Interior design company Dowsing and Reynolds has put together a new study detailing which cities are the most cultured, with Worcester coming in at number four overall.

The city was only beaten by Bath Chester and York, with the study taking into account “cultural infrastructure” (listed buildings and museums), “chicness” (boutique hotels), “interest in style” (the number of online searches relating to interior design) and “future potential” (the number of and quality of interior design courses).

Overall the city was rated on those metrics out of 100, with its results coming in as: Culture: 19/100, Chic: 52/100, Interest: 75/100, Future: 2/100

With notable attractions such as The Shambles and Worcester Cathedral adding a slice of history, Worcester scored high for interest, though its interior design course offerings came in virtually empty.

Worcester is about to undergo a major modernisation and cultural upgrade, with work including a renovation of The Arches and a multi-million pound redevelopment of Angel Place.

The Arches project, headed up by the Worcester Cultural Partnership – comprised of Worcester City Council, the University of Worcester, Severn Arts, The Arch Company and Worcestershire County Council – aims to transform the area into a modern workplace for creative industries and a cultural destination for tourists and local communities.

The huge project has been awarded more than £3 million in funding from the Cultural Development Fund, which is administered by Arts Council England.

Andrew Round, corporate director at Worcester City Council, said: “It’s fantastic to see construction starting on site at the Arches.

“As well as generating a new creative hub for the city, this initiative will also improve links between the city centre and the River Severn.

“In addition to this refurbishment, Worcester has been awarded a further £17.9 million from central government to regenerate Angel Place.

“This will see the creation of a new theatre and performing arts venue less than five minutes’ walk from the Arches. Together these developments will considerably strengthen Worcester’s cultural offer, transforming the northern part of the city and increasing footfall in the area.”

The culture metric was worked out by measuring the number of listed buildings and museums in each city on a per capita basis.