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

'Evesham' () is a middle-sized, rural market town in Worcestershire, UK in the Local Authority District of Wychavon.
Roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham, and Stratford-upon-Avon, it 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 led 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 and a private hotel.
Evesham 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.

Contents

History

Education

Travel

Sport & Leisure

Famous People

Twin Towns

External links

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 Egwin, 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 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" ("ham" in English placenames meaning "homestead"). An alternative derivation proposed is that the name stems from "Eof's Swine". 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.
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 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. Hampton has come into a resurgence in recent years, thanks partly to redevelopment of Hampton and the redrawing of the electoral boundaries.

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 well-known. Unfortunately 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. 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.
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.
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. In July 2007 the town came to national prominence when it suffered some of the worst flooding in recorded British history.

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.
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[1] and St Egwin's C of E Middle School[2] and two High schools in Evesham, Prince Henry's High School[3] and Evesham High School[4]. 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, when it was run as a school for the poor. 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 Evesham County Secondary School) 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 recognised Sports College with advanced sports and fitness facilities.
Comparison tables showing the relative performance of the two high schools at GCSE, Added Value and A/AS can be found here: [5] [6] [7]
Within the town there is also Greenhill School, a Private 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 [8].

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.
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.

Sport & Leisure

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

★ Rugby - 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.

Famous People

★ 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.

★ Jim Capaldi (singer-songwriter) and co-founder of band Traffic was born in Evesham on August 24 1944.

★ Alistair McGowan (impressionist and actor) was born in Evesham on November 24, 1964.

★ Guy Whittingham (ex-footballer) was born in Evesham on November 10, 1964.

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 Paddlesport

★ Evesham Rowing Club

★ Evesham Rugby Club

★ Evesham Arts Centre

★ Evesham Parish Church

★ Evesham and Malvern Hills College

★ Evesham Petanque Club

★ Old Postcards of Evesham