WORCESTER was always a forward-thinking city.

Factory children in the city were being educated before the Acts of Parliament ordered it.

The city had banned thatch roofing in the medieval period and Worcester had also formed a police force before being told to create one.

Worcester has one of the oldest museums too.

On April 8, 1833, Worcester physician Dr Charles Hastings chaired the inaugural meeting of the Worcester Natural History Society.

Nineteenth-century medical men often had an interest in history, archaeology and the natural world.

The meeting took place in the Guildhall and was well attended by Worcester people of many classes.

Many knew the city was ancient, after all it was full of timber-framed houses, a beautiful medieval cathedral and the ruins of its walls.

Local history is still a popular topic in the city today.

You only need to view the numerous social media pages that exist or the books produced on the topic every year.

We see lots of discussions on our Facebook page every Wednesday when we publish a new #WorcesterWednesday post.

The attendance figures for our monthly, local history talks at St John’s Church are also at an all-time high.

It’s also great to see city people book onto our guided walks.

In the 18th and 19th century the city had several antiquarians who had their own collections of artefacts and books.

One collector would invite another to their home for private viewings and a fine dinner.

Sometimes a talk would be organised in a public building.

The 1833 Guildhall meeting decided that a museum was needed to allow the public access to personal collections.

However, where would be the best location? Would a building need to be built or could an existing one be used?

Premises were looked at and a small building in Angel Street was identified as being ideal.

This humble museum opened on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays between 11am and 5pm.

Admission in these early days cost one shilling.

Its collection grew following a large number of donations from collectors.

By 1835 the building was far too small and the museum was full to capacity.

The patrons raised £6,000 to build a new city museum in Foregate Street.

On September 15, 1837, the Museum of the Worcestershire Natural History Society was opened by Dr Hastings.

It went from strength to strength with visitors coming from across Britain.

The famous geologists Charles Lyell and Roderick Murchison, as well as the eminent ornithologist John Gould, all visited and were impressed by the huge collection.

Sadly, the glory days of the 1840s and 50s were met by a decline in the 1860s.

The enthusiastic collectors slowly died off one by one, leading to the collection becoming stagnant and funding drying up.

The Worcester Corporation had many meetings regarding the fading museum and drew on the 1879 Public Libraries Act.

This led to the Council Libraries Committee throwing the museum a lifeline and purchasing the building and its contents for £2,820.

Local benefactors Thomas Rowley Hill, J D Perrin and Charles Wheely Lea all donated £500 to the cause.

On March 16, 1881, the Worcester Public Library and Hastings Museum opened with George Reece staying on as the museum curator.

In the 1890s the museum site was suffering like many in that the collection was large and running out of space.

It was at this time the whole service moved across to the beautiful Victoria Institute where it remains to this day.

Many items on display today are what were originally viewed for one shilling in the original Angel Street property.

The old museum site was sold and turned into the Empire Music Hall then Empire Theatre, Empire Picture Palace and eventually Silver Cinema until 1939.

Sadly, the original museum building was demolished in 1939 by Oscar Deutsch and Associates who built the modern Odeon Cinema on the same site.

The city museum is changing again over the next couple of years.

The County Regimental Museums will be moving to the Commandery by 2026, giving more space to allow the Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum to expand inside the Foregate Street building.

Every Wednesday we publish a new #WorcesterWednesday post on Facebook. Every month join us for a local history talk at St John’s Church.

Our columnist Paul Harding runs Discover History which offers hands-on learning of the county’s history.