies, and subject to the direct jurisdiction of the monarch or an archbishop) of the Dean and Chapter serving College Precincts and the Old Palace was located within the Cathedral cemetery (close to the present-day war memorial) and also the church through which the Cathedral Foundation maintained a link with city parishioners. The church was demolished in 1843 and its replacement on College Street was also demolished in 1965.

The Church of St Peter, located on St Peter’s Street until its demolition in 1976.

The Church of St Alban on Deansway, now Maggs Day Centre.

The Church of St Helen, at the south end of High Street which is now under the jurisdiction of All Saints Church.

The Church of St Martin, know as Old St Martin’s at The Cornmarket since the opening of a new church on London Road in 1911.

The Church of St Swithun at The Shambles retained its Tudor Tower but was otherwise rebuilt in the 1730s. In 1977, the church was adopted by the Churches Conservation Trust.

The Church of St Andrew on Deansway which was partly demolished to create a garden of remembrance in the 1940s. The church is known locally as ‘The Glover’s Needle’ in reference to Worcester’s former leather and glove-making industries.

The Church of All Saints at the junction of Deansway, Broad Street and Bridge Street.

The Church of St Nicholas, The Cross, was de-consecrated in 1989 and has been a popular bar since the mid-1990s.

Finally, the Church of St Clement which relocated to the western bank of the River Severn in 1822.