RIGHT – question for today. Drill deep into your memory bank because here it comes and no sniggering at the back of the room.

Give Order Please! As Colin Crompton used to say at the Wheeltappers and Shunters. Who had the nickname “Longshanks”? Clue: he’s not a Premier League footballer, he wasn’t a disgraced British politician nor was he a television newsreader.

Supplementary clue – he was also known as The Hammer of the Scots. And it’s not Paul Gascoigne either despite that utterly brilliant goal during Euro 96 at Wembley. Cut the field down a bit? Probably not enough because you need to go back 800 years and raise the social bar a fair way.

The answer is King Edward I who came to Worcester in May 1282 looking for fighting men. Edward had been nicknamed Longshanks (meaning long legs or long shins) because, despite poor health as a child, he eventually grew to become 6ft 2ins tall. A remarkable height for the time when the average was nearer 5ft 6ins. Hammer of the Scots came from his various campaigns against them and putting their country under English rule.

He was also a veteran of the England’s Barons' War and the Crusades and it was in this war-like mode he passed through Worcester, stopping off to collect the Men at Arms martialed by the then-Bishop of Worcester Godfrey Giffard on his way to put down a Welsh rebellion.

While we know Edward stayed at Hartlebury Castle, the then-home of the Bishop of Worcester, he would have certainly stopped in Worcester, potentially even pausing to visit the shrine of St Wulfstan at Worcester Cathedral which had been dedicated only 70 years earlier.

This interesting little snippet comes courtesy of Worcester’s History and Heritage Calendar and here are a few more happenings in May over the centuries.

May 3, 1852: The first public service on the new Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton railway. However, it was initially limited, only operating between Stourbridge and Evesham. The conception and creation of the OW&WR (as it was known) was a story of overrunning budgets, big personality clashes, delays and even a physical skirmish during the height of railway mania. The project took seven years from inception to first service but more stations were opened as the year went on as the project finally became a reality. The entire route was complete by the end of the 1850s, linking the industrial Black Country to many Worcestershire towns along its way. In fact, much of the line is still in use today and brought a form of travel to many who thought going 30mph was bad for your health.

May 10, 1999: Prince Philip was guest of honour at Worcestershire County Cricket Club's centenary celebrations for a one-day game against the Australians who were warming up before the Cricket World Cup. The club was celebrating its 100th year, both at the New Road ground and in the County Championship. Hosted by club secretary Mike Vockins, the Prince planted a ceremonial Silver Birch tree and stayed to watch the match. In fashion befitting the Prince, he enjoyed the game so much he was almost late for a speech he was due to give back in London.

May 14, 1203: Pope Innocent III canonized Bishop Wulfstan who had been the Bishop of Worcester from 1062 until his death in 1095. He was made a Saint following miracles that had been occurring at his tomb in Worcester Cathedral but during his life he was an exceptional example of devotion and piety. Becoming a Benedictine Monk as a young man, Wulfstan held poverty as a virtue and was the only Bishop in post Norman Conquest England to retain his position. Wulfstan is thought to be the first English Bishop to make a point of visiting his Diocese to serve the rural folk, reconstructed Great Malvern Priory and is attributed with ending the slave trade from Bristol to Viking Ireland. He died at 87 whilst reportedly washing the feet of his parishioners as was his custom.

May 20, 1950: Sir Winston Churchill came to Worcester to receive the Freedom of the City. The decision to bestow the Freedom on the then-Prime Minister had been made back in May 1945, immediately after the end of the Second World War, but it took five years for him to make the visit. When he did the city put on a tremendous welcome with large crowds gathering to see him. A reception at the Guildhall began at 11.45am and was followed by lunch before the national hero departed mid-afternoon. While Worcester was proud to have hosted the famous wartime leader, it was only through the persistence of successive mayors the city secured the date. Following VE Day more than 60 towns and cities wanted to bestow honours on him.

May 28, 1955: Worcester’s Theatre Royal in Angel Street closes. The Kings Head Theatre originally stood on the site but was replaced by The Theatre Royal in 1875. That version burnt down in 1877. It was then rebuilt to the plans of noted theatre architect CJ Phipps and reopened in 1878. In 1910 a projection box was built at the rear stage and the theatre became the Theatre Royal and Palace of Varieties. In February 1912 a fire destroyed the stage but it was soon rebuilt. Films continued as part of the variety programme until around 1915. After then newsreel films were screened. The Theatre Royal then programmed variety and dramatic plays. From 1937 it hosted repertory and variety. After WWII its fortunes gradually declined and it resorted to 'adult entertainment' before eventual closure. The building lay derelict for several years and was then demolished. A car showroom was built on the site, which later became a series of supermarkets, but today the building lies empty.

May 1967: One of Worcester’s once most famous names disappeared when Hardy and Padmore went into voluntary liquidation. Founded in 1814, the company’s headquarters were in Foundry Street just off City Walls Road and its golden age was between 1850 to 1900 when it was internationally renowned for its fine decorative cast iron work. The name of Hardy and Padmore, Worcester, can be seen in many towns on ornamental lamp standards and other street furniture, on seats, fire-grates, railings and gates. In Worcester alone the Foregate railway bridge, the Cripplegate Park fountain, the City Bridge lamps and countless benches were made in the factory beside the canal in Foundry Street. In London, most famously, the ornamental dolphin lamp standards on the embankment of the Thames were made in Worcester and H and P exported as far as Shanghai. Although lost in the de-industrialisation of the 60s and 70s, Hardy and Padmore has an industrial legacy to stand alongside fine porcelain, tangy sauce and gloves.