Francais | English | Espanõl

Evesham

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Evesham, Worcestershire)

Jump to: navigation, search

For other places and companies named Evesham, see Evesham (disambiguation).

Image:Dot4gb.svg

Image:Gb4dot.svg

Map sources for Evesham at grid reference SP0343

The Market Place in Evesham, circa 1904.

Evesham (or "sham" as it is known to its inhabitants) is a middle-sized, rural market town in Worcestershire, England, in the Local Authority District of Wychavon. It is 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 surrounding area (the Vale of Evesham) is known for fruit growing and market gardening, due to its unusually fertile soil which, on a commercial level, has lead to a large number of immigrant temporary workers living in the Vale.

The town had a population of 22,304 at the 2001 census, with a small hospital, a library, two secondary schools and a college. The town is home to the Evesham Technology computer manufacturing company, has a number of food processing businesses and is a modest tourist destination. Nearby is Wood Norton, a major BBC broadcasting centre during the Second World War, now a training facility & a private hotel.

Evesham could reasonably be described as a pleasant rather than an exciting place to visit: it is a well-known destination for day-trippers who picnic by the river and a base for tourists visiting the Cotswolds. Annual events include a major angling contest, a hot-air balloon festival, the Mop Fair (once a hiring fair), a regatta and a river festival featuring illuminated boats. The river Avon is an attraction in its own right, both as part of the navigable 'Avon Ring' and for pleasure-boat trips from Abbey Gardens or boat hire from the marina. The remains of Evesham Abbey include the landmark Lichfield Bell Tower and two historic parish churches. Nearby is the Almonry, a listed building that was once part of the Abbey and now houses the local Heritage Centre.

1 History
2 Education
3 Travel
4 Leisure
5 Famous People
6 Twin Towns
7 External links

[edit] 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. 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 Ecgwin, 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 Ecgwin, who journeyed to the site and shared the vision. He was moved to establish a Benedictine abbey on the site.

While Ecgwin was beatified and later canonised (a local C of E 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" (This derivation is contested, as some would have it known that the name stems from "Eof's Swine"). Evesham Abbey funded smaller abbeys and churches in Belgium, Holland and France. A large source of income came from pilgrims to the abbey to celebrate both the vision and the tomb of Montfort.

One historical quirk of Evesham is that the town consists of Evesham "proper" on the north side of the Avon (within the loop of the river) and Bengeworth on the southern side. Bengeworth was always the secular side of the river, and 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 then used to bury plague victims. Evesham's tax office now stands on this site. 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. Hampton has come into a resurgence in recent years, thanks partly to redevelopment of Hampton and the redrawing of the electoral boundaries.

Image:Evesham Abbey Almonry.jpg

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 to have been the third biggest abbey in Britain and a strong agricultural economy, the town became a well-known satellite of the powerful cathedral in nearby Worcester and the then Gloucester Abbey. Unfortunately Henry VII's Dissolution of the monasteries saw the Abbey dismantled and sold as building stone, leaving little but Evesham's landmark Lichfield Bell Tower. Had the Abbey survived, its size would have been greater than that of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Despite this seeming disaster, the town survived and grew into one of the country's most well-known production centres for fruit and vegetables. The Vale Of Evesham at its height was second only to Kent as the Garden of England.

A decline in the second half of the 20th century in domestic agriculture led to the closing of Evesham garden market in the 1990s, and many orchards in the town's Greenhill area fell into disuse.

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 narrow boats, 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.

The distinctive local dialect, now slipping into lesser use but strong still in older generations of the town's inhabitants, has 'Asum' as a contraction of the town's name. Asum was the name given to the produce of a popular micro-brewery based at the historic Green Dragon public house (built 1510 and boasting fine Tudor architecture) in the town. The two award-winning real ales were Asum Ale and Asum Gold. The pub has been relaunched and the micro-brewery has closed.

Another quirk of local language gives rise to the debate as to the pronunciation of the town's name itself. '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 the pseudo-affectionate name of The Sham to the town.

[edit] Education

As it is situated within Wychavon Disctrict 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.

The town has many First Schools including both Church of England and Roman Catholic as well as non-denominational. There are two Middle schools within the town, Simon de Montfort Middle School and St Egwin's C of E Middle School and two High schools in Evesham, Prince Henry's High School and Evesham High School. The two High schools serve the wider area around Evesham their intake coming from the Middle Schools already mentioned as well as other Middle Schools in the surrounding area.

Prince Henry's has a long history dating back at least 630 years to when it was associated with the Abbey. The School was run as a Grammar School until 1973 when it was reorganised under the Comprehensive School system. In 1993 the school became Grant Maintained then in 1999 it became a Foundation School. It is now a Language College.

Evesham High School (formerly known as Four Pools because of the area in which it is situated) was created as a Secondary Modern school. In 1973, at the same time as Prince Henry's, the school was reorganised under the Comprehensive School system. It is now a Sports College.

Whilst a Grammar School and for several years afterwards Prince Henry's academic results were on average considerably better than those of Evesham High. In recent years however any academic difference has been eroded and inverted, with Evesham High earning higher achievement marks on most major testing.

Within the town there is also Greenhill School, a Public School catering for both boys and girls from age 3 to 13. The school is over 100 years old and though now co-educational was originally a Girl’s school.

Higher Education (16+) is provided in the town by Evesham and Malvern Hills College. The college caters mainly for students studying at the NVQ and BTEC level or undertaking practical vocational courses. The college was formed by the merger of Evesham College and Malvern Hills College in September 2000 [1].

[edit] 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 aleviate traffic congestion within the town.

Rail: Evesham railway station is about two hours from London Paddington on the Cotswold Line.

Bus: Local & regional bus services (to Stratford-upon-Avon, Worcester and Cheltenham) run from the main bus stops on the High Street.

Water: The river Avon is a navigable waterway linking the river Severn at Tewkesbury to the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal at Stratford.

[edit] Leisure

The town is home to a variety of different sporting activites. These include watersport activities including; Rowing (Evesham Rowing Club), kayaking/canoeing (Evesham Paddlesport) and sailing (Evesham Sailing Club). The town also boasts a competitive Rugby Team (Evesham Rugby Club) as well as Evesham United Football Club.