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Sites in Worcester

Angel Place Bus Station, Worcester

• Before c.1923, the site of Angel Place Bus Station was occupied by the Bell Hotel (a Coach House facing onto Broad Street) and several small businesses. Angle Street and Broad Street were linked by a narrow road called “Little Angel Street”, and there is evidence to suggest this was closed to vehicles. Omnibus departures from Worcester in 1923 were listed in timetables as either from The Cross or from Little Angel Street, but as the latter was too narrow for buses it is likely they departed from the north end of the road at the junction of Angle Street, near what is today the entrance to Crowngate Bus Station. (Local destinations were still served by tram at this time, so all Omnibuses were to destinations outside of the City)
• In c.1923, the Bell Hotel and several surrounding buildings were demolished, and Little Angel Street was widened considerably to make what we know today as Angel Place. It should be noted that the name Angel Place was already in use, but this was for the site north of Angel Street that is now occupied by the Angel Chef restaurant.
• c.late 1923 or early 1924, Omnibus departures for most services are moved to the new Angel Place, with only vehicles heading towards Sidbury departing from The Cross. This was the first use of Angel Place as a Bus Station, although at this time and for many more years (until at least the 1950s) it was nothing more than a line of bus stops and shelters on the east side of the road. The rest of the road was shared with regular traffic operating in both directions.
• A new ticket office and travel shop was built by Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company Limited (BMMO—Midland “Red” Motor Services) on the east side of Angel Place. The exact date of construction is unknown, but the Angel Place phone number (Worcester 649) was being listed in timetables by early 1925, although at that time it was described as “Bus Stand” rather than a ticket office.
• In 1928, BMMO replaced tram operations in Worcester with Omnibus services. Many of these departed from The Cross, so to relieve congestion all departures to locations outside of the City were moved to Angel Place.
• A new bus station at Newport Street in Worcester, owned by Worcester Corporation, opened on Monday 15^th July 1946, to accomidate the growing amount of bus routes operating to points outside the city. The Angel Place Bus Station continued to be used for local departures and as a Travel Shop.
• In 1991, Crowngate Bus Station was built to act as a centralised departure point for all buses in Worcester. By the time Crowngate was fully operational in September 1992, all departures from Worcester had moved to the new site and Angel Place Bus Station is closed. Bus Shelters are removed and the bus lanes are dug up and flattened to make an open pedestrianised area. The Travel Shop remained in operation, although the driver' rest room (upstairs) is closed and also moved to Crowngate.