Evesham

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Coordinates: 52°05′N 1°57′W / 52.09°N 1.95°W / 52.09; -1.95

Evesham
Evesham shown within Worcestershire
Population	22,304
OS grid reference	SP0343
District	Wychavon
Shire county	Worcestershire
Region	West Midlands
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	EVESHAM
Postcode district	WR11
Dialling code	01386
Police	West Mercia
Fire	Hereford and Worcester
Ambulance	West Midlands
European Parliament	West Midlands
UK Parliament	Mid Worcestershire
List of places: UK • England • Worcestershire

Evesham (grid reference SP037438) is a middle-sized, 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, and was originally built within a loop of the River Avon, which flows through the Vale of Evesham.

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.

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) is one of the country's most well-known production centres^{[citation needed]} for fruit and vegetables. At its height it was second only to Kent^{[citation needed]} as the Garden of England^{[citation needed]} and led to a large number of migrant temporary workers^{[citation needed]} living in the Vale. A decline in the second half of the 20th century in domestic agriculture and home cleaning^{[clarification needed]} led to the closing of Evesham Garden Market in the 1990s, and many orchards in the town's Greenhill area fell into disuse.

History

The Market Place in Evesham, circa 1904.

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. It was also home to one of Europe's largest abbeys, of which only Abbot Lichfield's Bell Tower remains. 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

Abbey Almonry

Evesham Abbey was founded by Saint Egwin at Evesham in England around 701 A.D. 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. With what is thought^{[by whom?][neutrality disputed]} to have been the third biggest abbey in Britain and a strong agricultural economy, the town became well-known. 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.

Flooding

In May 1998 Evesham was one of the towns hit by record flooding along the River Avon. The river rose 19 feet 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 town came to national prominence when it suffered some of the worst flooding in recorded British history^{[citation needed]}.

Education

As it is situated within Wychavon District Council Evesham's schools conform to the 3-tier model of first school (ages 5–10), middle school (ages 10–13), high school (ages 13–18). This has been the situation since 1974, before then the model was primary school (ages 5–11), secondary school (ages 11–18). Between 1974 and 1977 there was a period of transition between the two.

Primary schools

The town has many first schools including both Church of England and Roman Catholic as well as non-denominational.

• Honeybourne First School
• Bretforton First School
• Badsey First School
• St Richards C Of E First School
• St Andrews First School (Hampton)
• Bengeworth C of E First School
• St Marys Catholic School
• Swan Lane First School
• Lane Primary School

Middle schools

• Simon de Montfort Middle School[1]
• St Egwin's C. of E. Middle School[2]
• Blackminster Middle School

High schools

• Prince Henry's High School
• Evesham High School

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 [3].

Travel

Road: Evesham is at the junction of the A46 and A44 trunk roads - the four-mile A46 £7m single-carriageway bypass to the east of the town opened in July 1987 as the A435. In a recent amateur survey, the majority of respondents felt the bypass has helped alleviate traffic congestion within the town.

Rail: Evesham Railway Station is about two hours from London Paddington on the Cotswold Line.

Water: 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.

Sport & leisure

The town is home to Evesham United Football Club which plays in the Southern Football League Premier Division.

Because of its situation on the river the town is home to various watersports activities:

• Rowing (Evesham Rowing Club)
• Kayaking & Canoeing (Evesham Paddlesport)
• Sailing (Evesham Sailing Club) - [4]
• Rugby Union - Senior and Youth Sections (Evesham Rugby Club)

The town also has a Petanque team (Evesham Petanque Club).

Although both of Evesham's cinemas have now closed, the town does have a modern purpose built theatre in Evesham Arts Centre.

Notable people

• Bishop John Watson was born in Evesham, in 1520.
• Muzio Clementi (composer) died in Evesham, on March 10, 1832
• Sir Henry Fowler, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Midland Railway and subsequently the London, Midland and Scottish Railway was born in Evesham, on July 29, 1870.
• Edward Righton was born in Evesham, on November 23, 1884.
• Harry King (footballer) was born in Evesham, in 1886.
• Molly Badham (founder of Twycross Zoo) was born in Evesham, on May 18, 1914.
• John Aldridge (cricketer) was born in Evesham, on March 13, 1935.
• Jim Capaldi (singer-songwriter) co-founder of band Traffic was born in Evesham on August 24, 1944.
• Robert Lanchbury (cricketer) was born in Evesham, on February 11, 1950.
• Alistair McGowan (impressionist and actor) was born in Evesham, on November 24, 1964.
• Guy Whittingham (footballer) was born in Evesham, on November 10, 1964.
• Wilhelmina Baldwin (artist) was born in Evesham, in 1965.
• Andy Preece (footballer) was born in Evesham, on March 27, 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.

Twin towns

• - Dreux, France
• - Melsungen, Germany
• - Evesham Township, New Jersey, USA

External links

• Evesham Town Council
• Evesham Journal Local Evesham newspaper
• Evesham - a 1904 book about the town, by Edmund H. New, from Project Gutenberg
• Evesham Arts Centre
• Evesham at the Open Directory Project