Evesham

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Evesham
Coordinates 52 ° 5 ′  N , 1 ° 57 ′  W Coordinates: 52 ° 5 ′  N , 1 ° 57 ′  W
OS National Grid SP0343
Evesham (England)
Evesham
Evesham
Residents 22.304
administration
Post town EVESHAM
ZIP code section WR11
prefix 01386
Part of the country England
region West Midlands
Shire county Worcestershire
District Wychavon
British Parliament Mid Worcestershire

Evesham is a medium-sized town with a rural character in Worcestershire , England . Evesham to Worcester , Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon are approximately the same distance. Originally Evesham was founded on a loop of the Avon River that flows through the Evesham Valley. The area is known for its fruit and vegetable cultivation , which is of particular economic importance due to good climatic and soil conditions. The rapidly changing demand for labor means that a large number of seasonal workers live in the Evesham valley.

description

The Market Place in Evesham, circa 1904

The city had 22,304 inhabitants at the 2001 census, a small hospital, a library, two secondary schools and a college. The city is also the seat of computer manufacturer Evesham Technology and various food processing companies, as well as an undemanding tourist spot. The radio broadcasting system built in nearby Wood Norton during the Second World War is now a training facility and a private hotel.

Evesham can be described as a pleasant but not exciting place to visit. It is known for its day-trippers who picnic by the river or use Evesham as a tourist base for visiting the Cotswolds . Many festivals take place in the year such as the great fishing competition, the hot air balloon festival, a mop fair , a regatta and a river festival with boat lights. The River Avon is an attraction in itself, both as part of the navigable Avon Ring and for nice boat trips from Abbey Gardens or with the boat rental at the jetty. The remains of the Benedictine monastery include the Lichfield Bell Tower , which can be seen from afar, and two historic parish churches. The nearby Almonry used to be part of the monastery and is now a heritage museum.

history

Evesham Abbey, bell tower

Evesham was the site of the great Battle of Evesham , in which Simon de Montfort was defeated and killed on August 4, 1265. The monastery Evesham was one of the largest monasteries of Europe , to which only the Lichfield Bell Tower recalls. It was founded by the Holy Bishop of Worcester St. Ecgwine after a swineherd or shepherd named Eof appeared on this site to Mary. In the legend, Eof immediately went to Ecgwine, who hurried back with him to the place and also had the apparition. He was so moved that he built a Benedictine abbey on the square.

While Ecgwine was first beatified and later canonized and the local middle school was named after him, Eof probably had the greater response and reputation historically. The name Evesham is derived from "Eof's ham" , where ham means home in this case . However, this derivation is controversial, as some believe that the name would come from "Eof's Swine" , in English "Eofs pigs" . Evesham Monastery founded smaller abbeys and churches in Belgium , the Netherlands and France . The greatest source of income was the pilgrims who visited the site of the apparition of Mary and the tomb of de Montfort.

In another historical curiosity, the city insists that it was originally founded on the north side of the Avon in a bend in the river, while Bengeworth was supposedly built on the south. Bengeworth had a castle at that time and competed with the monastery on the other side for supremacy. Unfortunately for Bengeworth, the drunken knights allowed themselves the fun of damaging a grave or two in the monastery cemetery. The monks used this as an excuse to attack the castle and dragged it. To prevent the castle from being rebuilt, they consecrated the square with a cemetery. This uneven distribution of streets and shops, which was founded in the local history, is still reflected in the cityscape.

Also in the south of the city are the districts of Greater and Little Hampton, two independent villages around 80 years ago. To celebrate the incorporation and to create a better connection, the Abbey Bridge was built, which is often just called the New Bridge . The bridge was the first in the UK to be built entirely from concrete. Hampton has revived in recent years thanks to partial urban renewal and the redrawing of constituency boundaries.

Abbey Almonry

The presence of the monastery, its inhabitants and the pilgrims let the city grow in the river bend. A model of the city in the Middle Ages is in the Almonry Museum in the city center. With one of the largest monasteries and vigorous agriculture, the city quickly became wealthy. Unfortunately, Henry VIII's decision to liquidate the monasteries called for their demolition and sale of the demolition material, leaving only the landmark Lichfield Bell Tower. The demolished abbey church was considerably larger than St Paul's Cathedral in London.

Despite this setback, the town survived and grew into one of the county's most famous centers for fruit and vegetable growing. The valley of Evesham was considered the second largest cultivation area after the county of Kent , the "Garden of England".

The decline in large farms in the second half of the 20th century caused many direct marketing activities from the field in Evesham to close in the 1990s, and many of the orchards in the city's green belt overgrown.

In May 1998, Evesham witnessed record flood and inundation of its suburbs by the River Avon. The level of the river rose by 2.75 m in just a few hours, sank the tethered canal boats, flooded areas of Bengeworth and threatened the statics of the Workman Bridge , built in the 19th century , when a caravan was swept away by the floods and itself wedged in the arches of the bridge.

The conspicuous city dialect, which is now spoken more by the older generations in the city, is called Asum and is a contraction of the city name Evesham. Asum was the name that one of the popular microbreweries gave its drinks. This brewery was housed in the historic building and pub "The Green Dragon" , which was built in 1510 in the architectural Tudor style . The two award-winning beers were Asum Ale and Asum Gold . The pub has since reopened and the microbrewery has been closed.

Another peculiarity of the dialect gives rise to a debate about how the name of the city itself should be emphasized. Eve-shum is the most common phonetic accent , but Eve-er-shum is not uncommon either.

education

The schools correspond to the three-level school system widespread in the Wychavon District Council , the first school for 5 to 10 year olds , middle school for 10 to 13 year olds , and high school for 13 to 18 year olds . This has been the situation since 1974. Before that, the school model consisted of a primary school for 5 to 11 year olds and a secondary school for 11 to 18 year olds. Between 1974 and 1977 there was a change from one school system to another.

The city has many first schools , including those whose sponsors are the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church, but also non-denominational schools. There are two middle schools in the city: Simon de Montfort Middle School and St. Egwin's Church of England Middle School . And also two high schools : Prince Henry's High School and Evesham High School . The two high schools have a larger student catchment area. They get their feed from the middle schools in Evesham and the surrounding area.

The history of Prince Henry's High School goes back 630 years and is very closely connected with the monastery when she was a school for the poor. The school was a primary school until 1973 when it was reorganized through the comprehensive school system. From 1993 it was maintained through grants, and since 1999 the school has been financed by a foundation. She is now a language college.

The Evesham High School was originally called Evesham County Secondary School known. In 1973, like Prince Henry School, it was reorganized by the new comprehensive school system. The school is now known as a sports college with numerous sports and fitness facilities.

There is also the Greenhill School , a private school in town that accepts girls and boys aged 3 to 13. It is over 100 years old and was originally an all-girls school.

Higher education for ages 16+ is offered in the city by Evesham and Malvern Hills College . The colleges look after students up to the NVQ and BTEC levels or offer practical training courses. Both originally independent institutions were merged into a college in September 2000.

Transport connections and arrival

Road: Evesham is at the junction of the A46 and A44 . In July 1987 the six and a half kilometer long A46 was opened as a bypass road in the east of the city, at that time still under the name A435. In a recent, albeit unrepresentative, survey, the majority of residents stated that the bypass had reduced traffic within the city.

Rail: Evesham Station is two hours from London Paddington on the Cotswold Line .

Bus: Local and regional bus routes run from the bus station on High Street to Stratford-upon-Avon , Worcester and Cheltenham .

Ship: The River Avon is a navigable waterway that connects the River Severn at Tewkesbury and the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal at Stratford .

sport and freetime

The city is home to Evesham United Football Club (soccer), which plays in the Southern Football League Division One Midlands .

Because of its special location on the river, the city offers numerous water sports:

  • Rowing (Evesham Rowing Club)
  • Kayak and Canoe (Evesham Paddlesport)
  • Sailing (Evesham Sailing Club).

The city also has a competitive rugby team (Evesham Rugby Club) and a pétanque team (Evesham Petanque Club).

Although both cinemas in Evenham have closed, the town has a modern theater in the Evesham Arts Center .

City personalities

Town twinning

literature

Web links

swell

  1. ^ Worcestershire County Council Research Unit: Wychavon Parish Profiles (PDF; 59 kB) Worcestershire County Council. March 16, 2004. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 4, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.worcestershire.gov.uk
  2. Simon de Montfort Middle School ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.simondemontfort.worcs.sch.uk
  3. ^ St Egwin's C of E Middle School
  4. ^ Prince Henry's High School . princehenrys.worcs.sch.uk. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  5. ^ Evesham High School . eveshamhigh.worcs.sch.uk. Archived from the original on July 27, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 4, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.eveshamhigh.worcs.sch.uk
  6. Evesham College and Malvern Hills College ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / archive.worcesternews.co.uk