Evesham

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

Evesham (/ˈivʃəm/, /ˈivɪʃəm/, or /ˈisəm/) is a market town and parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, England with a population of 23,576, according to the 2011 census. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon. It lies within the Vale of Evesham, an area comprising the flood plain of the River Avon, which has been renowned for market gardening. The town centre, situated within a meander of the river, is regularly subject to flooding. The 2007 floods were the most severe in recorded history.

The town was founded around an 8th-century abbey, one of the largest in Europe, which was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, with only Abbot Lichfield's Bell Tower remaining. During the 13th century, one of the two main battles of England's Second Barons' War took place near the town, marking the victory of Prince Edward who later became King Edward I.

History

Evesham Abbey

Evesham Abbey was founded by Saint Egwin at Evesham in Worcestershire, England between 700 and 710 AD following an alleged vision of the Virgin Mary by a swineherd by the name of Eof.

According to the monastic history, Evesham came through the Norman Conquest unusually well, because of a quick approach by Abbot Æthelwig to William the Conqueror. Only one section of walling survives from the actual abbey, although fragments of the chapter house, the bell tower and the gateway remain, which were added later: the chapter house in the 13th century and the bell tower in the 16th century. Simon de Montfort (1208–1265) is buried near the high altar of the ruined abbey, the spot marked by an altar-like memorial monument dedicated by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1965. The abbey is of Benedictine origin, and became in its heyday one of the wealthiest in the country. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the abbey was demolished leaving only the bell tower surviving into the 21st century. Other buildings linked to history of the abbey that survive today are the Almonry and Middle Littleton Tythe Barn.