The Story of Pershore, The Abbey and the Park

The Story of Pershore, The Abbey and the Park. No. 1 From Ice to Fire. , 1) During the ice ages huge glaciers covered the land, when they melted they cut out the valley where the river Avon flows and left behind gravel terraces., 2) Travelers carrying salt from the Droitwich area forded the river at a narrow crossing point. This was the beginning of Pershore., 3) The gravel terraces made the land well-drained making it good for farming. First new stone age or Neolithic people farmed here., 4) Then about 4000 years ago came bronze age farmers., 5) Roman settlers farmed here. The remains of many of their farms have been found in the area., 6) Then Christianity came to Britain. The priests would speak in village squares, often standing by preaching crosses., 7) AD 681 - King Aethelred of Mercia granted land to his nephew Oswald to build a monastery at Pershore., 8) AD 971 - Edgar granted a charter to Pershore and Bishop Oswald of Worcester established Benedictine monks there., 9) By 1130, the Norman building was completed. They used wooden scaffolding made from poles lashed together., 10) The walls were made from faced stones with rubble in-fill between., 11) 1223 - Fire desroyed much of the old church. The rebuilding used the early English style of architecture. Pershore comes from two words - Persc ora - meaning a broad ridge with a gentle sloping end near where osiers grow.