A DAY AT EYESHAM. 
 
 THE VISITORS' 
 
 GUIDE TO ITS ANTIQUITIES 
 
 AND OTHER OBJECTS OF INTEREST. 
 
 BY 
 
 HERBERT NEW. 
 
 " Happy is England ? I could be content 
 to see no other verdure than its own*, 
 to. feel no other breezes than abb blown 
 
 Through its tall woods with high romances blent." 
 
 John Keats. 
 
 ISfEW AND REVISED EDITION, 
 
 (Containing a Plan showing the site of the Ahhey Church and 
 Conventual Buildings of Evesham). 
 
 THI^EEPEISrCE, 
 
 EVESHAM : 
 
 W. AND H. SMITH, STEAM PRINTERS, BRIDGE STREET. 
 188X. 
 
THIRD EDITION-REVISED. 
 
 A DAY AT EVESHAM. 
 
 THE VISITORS' 
 
 GUIDE TO ITS ANTIQUITIES 
 
 AND OTHER OBJECTS OF INTEREST. 
 
 BY 
 
 HERBERT NEW. 
 
 " Happy is England ? I could be content 
 to see no other verduee than its own ; 
 to feel no other breezes than are blown 
 
 Through its tall woods with high romances blent." 
 
 John Keats. 
 
 EVESHAM : 
 
 W. AND H. SMITH, STEAM PRINTERS, BRIDGE STREET. 
 
 1881. 
 
^ 
 
 u 
 
 V 
 
 ^ 
 
 MAP OF 
 THE AVON AND NEIGHBOURING PARISHES. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ Norton 
 
 ^ M. Littleton 
 iOffenham |^ g. Littleton 
 
 Hampton^ ^L i/jBengeworth il Bretf orton j^ 
 
 E Badsey Cii.Hoaeyoournp 
 
 A Wickhamf ord 
 
 Scale of Miles. 
 
A DAY AT EVESHAM. 
 
 The Visitors' Guide to its Antiquities and 
 OTHER Objects of Interest. 
 
 VESHAM, a name of two syllables, 
 divided thus, Eves-ham, and locally 
 called Esam, is situated at the south- 
 east corner of the county of Worcester, 
 and close to each of the adjoining 
 counties of Warwick and Gloucester. It 
 gives its name to the Vale of Evesham, 
 a tract of undulating land (chiefly on 
 the lower lias limestone, but northwards on the red marl or 
 keuper), fertile in corn, fruit, and pasture, watered by the 
 Avon and its tributaries, as that famous river approaches its 
 confluence with the Severn, and stretching from west to east, 
 according to the topographical poet, Drayton, from Malvern 
 to Meon. The Cotswolds, a range of hills of the inferior 
 oolite formation, and attaining at ] J roadway Tower a height 
 of 1080 feet above the level of the sea, are the south-western 
 boundary of this Vale. The Dumbleton and Bredon Hills, 
 outlying from the Cotswold ridge, are the picturesque features 
 of the south and south-west Due west the granite peaks of 
 Malvern bound the smiling plain ; and the Vale is enclosed 
 
 365857 
 

 A Day at Evesham. 
 
 on the north by the Lench Hills, which stretch back towards 
 Alcester and the Ridgway. The town of Evesham is 15 miles 
 from Worcester, 17 from Cheltenham, 14 from Stratford-on- 
 Avon, 21 from Warwick and Leamington, and 30 from Bir- 
 mingham ; and the Great Western and Midland Railways, 
 which cross near their Evesham stations, give direct and 
 frequent communication with all these places. Commanding 
 the produce of the Vale, Evesham has a good weekly Corn 
 Market and monthly Cattle Fairs ; and, in addition to its 
 connection with a wide surrounding district of fertile farms, it 
 has a local trade in its market gardens, which supply Birming- 
 ham, the Black Country, the Potteries, the South Wales Coal 
 and Iron Districts, Manchester and other northern towns, and 
 even Glasgow and remoter places with vegetables and fruits. 
 The origin of the fertility which constitutes the celebrity of 
 what has been called ''Fat E'sam," the "Garden of England," 
 and "An Eden of Fertility," is probably due to the industry of 
 "The Monks" and the early establishment of the monastery 
 here : and after the destruction of that establishment, there 
 are good reasons to attribute the revival of gardening in Eves- 
 ham to a Genoese nobleman, Signor Bernardi, who settled 
 here in the middle of the seventeenth century. The popula- 
 tion of Evesham according to the last census ( 1 88 r) is 51 12, 
 being an increase of 224 since the year 1871, and an increase 
 of 1 1 20 in the fifty years 'since the census of 1831. The 
 estimated gross rental of property in the Borough is /^23,ooo, 
 of which two thirds are of houses and one third of land. The 
 area of the borough is about 215c acres. During the last twenty 
 years, land in the adjoining villages of Offenham, Badsey, and 
 Hampton has been brought largely into cultivation as garden 
 land, and at rents rising to £\ and / 5 per acre, and so nearly 
 up to the average of Evesham land ; but the highest rents paid 
 for land in Evesham are for the "Abbey Lands," surrounding 
 
Guide to its Antiquities, &c. 
 
 the town, and rich with the alluvium of the neighbouring river, 
 through long cultivation, and in the maturity of the well- 
 selected and crowded frrit trees. 
 
 From whichever side the railway traveller arrives at 
 Evesham, he will have seen or crossed the river Avon within 
 a quarter of a mile of the Stations. Evesham, is in fact, 
 situated on the Avon (originally made navigable under a royal 
 grant of Charles I.), and at the southern extremity of a loop 
 of the river, in the shape of a horse-shoe, of nearly three miles 
 extent, running from Offenham southwards through Evesham, 
 and round to the north towards Fladbury. Within this loop 
 is the rising ground or hill called Green Hill, which is the 
 northern part of the Borough. It has a few villa and cottage 
 residences on the road leading out northwards to Alcester and 
 Birmingham ; but its sides are covered with garden ground 
 and orchards. The Great Western and Midland Railways cut 
 straight from east to west across this loop, and divide Eves- 
 ham from Green Hill. Proceeding from the Railway Stations, 
 the visitor enters Evesham from the north, and goes down the 
 broad High Street, with its variety of old and modern houses, 
 its avenue of plantain trees, and the wide spaces between the 
 carriage road and the pavements, which are used on fair-days 
 for pens and standing for cattle. 
 
 Evesham was formerly a place of woollen manufacture, 
 especially that of stockings, but these trades have long passed 
 away. At the present time the water and steam Flour Mills 
 of Messrs. Hancox & Bomford on the Avon, and the steam 
 Saw Mills of Mr. Espley and some active building works, 
 are the only sources of the employment of labour besides 
 the Market Gardens, to which we have already referred. 
 
 THE BELL TOWER. 
 The Bell Tower, which is seen on approaching and 
 
A Day at Evesham. 
 
 entering the High Street, is one hundred and ten feet high, 
 and is the most beautiful and the most conspicuous feature in 
 the town itself, and in every view which can be obtained from 
 the nearer as well as from the more distant hills in the Vale. 
 An almost singular instance in English church architecture of 
 a detached and independoit Campanile, a fine and pec'iliar 
 specimen of the Perpendicular style, it represents the latest 
 effort of the piety, pride, and munificence which in the 
 centuries preceding the Reformation covered England with 
 its gorgeous abbeys and cathedrals. It was built by Abbot 
 Lichfield, the last Abbot of Evesham but one, between 
 1533 and 1539, and was not completed when the Abbey Church, 
 — of which it was the last, and perhaps noblest ornament, at 
 once its Gateway, Horologe and Belfry, — was laid in ruins 
 around it. Spared for its beauty and its uses, it remains to be 
 the delight and joy of those who are most familiar 
 with its features and the wonder of even the most 
 careless visitors. Strangers are surprised to see this stately 
 Tower with the two Parish Churches all in one enclosing 
 Churchyard. It is more surprising to imagine what might be 
 seen on the same spot three hundred and forty-five years ago, 
 when the great pile of the Abbey Church, with a lofty 
 central Tower, correspondmg perhaps with the present Bell 
 Tower in height, overshadowed the little Churches under itii 
 northern side, and raised its magnificent choir upon the edge 
 of the steep bank of what is now called the Cross Churchyard. 
 
 THE ABBEY. 
 
 The foundation of the Abbey of Evesham dates from 701, 
 and is attributed to the munificence of Ethelred, King of 
 Mercia, who endowed it, and to the piety of St. Egvvin, Bishop 
 of Worcester, who was its founder and first Abbot; and the 
 choice of the site is ascribed to Egwin's swineherd Eoves, who 
 
Guide to its Antiquities, &c. 
 
 had a vision of the Virgin Mary in the forest where he tended 
 his swine, and whose name is perpetuated in the name of the 
 Abbey and of the town which grt:w up around it. The history 
 of the Abbey it is impossible to trace in a small compass. It 
 stretches backward into the age of pious tradition. St. 
 Egwin's pilgrimage to Rome with fettered feet, to find in the 
 Tiber the key which he had thrown mto the Avon at his 
 departure, whereby he at once obtained the assurance of 
 grace and the unlocking of his bonds, is represented in the 
 Abbey Arms by a chain and horselock in chevron between 
 three mitres. It also ranges through all the ecclesiastical 
 struggles of the mid-^le ages. The Abbey indeed belongs to 
 a period in English history whereof the traces are nearly 
 obliterated. Religion and Government since the sixteenth 
 century are wholly changed, and we of the modern period have 
 little sympathy with the traditions of the middle ages, coloured 
 by ideas and feelings so different from our own. Our purpose 
 in this brief narrative is only to indicate the few visible traces 
 of the past that still remain. The most ancient relic of the 
 Abbey of Evesham is the old Norman gateway through which 
 you pass from the south-east corner of the Market Place into 
 the Churchyard. The semi-circular arches on each side are 
 very remarkable, and it is evident that the bases of the semi- 
 columns which support them are below the present surface of 
 the soil, which has indeed accumulaied for ages, as is shown 
 by the descent into the yard of the Vicarage, and into the 
 floor of All Saints Church. Once, doubtless, an arch sprung 
 over the gateway from the capitals of the sunken columns. 
 Now a wooden tenement crosses and covers the space. The 
 age of the old Norman gateway is supposed to be of the 
 twelfth century. 
 
 THE PARISH CHURCHES. 
 Of the two parish churches, that of All Saints has recently 
 
8 A Day at Evesham. 
 
 been restored. The parish church of Saint Lawrence was 
 restored in 1837. There are interesting specimens of archi- 
 tecture in both of them. The mortuary chapel of Abbot 
 Lichfield, buried there in 1546, is on the south side of All 
 Saints Church, and shows traces of stained glass in the 
 windows and a fan-roofed stone ceiling. The northern aisle 
 and chancel are attributed to the early part of the thirteenth 
 century. 
 
 In the Church of Saint Lawrence, the Vestry or Baptistery 
 (as it is now used for both) is worthy of note. It is a square 
 chapel, with a stone roof of fan tracery, with an elaborate 
 central pendant of the richest Tudor style, similar to King's 
 Chapel in Cambridge. The Chapel is traditionally associated 
 with Clement Lichfield, to whom is also said to be due the 
 delicate carving of the buttresses of the great east window of 
 this church. The font in St. Lawrence Church is a modern 
 copy of the ancient one which was removed when this church 
 was restored. 
 
 THE CLOISTER ARCH. 
 
 A relic of great beauty and interest, the only actual relic of 
 the Abbey Church now existing, is a decorated archway to be 
 seen in the Cross Churchyard, south of the Bell Tower. Erected 
 about 13 17, it formed the entrance from the Cloister to the 
 Chapter House, and is now the gateway into some private gar- 
 dens which cover the site of the cloisters. Let the visitor, as he 
 stands beneath this archway and looks eastward over the mea- 
 dows and the river, imagine himself as leaving the cloisters of 
 the Abbey Church, and entering a passage leading to 
 the Chapter House. On his left hand is the south 
 transept of the great church, the nave of which extends from 
 the central tower 150 feet backwards ; the choir stretches 100 
 feet forwards to the edge of the sloping bank, and the 
 
Guide to its Antiquities, &e. 
 
 chapter room lying immediately before him, extends nearly 
 as far as the choir of the church. The northern transept of 
 the church approaches to the Bell Tower. 
 
 THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS. 
 
 What a volume of history is obliterated by the removal of 
 these ancient buildings. When the last Abbot of Evesham 
 had made the legal surrender to the Royal Commissioners, in 
 1539, the buildings were sold, dismantled, carted away, burnt for 
 lime, used as rubbish, or employed in the foundations of 
 whatever buildings, bridges, or houses might be in the course 
 of erection for many following years. It is a fact that up to 
 the present time whatever old buildings are removed, or 
 foundations dug up, there are found wrought stones, many of 
 exquisite device, which once formed the pinnacles and 
 traceries of the proud Abbey of Evesham. Of the conven- 
 tual buildings, formerly of such magnitude that it has been 
 said of them that out of Oxford and Cambridge there was not 
 to be found so great an assemblage of religious buildings in 
 the kingdom, so little remains as to require only a glance 
 from the casual visitor. At the bottom of Vine Street, the 
 broad street which continues the line of the High Street past 
 the Town Hall, may be seen a gable with a stone-muUioned 
 window and some old-looking buildings beside it. This was 
 the Almonry, the residence of the Almoner, and the place of 
 distribution of those alms which in old times represented the 
 relief now administered under the poor-law. The basement 
 storey of the old buildings contains some interesting remains 
 of domestic architectural decoration of the Tudor period. 
 But the proportion which these remains bear to the 
 magnificent abode of the Mitred Abbot of Evesham with its 
 gatehouse, halls, quadrangles, courts, chapels, almonry, and 
 
lo A Day at Evesham, 
 
 other offices, is but the same as that borne by the solitary 
 arch in the Cross Churchyard to the great church -which rose 
 up beside it. The walls enclosing the Abbey and its gardens 
 may be traced in a few places stretching in almost a stiaight 
 line to the river eastward and westward, on one side to the 
 Bridge and on the other to the foot of Clark's Hill ; the Avon 
 itself completing the circuit. Within this space lie what are 
 still called the Abbey Gardens, belted along the river by 
 broad meadows; and at the bottom of the slopes in and near 
 the Cross Churchyard may be traced the ponds which were 
 used for keeping a supply of fish for the Monastery, and 
 probably as ornamental waters in the Abbey grounds. 
 
 BENGEWORTH. 
 
 The ecclesiastical survey of the town of Evesham includes 
 another church, St. Peter's ; and introduces us to that part of 
 Evesham which lies on the left bank of the Avon and is called 
 Bengeworth. But here instead of antiquity we find novelty. 
 A new and commodious church, with a handsome tower and 
 lofty spire, was erected in this parish nine years ago, at a cost of 
 about four thousand five hundred pounds, on a new and elevated 
 site, and in the line of the principal street of Bengeworth called 
 Port Street. The church was opened on the 4th December, 
 1872. 
 
 All that remains of the ancient church here, the dilapidated 
 condition whereof rendered its removal necessary, is the base 
 of the Tower, and the Churchyard, closed against burials some 
 years past. Bengeworth was originally the site of a castle. 
 The moat is still traceable, and the name of Port Street seems 
 to point to the guarded entrance or approach to the bridge 
 and the river. Nor does history fail us in instances of strife 
 between the Abbot and the Baronial Castle. In the twelfth 
 
Guide to its AntiquitieSy &c. 1 1 
 
 century Abbot Andeville excommunicated William de Beau- 
 champ, took his castle of Benge worth, rased its walls and 
 converted its site into a cemetery. Later and final instances 
 of ''controversies and dissensions'' were extinguished by the 
 incorporation of Bengeworth with Evesham by the charter of 
 James I. in 1605. 
 
 GUILDHALL. 
 
 At the end of High Street is the Town Hall or Guildhall, 
 the older portion of which was built a little earlier than 1586. 
 The basement was until lately an open arcade, and was used 
 anciently for pitching corn and since as a butter and poultry 
 market. The upper room has undergone many alterations 
 from its original condition, and has recently been greatly 
 improved by the raising, arching, and panelling of the ceiling. 
 The Council Chamber contains a full length portrait of Sir 
 Charles Cockerell, painted by Hayter. Below the Council 
 Chamber is the Police Station and '' Lock-up." In connection 
 wiith this structure it is proper to state that after the dissolution 
 of the Abbey and the intermediate condition of Evesham as 
 a Manor, with court leet, steward and bailiffs, it became a 
 Corporate Borough under a charter granted by James I., and 
 dated 2nd March, 1604. Under this first charter the local 
 afi"airs were to be managed by two bailiffs, twelve aldermen, 
 and twelve principal burgesses. The grant was made in the 
 name of the unfortunate Prince Henry, whose early death cast 
 a gloom over the kingdom. His arms as Prince of Wales, the 
 feathers, as Duke of Cornwall, the border of black with gold 
 '* bezants," and as Earl of Chester, the wheatsheaf, are all 
 combined to form the arms of the Borough. In 1605, by a 
 second charter, incorporating Bengeworth, the high-bailiff was 
 created mayor, and the number of alderii.en reduced to seven, 
 and two burgesses were directed to be returned to represent 
 
12 A Day at Evesham. 
 
 the borough in Parliament. The charters and patents with 
 which Evesham as well as other municipal boroughs was 
 troubled in the times of the later Stuarts are matters of 
 historical interest to the student, but need not be more than 
 referred to here. Under the Municipal Reform Act of 
 William IV., this Borough became assimilated to others of 
 like origin ; and we need follow the municipal history no 
 further, except to state that the Commissioners, theretofore 
 acting undera local Improvement Act for paving and lighting the 
 streets in the borough passed in the year 1824, became identified 
 with the mayor, aldermen and common council of the Borough, 
 which constitutes a single ward for their representation. It 
 may be here noticed that Evesham was first lighted by gas in 
 1836, through the enterprise of Mr. John Gibbs, who after- 
 wards transferred the works to a Company. From this 
 Company the Corporation of Evesham purchased the works, 
 in 1877, and subsequently greatly improved them. The old 
 Booth-hall, used for Municipal purposes, and for the Courts 
 and other public purposes, before the Guildhall was built, is 
 a fine block of ancient Timber building occupying the north 
 side of the Market Place. It is not difficult to imagine its 
 ancient condition with booths or open shops in the basement, 
 and the public rooms and offices in the upper floors. 
 
 THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 
 
 The Free Grammar School of Prince Henry of Evesham is 
 due to the charter of 1605 ; but Clement Lichfield, the 
 munificent abbot, to whom M^e have already referred, built the 
 first Grammar School on Merstowe Green, on the site of the 
 school-house till lately used for the present school. The 
 porch of this building, sadly modernized, contains the old 
 Latin inscription of gratitude, " Orate pro anima Clementis 
 Abbat."By the exertions of the late lamented Vicar of Evesham, 
 
Guide to its Antiquities, &c. 13 
 
 the Rev. F. W. Holland, a new scheme for the management 
 of the Grammar School has been obtained, additional endow- 
 ments secured, and a commodious mansion on Green Hill, 
 known as " Lanesfield," acquired for the future school house. 
 A grant of ^10 annually from the Exchequer is the original 
 royal foundation of this ''endowed" school. In 1858, Mr. 
 Isaac Averill Roberts, of Croscombe, in the county of 
 Somerset, grateful for his boyhood's education in this school, 
 bequeathed his residuary personal estate in its favour, a gift 
 which now yields about / 18 a year. The increased endow- 
 ments under the new scheme are expected to raise the annual 
 income of the foundation very considerably, and to make 
 "The Free Grammar School" a most valuable institution. 
 The sudden death of the late Mr. Holland, at Thun, in 
 Switzerland, which occurred when this edition was passing 
 through the press (27th August, 1881), demands a record of 
 the irreparable loss which Evesham has sustained by his 
 removal from the sphere of his arduous and benevolent 
 labours. 
 
 CLARK'S HILL. 
 Whoever may seek the quaint inscription over the Grammar 
 School doorway, will also see, at the further end of ''the 
 Green," the "National School," and beyond it the green slope 
 of Clark's Hill, which bears marks of terraces for the culture 
 of the vine in the time of the Abbey. Crossing Hampton 
 Ferry, at the bottom of Boat Lane, this vineyard-hill may be 
 ascended, and the view therefrom of the town, surrounded by 
 its gardens, and of the Avon-watered vale, will richly reward 
 the visitor. 
 
 THE INSTITUTE AND FARMERS' HALL. 
 
 In the Market Place, and opposite the Town Hall, is the 
 Evesham Institute and Merchants and Farmers' Hall. The 
 
14 A Day at Evesham. 
 
 former dating its commencement with a humble '' Mechanics' 
 Institution" in 1838, has subsequently absorbed the older 
 Town Library and Reading-room, and in 1868, with the aid 
 of the Evesham Corn Exchange, built a handsome Hall, which 
 is the Corn Market on Mondays (the Evesham market days), 
 and at all other times used for the purposes of the Institute 
 and for general public purposes. The Reading-room on the 
 basement storey is open from morning till night ; a room 
 behind is used for classes and for the meetings of the Ancient 
 Order of Foresters. In the Council Room, behind the 
 Farmers' Hall, are the geological collections and scientific 
 library, presented to the Institute by John Gibbs, Esq. The 
 Reading Room contains a good library, which has recently 
 been improved by gifts and bequests, particularly from the 
 late John Langton Sanford, Esq., through his brother, Henry 
 Sanford, Esq., and from the late John Colston, Esq. 
 
 THE STREETS. 
 
 The streets of Evesham are regular and generally well-built. 
 Bridge Street is almost as picturesque as an old Flemish street. 
 Many of the houses in this street show marks of considerable 
 antiquity. In that numbered 57, now in Mr. Doeg's occupation. 
 King Charles the First lodged when he visited the borough in 
 1644. The Crown Hotel, though much modernised, is a 
 specimen of the ancient hostelry, the open galleries of which 
 were closed only within the last forty or fifty years. Scarcely 
 any crowded courts or alleys are to be found in the town, and 
 the spaces enclosed by the quadrangular arrangement of the 
 buildings are filled with gardens which impart a freshness of 
 air in even the more populous parts of the town. No manu- 
 facturing processes injuriously effect the atmosphere. No tall 
 chimneys rise above the houses to impair or contrast with the 
 
Guide to its Antiquities^ &c, 15 
 
 elegant forms of the Bell Tower, its companion spires of 
 All Saints and St. Lawrence, or the new spire of Bengeworth 
 
 PLACES OF WORSHIP. 
 
 Several congregations of voluntary Churches have places 
 of worship in Evesham, which are well-supported and main- 
 tained. The Baptist Church, has restored its Meeting House, 
 and built an excellent School Room in the Cowl Street. 
 The Unitarian Congregation, commonly called Presbyterian, 
 have done the same things in Oat Street. The Wesleyans have 
 also improved their place ofworship in Chapel Street. Amodern 
 and commodious building in the Market Place is! at present 
 unused. A Meeting House in Mill Street, formerly held by a 
 second Baptist Congregation, is now used by thii Christian 
 Brethren. The Friends' Meeting House in Cowl Street is old 
 and of simple construction, and the building itself may perhaps 
 date back to the visits of George Fox, recorded in his Journal. 
 
 SCHOOLS. 
 
 Of Schools, not yet referred to, it is proper to mention a 
 foundation in Bengeworth by Alderman John Deacle, a native 
 of Evesham, who by his will, dated 1706, made a bequest for 
 the education, clothing, and apprenticeship of poor boys. 
 The School House, built in 1738, is on the south side of Port 
 Street, Bengeworth. This school is lately settled on a new 
 scheme under the Charity Commissioners. There are also 
 National Schools in Bengeworth ; and in Evesham an Infant 
 School, as well as the British Schools. 
 
 THE COTTAGE HOSPITAL. 
 
 This new building stands in Briar Close Lane, at the back 
 of the High Street. It was opened on the nth of December, 
 
1 6 A Day at Evesham. 
 
 1879, and is wholly supported by voluntary donations and 
 subscriptions, and by the gratuitous services of the medical 
 men of the borough. 
 
 THE BRIDGE. 
 
 The new Bridge over the Avon, and the Workman Gardens 
 along the Bengeworth river-side, are the most striking modern 
 improvements to the external character and appearance of the 
 town ; and the latter particularly have been the means of 
 attracting visitors at all times during the summer season., and 
 especially on the occasion of the annual Regatta and Flower 
 Show. "To the public spirit and perseverance of Henry 
 Workman, Esq., the origin and completion" of the new Bridge 
 are duly and honourably attributed in an inscription upon the 
 Bridge itself, which was opened in the year 1856, and is one 
 of the most elegant structures in the county. The old bridge 
 of eight arches of different shapes and sizes was narrow and 
 inconvenient, and with recesses at intervals on the north side 
 of the walled roadway for the retreat of foot passengers from 
 the danger of passing vehicles. In fact it had nothing but its 
 antiquity and picturesqueness to plead in its favour ; and the 
 increasing traffic which has arisen by means of the railroads 
 and the extension of market gardens in the neighbourhood 
 has more than justified the wise foresight and singular self- 
 devotion which did so much to provide the convenient and 
 handsome modern bridge now one of the ornaments of the 
 town. 
 
 THE WORKMAN GARDENS. 
 
 The Pleasure Grounds, which bear the name so honourably 
 associated with the Bridge, arose by the same personal enter- 
 prise. When the channel of the river had been widened and 
 freed from the osier beds which once divided and almost 
 
Guide to its Antiquities, &c. ly 
 
 wholly concealed its stream, it was a happy idea of Mr. Henry 
 Workman to turn to advantage the line of ground gained upon 
 the left bank of the river by laying it out and planting it as a 
 promenade and pleasure ground for the use and adornment of 
 the town. These gardens are kept up by public subscription, 
 aided by a small payment for entrance levied upon strangers, 
 or included in the admission tickets on particular occasions. 
 From this charming promenade are seen the site of the Abbey, 
 crowned with the Bell Tower and Churches ; the Bridge 
 itself, and the picturesque groupings of the houses above it ; 
 the green open meadows, the fine mass of Bredon Hill 
 diversified with woods and fields, and the river flowing 
 through a landscape in which elms and willows blend their 
 foliage with the fruit trees of the fertile garden grounds. The 
 Northwick Arms Hotel overlooks these gardens and com- 
 mands the same beautiful views. 
 
 THE BATTLE FIELD. 
 
 A walk from the Railway Stations, of half a mile north- 
 wards up the high road over Green Hill, leads to the Battle 
 Field, where on Tuesday, August the 4th, 1265, in the midst 
 of a tempest as memorable as the day, the Vindicator of 
 English Liberties against court corruption and foreign 
 influence and the originator of popular Parliamentary repre- 
 sentation, Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, fell, with his 
 son Henry and many Barons, hopelessly fighting against 
 Prince Edward (afterwards Edward L) and the royalist army. 
 The north road is crossed on the top of the hill, by the old 
 road from Worcester which runs along the ridge and is then 
 continued eastward down a lane to the river. On the Evesham 
 side of the ridge, on its southern slopes and in the beautiful 
 sweeping hollow of Mr. Rudge's estate, the battle was fought. 
 
1 8 A Day at Evesham^ 
 
 Across this hollow is a fine view of the Vale and of Bredon 
 Hill ; and at the upper part of it, not far from the high road, 
 is a pool called Battlewell, which marks the spot where Earl 
 Simon is believed to have fallen. The great Earl arrived at 
 Evesham on Monday night or early on Tuesday morning, and 
 was received with his train into the Abbey, having with him 
 King Henry IH., who had been placed in Montfort's custody 
 after the successful battle of Lewes, fought about fifteen 
 months before. He had come up from Hereford by way of 
 Kempsey, with the intention of joining his son, 
 Simon the Younger, at Kenilworth, or between 
 Evesham and Kenilworth, so that they might unite their 
 forces against Prince Edward and the Royalists who 
 gathered round him when he escaped from the custody of 
 Henry de Montfort in the previous May. The Prince had made 
 a rapid march from Worcester to Kenilworth, and there, on 
 Sunday, the 2nd of August, attacked the younger Simon, 
 driving him into his castle, and carrying off prisoners, baggage 
 and standards, which he brought with him up to Evesham 
 early on Tuesday morning. The Earl must have been ignorant 
 of the Prince's movements and of the younger Simon's defeat, 
 or he would not have rested at Evesham merely to gratify the 
 King's desire *'to hear mass and to dine." Early on Tuesday 
 morning, the Earl's barber, Nicholas, ascended the clock- 
 tower of the Abbey and saw an army bearing friendly standards 
 coming over the hill on the north of the town. He reported 
 this to the Earl, who also ascended the tower and discovered 
 to his dismay the superior forces of the Prince who had em- 
 ployed the standards taken at Kenilworth as false signals to 
 conceal his approach. Full of despair, and after vainly trying 
 to persuade his son Henry to save himself by flight, De 
 Montfort exclaimed, '' May the Lord have mercy on our souls, 
 for our bodies are in the enemies' power." He then went forth 
 
Guide to its Antiquities, &c. 19 
 
 to meet the Prince ; and though, as an old writer says, '' hefought 
 stoutly like a giant for the liberties of England," he fell, over- 
 powered by numbers, in the midst of his friends, and by his 
 death gained for his principles the victory which was lost to 
 his arms. Henry III., on declaring himself during the battle to 
 a soldier who attacked him as '• Henry of Winchester your 
 King," was rescued and restored to his son. The victor cruelly 
 revenged himself on De Montfort's body, which he ordered to be 
 dismembered and the separate limbs dispersed. A worthier 
 fate was awarded to "the Martyr" by the monks of Evesham. 
 Some fragments of his bo'.'.y piously laid in front of the high 
 altar of the Abbey made it the scene of many wonderful cures 
 recorded to have been wrought both by the Earl's remains and 
 by the water of Battlewell. An ancient chronicle of these 
 '* Miracles" presents a quaint parallel to the present advertise- 
 ments of patent medicines. In Mr. Rudge's grounds an obelisk 
 is erected as a memorial of the battle, with a bas-relief of the 
 rescue of the King, and an extract from Drayton's Polyolbion. 
 A tower on the other side of the same grounds, in front of the 
 Abbey Manor House, and overlooking the river, is called 
 '' Leicester Tower," in honour of the great Earl. A 
 contemporary describes him as "that glorious man" who 
 devoted not only his property but himself in behalf of the 
 oppressed poor and in the assertion of justice and of national 
 rights ; and commends him further for his literary ability, his 
 devout habits, frugality, gravity, and trustworthiness. 
 
 THE STORMING OF EVESHAM, 1645. 
 
 The storming of Evesham on Monday, the 26th of May, 
 1645, by Colonel Massey, the Parliamentary Governor and 
 resolute defender of the city of Gloucester, whereby the town 
 was wrested from the Royalists in the course of the " Great 
 
20 A Day at Evesham^ 
 
 Rebellion," must not be altogether overlooked even in this 
 brief local guide. Colonel Legge had been left in 
 command of the town by the King, who had then made his 
 third visit to Evesham and garrisoned it before proceeding 
 towards Chester. Colonel Massey, with 700 foot and 800 
 horse, after summons and a haughty refusal f/om the Royalist 
 commander, attacked the fortifications in five places on the 
 Worcester side and simultaneously at the Bridge on the 
 Bengeworth side. The contest began at daybreak, lasted 
 about an hour, and was very furious. The number of prisoners 
 taken was 548, including 70 officers. The number of slain on 
 both sides is reported to have been ''less than could have 
 been expected," namely, about 17, and 30 wounded. 
 
 For this exploit, which left the whole country between 
 Evesham and Bristol in the hands of the Parliament, and cut 
 ofif Royalist communications between Oxford and Worcester, 
 Colonel Massey received the thanks of the House on the 29th 
 of May. In July following, Colonel Rouse was appointed 
 Parliamentary Governor of the town, and on his death the 
 following year Major Dingley was appointed in his ph.ce. 
 
 WALKS ABOUT EVESHAM. 
 
 The visitor to the Battle Field, by pursuing his walk for two 
 miles will arrive at the village of Norton, and find in the 
 church there some interesting monuments of the Bigge family, 
 one of whom was a nephew of Sir Philip Hoby, the grantee of 
 the dissolved monastery, and a member of Parliament for 
 Evesham in 1604. This church also contains a marble lectern 
 which once belonged to the Abbey, and some architectural 
 relics brought together by the care and taste of the 
 Rev. N. G. Batt, the present incumbent. On the other 
 side of the town are the pleasant villages and churches 
 
Guide to its Antiquities, &c, 21 
 
 of Hampton, Badsey, and Wickhamford ; the last-mentioned 
 church containing fine monuments of the Sandys family, 
 of the Stuart period. On both sides of the town are 
 pleasant walks along the meadows by the river side, where 
 the botanist will find a great variety of flowers. The towing 
 path up the Long Meadow is particularly recommended as 
 leading to Offenham Ferry (once the site of a bridge), and 
 over the Ferry to Off'enham, named from Offa, King of 
 Mercia, and its beautifully restored church. 
 
 An agreeable way of enjoying the Avon below the town is 
 afforded in summer time by steamers which make short 
 excursions from Mr. Spragg's Wharf and from the Fleece Inn. 
 The opportunities of boating and angling in the Avon will to 
 many be its chief attractions. 
 
 HISTORICAL BOOKS RELATING TO EVESHAM. 
 
 For those who may require full information about Evesham 
 and its history we enumerate the following works, though all 
 except the last two are out of print : — 
 
 I. — The History and Antiquities of the Abbey and Borough 
 of Evesham : carefully compiled from MSS in the British 
 Museum. By William Tindal, M.A., Evesham, 1794. 4to. 
 This is a handsome quarto with good illustrations, and is a 
 very creditable production from our local press at the close of 
 the last century. 
 
2 2 A Day at Evesham. 
 
 2. — A Short Account of the History and Antiquities of 
 Evesham. By E. J. Rudge, Esq. 1820. 
 
 3. — The History of Evesham. By George May. 1834. 
 
 4. — A Descriptive History of the Town of Evesham from 
 the Foundation of its Saxon Monastery ; with Notices 
 respecting the ancient Deanery of its Vale. By George 
 May. Based upon a former publication of the Author, 
 revised throughout. Evesham, 1845. 
 
 5. — The Barons' War: including the Battles of Lewes and 
 Evesham. By William Henry Blaauw, Esq., M.A. Edited 
 by C. H. Pearson, Esq. 1871. 
 
 6. — The Journal of the British Archaeological Association. 
 Vol. XXXn. 1876. This volume contains valuable Papers, 
 read at the Meeting of the Association held at Evesham in 
 August, 1875, under the presidency of the Marquis of Hertford. 
 
 7. — The Life of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester. By 
 George Walter Prothero. Longmans, 1877. Contains a 
 Map to illustrate the Battle of Evesham, and a careful attempt 
 to elucidate the event. 
 
51an 
 
 SHOWING THE SITE OF THE 
 
 AWey Cliiircli & Conventual Buildings 
 
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 *«> 
 
 W 
 
 Ot/7 GRAMMAR 
 SCHOOL 
 
 MER S TOW 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ABBOT CHERiTON^WinTL 
 
 REFERENCES. 
 
 1. Nave of Abbey Church 
 
 2. North Transept 
 
 A. Base of Centre Tower of Jamb of 
 
 Transept Arch now Exposed 
 
 3. Centre Tower 
 
 4. South Transept 
 
 5. Choir — Crypt under 
 
 6. Sacristy 
 
 7. Chapter House 
 
 8. Vestibule to do. with Archway now existing 
 
 9. Misericorde 
 10 Refectory 
 11. Kitchen 
 
 12—12. Abbot's Lodging 
 
 13. Infirmary 
 
 14. Guest House 
 
 15. The Long Stable 
 
 16. Officers' Stables 
 
 17. Abbot's Stable 
 
 B. Remains of Groining 
 
 C. Remains of large and small Archways if Gate Hou^e 
 
 18. Chape! of the Charnel House 
 
 19. Norman Gateway 
 
 20—21. Chapels Erected by Abbot Lichfield 
 
 22. Abbot Lichfield's Porch 
 
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 Parts now existing — Black 
 
 Parts ascertained and Conjectural in Outline 
 
 £ S /)iosD*LE, DcLT. 1861 . 
 
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 i|: ' Makers 
 
 Syracuse. N Y 
 
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