Bill Elerihouse used Your Questions to ask: “What is Worcester most famous for?”

THE ANSWER

Candidates so far have been the world famous Worcestershire Sauce, which is still made at a factory in Worcester, and Royal Worcester, external porcelain, which sadly isn't.

That's handy

Between 1790 and 1820 there were more than 150 glove manufacturers in Worcester, employing up to 30,000 people.

Fashions change though, and the industry gradually died out - but its fame was sufficient for these gloves to be included in the BBC list of the history of the world in 100 objects.

The importance of the industry to Worcester is commemorated in the popular name for the spire of St Andrew's church in the city centre.

The body of the church was demolished in the late 1940s, but the spire is still a distinctive landmark, known locally as The Glover's Needle.

In our final part we'll look at why two American presidents made a pilgrimage to the city to remember the Battle of Worcester.

Kidderminster Shuttle

Police officers from across the West Midlands competed in a charity rugby match in Bromsgrove this week - one month on from the Westminster terror attack, external.  

Farm land owned by Herefordshire Council and estimated to be worth £40m goes on sale on Monday. 

The land previously generated about £400,000 a year for the council, and the agents responsible for selling it say they're expecting interest from a range of buyers.

Image source, Getty Images

The council has previously said that although it is "committed to our duty of care to the local community and to tenants" it needs to find "alternative ways to fund the statutory services we have to provide".

Bill Elerihouse used Your Questions to ask: “What is Worcester most famous for?”

THE ANSWER

That is a big question, but let's narrow it down to a sauce, pottery, gloves and a battle.

Let's get saucy

Like it or loath it, almost everyone has heard of Worcester sauce - the pungent brew that can be added to everything from cheese on toast to Bloody Marys.

It's so famous it was included in the BBC's list of the history of the world in 100 objects.

The only problem is, most people have got the name wrong - look closely at the bottle and you'll find that the most famous product of the Lea & Perrins factory in Worcester is actually called Worcestershire Sauce.

The famous sauce was first created by the Worcester chemists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, and first went on sale in 1837.

According to the Lea & Perrins website, external only "a lucky few" know the exact recipe, but the sauce has been matured for 18 months to get that distinctive taste.

Priceless porcelain

You could of course serve your Worcestershire sauce-enriched cheese on toast on a Royal Worcester porcelain plate.

The porcelain factory was established in the city back in 1751, and got its royal endorsement for the quality of its work in 1789.

Sadly, Royal Worcester is no longer made in the city and the old factory has been turned into flats.

The Museum of Royal Worcester, external is still in the city though, where you can see many of the finest pieces created at the works.

Coming up - how the city's famous glove industry gave a church spire its name, and the battle that two American presidents made a pilgrimage to Worcester to mark.

British Basketball returns to the BBC this evening with two teams just off the top. 

Worcester Wolves and Sheffield Sharks go into their final two games in third and fourth place respectively, both on 38 points, along with second-placed Glasgow Rocks.  

Wolves are on an 11-game winning streak in the League and Sharks won the last meeting between these two sides by just two points.  

Coverage is live from 19:30 BST across the BBC Sport website, app and selected Connected TVs. You can watch it right here and you can learn more about the BBC's coverage of the BBL and WBBL here.

Image source, BBC Sport

Hereford Times

Officers received a report of an incident yesterday from the Waterfield Road area regarding the poisoning of a cat, external.  

Worcestershire are batting first in their four-day Championship match against Northants at New Road.

You can hear full ball-by-ball commentary on the whole match on BBC Hereford & Worcester's 738AM frequency and online.

Image source, Getty Images

Access to the building is blocked as the majority of the roof collapsed.

Two men are arrested after 25,000 tonnes of waste is dumped in sites across the North and the Midlands.

A man is making a trip to Belgium for the 100th anniversary of one of the bloodiest battles of World War One, following in the footsteps of his grandfather.

Mat Porton, from Barnt Green near Bromsgrove, will join more than 4,000 descendants of WW1 soldiers from across the UK who have been invited to special ceremonies marking 100 years since the Battle of Passchendaele. 

His grandfather, Thomas Porton (pictured top right), of the 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards, won the Military Medal for bravery during the battle.

Image source, Porton family

Mat says his grandfather "never spoke of his time in the war, what he had to endure and how he managed to cope with it all".

Moeen Ali is back from England duty to play for Worcestershire as they take on Northamptonshire in a four-day Championship match starting today.

Director of cricket Steve Rhodes said: "We love having Mo in our side - he's a wonderful character. His attitude is brilliant when he comes back to play for us."

Image source, Getty Images

You can here full ball-by-ball commentary on BBC Hereford & Worcester's 738AM frequency and online.

Firefighters are sifting through the wreckage of the warehouse devastated in a massive fire yesterday.

Up to 100 firefighters were involved in fighting the blaze at ArrowXL on the Blackpole East Industrial Estate in Worcester.

Image source, Trim Emma

The fire service says it will keep a presence at the warehouse for the next few days to make sure no hot spots in the building flare up.

Redditch Standard

A Redditch woman given just 30 minutes to live says it’s thanks to the incredible skill of staff at the Alexandra Hospital, external that she is alive and on the road to recovery today.  

ArrowXL, the delivery company which runs the massive warehouse gutted by fire yesterday, says it is "committed to staying in the local area".

The company has been on the Blackpole East Industrial Estate since 1994.

Image source, Trim Emma

One of the oldest independent carpet manufacturers in Britain has been bought by the Kidderminster-based company Brockway Carpets. 

The Grosvenor Wilton Company Limited started in 1790 and has worked on projects for Buckingham Palace and the White House. 

Image source, Google

The company will continue under the same name and will operate independently within the Brockway group of companies. 

Fire investigators are waiting to get access to the inside of a warehouse so they can find out the cause of the fire that gutted the building yesterday.

The intense heat damaged the walls and caused parts of the roof to collapse, the fire service say.

Staff who were working in the building when the fire broke out at about 08:30 have been telling investigators what they saw.

Image source, Trim Emma

Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather

A mostly dry day is in store with some sunny spells, but also the chance of light rain later with highs of 16C (61F).

You can find a detailed forecast for your area on the BBC Weather site., external

Listen to live BBC Hereford and Worcester commentary as Worcestershire face Nottinghamshire in the Royal London One-Day Cup.

Gerard Coyne is suspended as a Unite official - as counting is set to begin in leadership ballot.

Mike Layland, the former mayor of Worcester, has died at the age of 81, the city council says.

He was first elected to Worcester City Council as a Labour councillor at a by-election in October 1966, representing the old Holy Trinity Ward until 1992, then went on to represent Nunnery Ward as an Independent from 1994 to 2012, when he retired. 

He served on the city council for a total of 44 years.

Image source, Worcester City Council