Description

Even penguins need a holiday! David’s penguin is a tourist in the area, carrying a rucksack covered with sewn-on badges of all the places he has visited. No penguin tourist would be complete without a camera and a watch that tells him when it’s next time for a fish snack. Visitors can reflect on their own experiences in Worcestershire, whether it is as a tourist or resident, and what attractions they have seen.

Audio read by: Kate Justice from BBC Hereford and Worcester

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Artist

David Cutts

David Cutts is an artist living and working in Kent. As a child, David endlessly recreated the images he found in magazines and comic books. David studied Fine Art at Canterbury Christ Church University and it was here where David honed his skills to create large-scale photorealistic drawings.

Having always been influenced by advertising images, film trailers and cartoons, David drew upon his experiences of photorealistic painting to combine these sources, often piecing together unusual materials to create the work.

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Location

03. The Cross

You’re standing in an area of Worcester known today as ‘The Cross’. You might think that this refers to the four-way intersection of roads here, but the name is ancient in origin and literally refers to a large stone cross which once stood here.

In the medieval period this was known as the ‘Grass Crosse’. It was one of two which ran along the axis of the High Street, the other being the ‘High Cross’ which stood in the area outside the Guild Hall, towards the Cathedral.

It’s not certain what function these crosses fulfilled in the city, but it’s likely that they denoted the location of major markets. It’s possible that the city’s monks used them as places to preach to the people of Worcester.

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03. The Cross

In 1575 Queen Elizabeth I visited Worcester, passing through the northern Fore Gate. A stage had been erected here as part of her welcome to the city, where she heard speeches made by local boys. A contemporary account of her visit reads:

‘And then her Majestie did ryde forwards towards the Grass Crosse, with lyghtes plentifully supplied by the Citizens at their doors…att which Cross ther was a Pageant, or Stage, very comely decked…with three boyes uttering very good…speeches.’

The Cross was pulled down in 1578, but a circular bronze plaque set in to the ground records its exact location.

This location fact has been provided by Joe Tierney of Faithful History. To learn more stories of the ancient city of Worcester, spanning thousands of years of history in ‘The Faithful City’, visit https://www.facebook.com/faithfulhistoryworcester

Take home your own feathered friend

In October 2024 all 40 large penguins and one chick will be auctioned to raise funds for the care provided by St Richard’s Hospice.

In 2021, 31 stunning elephant sculptures raised a mammoth £368,800 to support the care provided by St Richard’s Hospice across Worcestershire.

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