The Commandery

The Commandery in Worcester was founded around 1085 as an almshouse (hospital) by Saint Wulfstan, then Bishop of Worcester. However the hospital was built around a much earlier Saxon chapel dedicated to Saint Gudwal – which was located to the North of the present building, a site we will visit during our investigation.

The building was essentially a monastic institution designed to act as a hospital to care for not only local people, but weary travellers/pilgrims. Upstairs you will experience some of the oldest rooms, one of which was clearly intended as a room to spend your final hours, with original murals adorning the ceiling, to be viewed as you ascend to heaven...sadly it seems many did not quite manage their ascension and remain in limbo is the room their souls left their bodies.

After serving its original function for nearly 500 years, the hospital was among the last monastic institutions to be dissolved by Henry VIII in 1540. From this date onwards the Commandery was to fulfil a number of vastly varied roles that would see it the focus of national events during the Civil War.

Most famously, The Commandery was Charles II headquarters in 1651 during the Battle of Worcester and it was to be the last battle of the Civil War that split England. During the battle, the Duke of Hamilton, who was the Royalist Commander in Chief of Charles II’s troop died of wounds suffered in the final stages of the conflict and his body along with the cavaliers he fought with were laid out in the Commandery. The spot where his body is said to have fallen has a curious phenomena associated with it. Periodically a blood stain will appear on the wooden floorboards which cannot be removed...it simply vanishes of it's own accord only to reappear at a later date. It's no surprise that one of the many ghosts said to inhabit The Commandery is that of the Duke of Hamilton himself.

Some years ago a local man arrived early for a meeting in the Solar part of the Commandery. After just a few minutes he left in terror not able to explain what he had experienced and vowed never to go into the room again!

To this day it is not known what he saw. Other visitors to the Solar room have also felt a strange coldness and an overpowering presence, which remains unexplained. Some say it is the Duke of Hamilton in the throes of his agony.

You will have the opportunity to investigate the many historic rooms in this building in search of it's many spirits including the Duke Of Hamilton himself on the spot he died on 12th September 1651.