Evesham ( ) is a rural
market town in Worcestershire, England, in the Local
Authority District of Wychavon
.
It is
located roughly equidistant between Worcester
, Cheltenham
and Stratford-upon-Avon
, in an area known as the Vale of Evesham
, that was once a major English centre of market
gardening. The town was originally built within a loop of
the
River Avon, and is
subject to severe flooding. Evesham was the location of one of
Europe's largest
abbeys, of which only Abbot
Lichfield's
Bell Tower remains.
Economy
Due to its
exceptionally fertile soil market
gardening is carried out on a commercial scale and the
surrounding area known as the Vale of Evesham) an area which is known for its production of fruit
and vegetables. A decline in the second half of the 20th
century resulted in the closing of Evesham Garden Market in the
1990s, and many orchards in the town's Greenhill area fell into
disuse.
Between 1983 and 2008, Evesham was home to computer manufacturer
Evesham Technology, formerly
called Evesham Micros. The company employed up to 300 people before
it went into liquidation in 2008. The old employees of Evesham have
now set up Tewktech which is based in Tewkesbury which maintains
all Evesham products and does their own computer range
History
Evesham was the site of a major battle—the
Battle of
Evesham
, in which Simon de Montfort
was defeated and killed on 4 August 1265.Evesham Abbey
was founded by Saint Egwin,
third Bishop of Worcester,
following the vision of the Virgin
Mary by a local swineherd or shepherd named Eof (sometimes
Eoves). Eof legendarily went straight to Egwin, who
journeyed to the site and shared the vision. He was moved to
establish a
Benedictine abbey on the
site.
While Egwin was
beatified and later
canonised (a local
Church of England middle school is named
after him), Eof arguably had the greater historical resonance and
posterity. The name of Evesham is derived from "Eof's ham" ("ham"
in English placenames meaning "homestead"). Evesham Abbey funded
smaller abbeys and churches in Belgium, the Netherlands and France.
A large source of income came from
pilgrims
to the abbey to celebrate both the vision and the tomb of de
Montfort.
As a
result of historical development of the town, the main part of
Evesham lies within the loop of the river and Bengeworth
to the east on the other side of the river.
Bengeworth at one stage had a castle vying for control with the
abbey across on the other side. Unfortunately for Bengeworth, the
knights went on a drunken spree and damaged a
grave or two in the abbey graveyard, giving the
monks an excuse to attack and level the
castle. To prevent its rebuilding the site was
sanctified as a graveyard. This historic imbalance is still visible
in the distribution of shops and roads.
Also to
the southern side of the town is the parish
of Greater and
Little Hampton
, an independent village of the town until
approximate 80 years ago. To celebrate the linking of the
village to the town and improve access, Abbey Bridge, or "New
Bridge" as it was often known was built. The bridge was also the
first completely structural concrete bridge to be built in the UK.
Due partly to redevelopment of Hampton and the redrawing of the
electoral boundaries, Hampton has come into a resurgence in recent
years.
Abbey Almonry
Abbey
Evesham Abbey was founded by Saint Egwin at Evesham in England
around 701 A.D.
It was one of the largest in Europe, but only
Abbot Lichfield
's Bell Tower
remains. The presence of the abbey, its residents and the
pilgrims coming to the site led to a growth
in the town within the loop of the river. A model of the town in
the
Middle Ages is sited in the Almonry
Museum in the town centre.
Henry VIII's
Dissolution of the
monasteries saw the Abbey dismantled and sold as building
stone, leaving little but Evesham's landmark Lichfield Bell Tower.
Geography
Evesham has always been susceptible to heavy flooding and floods in
the region are well documented since the 13th century In May 1924
floods at Evesham ranked 5th in the annual flood list 1848 to 1935.
In May 1998, Evesham was one of the towns worst hit by record
flooding along the
River
Avon.
The river rose in just a few hours, sinking
tethered narrowboats, flooding areas of
Bengeworth, and threatening the 19th century Workman Bridge as
static homes from a riverside caravan site broke up and became
wedged in the bridge's arches. In July 2007,the rainfall had
been the heaviest for 200 years, reaching more than 320% the
average in some areas. In the Severn catchment, it caused the some
of the heaviest floods recorded, and in Evesham the flooding was
the worst in its recorded history.
Travel
Evesham is at the junction of the
A46 and
A44 trunk roads - the four-mile
A46 £7 million single-carriageway bypass to the
east of the town opened in July 1987 as the A435.
The town is on the
once planned line of the Strensham
to Solihull
motorway, linking the M50
to the M42.
However, in 1974 the scheme was dropped in favour of widening the
M5 through Worcestershire.
Evesham
Railway Station
is about two hours from London
Paddington
on the Cotswold
Line.
The River
Avon is a navigable waterway linking the River Severn at Tewkesbury
to the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal
at Stratford-upon-Avon. The ancient Hampton
Ferry
links the town to the nearby district of Hampton.
Education
Evesham's
schools conform to the three-tier
education model of first school
(ages 5–10), middle school (ages
10–13), high
school (ages 13–18) adopted by Wychavon District Council 1974 and completed by 1977.
Primary schools
First schools include state non-denominational schools. as well as
Church of England and
Roman Catholic schools.
- Badsey First School
- Bengeworth C of E First School
- Bretforton First School
- Honeybourne First School
- Swan Lane First School
- St Andrews First School (Hampton)
- St Marys Catholic School
- St Richards C Of E First School
Middle schools
- Blackminster Middle School
- Simon de Montfort Middle School
- St Egwin's C. of E. Middle School
- Bredon Hill Middle School
High schools
Further education
Evesham and
Malvern Hills College
. The college caters mainly for students
studying at the
NVQ and
BTEC level
or undertaking practical vocational courses and courses in sewing.
The
college was formed by the merger of Evesham College
and Malvern Hills College in September
2000.
Culture
Although
both of Evesham's cinemas have now closed, the town does have a
modern purpose built theatre in Evesham Arts Centre
.
Evesham
is twinned with Dreux
in France,
Melsungen
in Germany and Evesham Township
in New
Jersey
, USA.
Language
The distinctive local dialect, now declining in use but strong
still in older generations of the town's inhabitants, has 'Asum' as
a contraction of the town's name. Asum was also the name given to
an
ale produced by a micro-brewery based at the
historic Green Dragon public house built in
Tudor architecture) in 1510. Further
features of local language give rise to variations in the
pronunciation of the town's name. 'Eve-shum' is the more common
phonetic pronunciation, but the pronunciation 'Eve-er-shum' is not
uncommon. Younger generations of the town's inhabitants give a
pseudo-affectionate name, The Sham, to the town.
Sport and leisure
The town is home to
Evesham United
F.C. which plays in the
Southern Football
League Premier Division.
Because of its situation on the river the town is home to various
watersports activities:
The town also has a
Petanque team (Evesham
Petanque Club).
Notable people
- Bishop John Watson was born
in Evesham, in 1520.
- Muzio Clementi (composer) died in
Evesham, on 10 March 1832
- Sir Henry Fowler,
Chief Mechanical Engineer
of the Midland Railway and
subsequently the London, Midland and
Scottish Railway was born in Evesham, on 29 July 1870.
- Edward Righton was born
in Evesham, on 23 November 1884.
- Harry King (footballer) was born in
Evesham, in 1886.
- Molly Badham
(founder of Twycross
Zoo
) was born in Evesham, on 18 May 1914.
- John Aldridge
(cricketer) was born in Evesham, on 13 March 1935.
- Jim Capaldi (singer-songwriter)
co-founder of band Traffic was born
in Evesham on 24 August 1944.
- Robert Lanchbury (cricketer)
was born in Evesham, on 11 February 1950.
- Alistair McGowan (impressionist
and actor) was born in Evesham, on 24 November 1964.
- Guy Whittingham (footballer) was
born in Evesham, on 10 November 1964.
- Wilhelmina Baldwin (artist)
was born in Evesham, in 1965.
- Edmund Hort New (artist) was
born in Evesham in 1871.
- Andy Preece (footballer) was born in
Evesham, on 27 March 1967.
- Wrathchild (band) is a glam/heavy metal
based in Evesham, formed in 1980.
- P J Proby (American pop singer) lives
in Evesham.
- The Photos (band) is a new wave based in Evesham, formed in
1979.
- Satans Rats (band) were a punk based in Evesham, formed in 1977.
References
- GA_BewdleyFloodHistory.doc: Historic Flooding in the Severn
Catchment (All Floods from 1258 to 2007) Retrieved 1 August
2009
-
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/research/library/publications/40587.aspx
Gov[ernment Environment Agency] Retrieved 1 August 2009
-
http://pathetic.org.uk/unbuilt/strensham_solihull_motorway/
-
http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1974/feb/06/roads-strensham-solihull
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0569607/
- The Independent 30 September 2007 Retrieved
2009-07-29
- Daily Record 18 February 2008 Retrieved
2009-07-29
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