CITY residents are being invited to think about their life and legacy at a new bench installed at Worcester Cathedral.

The St Richard’s Hospice ‘Legacy Bench’ can be found in the cathedral’s West Garden and will be in place until Monday, May 27. 

From there, it will travel to different places across the city during 2019 – with its location revealed via the hospice’s social media channels.

The Dean of Worcester, the Very Reverend Peter Atkinson, said: “I think the Legacy Bench is a wonderful idea and we are delighted that it is spending the first stage of its journey in the cathedral gardens.

“I hope it will be a way of helping all of us remember our loved ones with gratitude and think about what we would like to be remembered for.”

The fibreglass bench has been decorated by Worcester Stands Tall artist Katie Hodgetts, who painted the hospice’s giraffe Snowdrop. 

Miss Hodgetts has used the same blue-and-white snowdrop design she created to cover her giraffe – adding in poignant lines of poetry and words.

Tricia Cavell, fundraising director at St Richard’s, said: “It is wonderful to see our beautiful bench in place in such a picturesque location.

“We hope people will visit and reflect on what they’d like to be remembered for, or leave as their legacy.

“Ultimately, we hope it will provide a peaceful place to help open up conversations around the end-of-life and tackle taboos around this subject.”

The hospice also hopes the bench, which was donated by Crowngate Shopping Centre, will raise awareness of its dependence on gifts in Wills to fund its care.