Home > Evesham, Worcestershire

Evesham is a middle-sized, rural market town in Worcestershire, England. 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. Due to its development as a mainly agricultural centre, and being overshadowed by these towns, Evesham has little of interest for tourists, although it is handy for visiting the Cotswolds.

Evesham was the focus 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 abbeyThis article is about an abbey as a religious building. See also Abbey (bank), Abbey Theatre and Abbey, Saskatchewan An abbey (from the Latin abbatia which is derived from the Syriac abba "father"), is a Christian monastery or convent under the governments, of which only the Bell Tower remains. Evesham AbbeyEvesham Abbey was founded at Evesham in England following a vision of the Virgin Mary by Eof. Only remnants of the Abbey survive. The coat of arms of Evesham Abbey survives in use in modern times, being used as the badge of Prince Henry's High School, Eve was founded by EcgwinSaint Ecgwin was the founder of Evesham Abbey at Evesham in England., Bishop of WorcesterThe Bishop of Worcester controls the see of Worcester and has his seat in Worcester Cathedral. The diocese covers the county of Worcestershire. The Bishops of Worcester reside in Hartlebury Castle in Worcestershire. The first bishop was appointed in 680., following the vision of the Virgin MaryZeitoun, Egypt in 1968. It was supposedly witnessed by Christians, Muslims and President Abdul Nasser, as well as captured by newspaper photographers and Egyptian television. The Marian apparitions are a series of events in which the Virgin Mary is purpor by a local swineherd or shepherd named EofEof was a swineherd (or possibly a shepherd, scholars dispute the matter) who claimed to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary at Evesham in England. Evesham Abbey was founded as a result. Evesham means Eof's ham (homestead). See also EOF., which vision also appeared to Ecgwin. The name of Evesham is derived from "Eof's ham". Evesham Abbey funded smaller abbeys and churches in BelgiumFor alternate meanings, see Belgium (disambiguation). Belgian redirects here. For the horse breed commonly used as a draft horse, see Belgian. The Kingdom of Belgium ( Dutch: Belgi French: Belgique German: Belgien is a country in Western Europe, bordered, HollandThis article is about the region in the Netherlands. For other uses, see Holland (disambiguation). Holland is the name of a region in the central-western part of the Netherlands. Holland is a former county of the Holy Roman Empire and later the leading me and France. A large source of income came from pilgrims to the tomb of de Montfort.

One historical quirk of Evesham is that the town consists of Evesham on the north side of the river (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 the river. 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. This historic imbalance is still visible in the distribution of shops and roads.

Modern attractions include a major angling contest held every year, the marina, and the Abbey Gardens including the two parish churches that remain within the grounds of the old abbey.