The Story of Pershore, The Abbey and the Park

The Story of Pershore, The Abbey and the Park. No. 3 Roundheads to Roundabout Today. , 1) 1563 - Pershore had 216 families. Most people were farmers but there were also butchers, bakers, a cooper, and an illegal tobacconist!, 2) 1635 - Trade improved when William Sandys of Fladbury made the River Avon a navigable waterway., 3) June 1644 - During the civil war between King Charles I and Parliament, the bridge at Pershore was broken down to halt Waller's advancing Roundheads. 40 men were drowned., 4) Roundheads burnt down the abbey house. People grew tired of both sets of soldiers stealing goods and taking horses. November 1644 - Royalist troops and Parliamentary cavalry fought at skirmish at Pershore. November 1645 - on Bredon Hill, 3000 Clubmen from the district gathered to protest. They were no match for Prince Rupert's men., 5) By the 1680's, the north transept had fallen down. A buttress was built to support the tower., 6) Because roads were so bad several turnpike acts were passed in order to improve them. The roads were improved and by the 18th century coaches from Pershore could reach London in two days in summer and three in winter., 7) Changes came to the land around the town. The open fields of Holy Cross were enclosed in 1762., 8) 1777 - the population was 1,655 but poverty was an ever present problem. The overseers of the poor gave food, fuel, and clothing to ease the suffering..., 9) ...and paupers were given the chance to be inoculated against the deadly disease smallpox., 10) The Abbey of the 1790's was now to see many changes., 11) 1848 - An Apse was added to the east end of the church., 12) 1871 - Pinnacles were added to the building., 13) 1913 - When ancient ivy was removed from the walls severe cracks were found in the south transept. The western buttresses were erected., 14) 1960 - The sanctuary was changed and the alter was brought forward., 15) 1972 - The millenium of the Abbey was celebrated. Princess Alexandra joined the large congregation., 16) The south transept, tower, and pinnacles.