William Worcester

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William Worcester
William Worcester as imagined in William Wyrcestre Rediviivius (1823)
Born	c. 1415 Bristol
Died	c. 1482
Nationality	English
Occupation	antiquary
Known for	writer, antiquarian

William Worcester, also called William of Worcester, William Worcestre or William Botoner (1415 – c. 1482) was an English topographer, antiquary and chronicler.

Life

He was a son of another William of Worcester, a Bristol whittawer (worker in white leather), and his wife Elizabeth, née Botoner. His mother was a daughter of Thomas Botoner from Coventry, and he sometimes used the surname Botoner.^[1][2]

He was educated at Oxford and became secretary to Sir John Fastolf. When Fastolf died in 1459, Worcester discovered that he had bequeathed him nothing, despite his being one of Fastolf's executors, and, with one of his colleagues Sir William Yelverton, Worcester disputed the validity of the will. However, an amicable arrangement was made and Worcester obtained some lands near Norwich and in Southwark in London. He died about 1482.^[1]

Writings

Worcester made several journeys through England, and his notes (now known as his "Itineraries") contain much information. His survey of

Worcester also wrote Annales rerum Anglicarum, a work of some value for the history of England under Henry VI. This was published by Thomas Hearne in 1728, and by Joseph Stevenson for the Rolls Series with his Letters and Papers illustrative of the Wars of the English in France during the Reign of Henry VI (1864). Stevenson also printed here collections of papers made by Worcester respecting the wars of the English in France and Normandy.^[1]

Worcester's other writings include the last Acta domini Johannis Fastolf. See the Paston Letters edited by

• Dallaway, James, ed. (1822). "Itinerarium, sive Liber Rerum Memorabilium Willemi Botoner dict. de Worcestre". Antiquities of Bristow in the Middle Centuries; including the topography by William Wyrcestre, and the life of William Canynges. Bristol: Mirror Office. pp. 15–166.
• ISBN 0198222033
  .
• Neale, Frances, ed. (2000). William Worcestre: The Topography of Medieval Bristol.
  ISBN 0901538213
  .

Bibliography

• Dallaway, James (1823). William Wyrcestre Redivivus. Notices of Ancient Church Architecture in the Fifteenth Century, particularly in Bristol. With Hints for Practicable Restorations. Bristol: J. Norton.
• Dallaway, James (1834). Antiquities of Bristow in the Middle Centuries; including the topography by William Wyrcestre, and the life of William Canynges. Bristol: Mirror Office. pp. 15–166.
• McFarlane, K. B. (1957). "William Worcester: a preliminary survey". In Davies, J. Conway (ed.). Studies presented to Sir Hilary Jenkinson, C.B.E., LL.D, F.S.A. London: Oxford University Press. pp. 196–221.
• doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/29967. (Subscription or UK public library membership
  required.)
• Rundel, David."William Worcestre, Sir John Fastolf and Latin Learning." The Library 25 March 2024):3-28.

Wikisource has the text of the 1885–1900 Dictionary of National Biography's article about Worcester, William.

Attribution:

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Worcester, William". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 821.