High Street

High Street. Smith's Lane. Smith's Lane, formerly the centre of industrial life in Tewkesbury was one of the routes for transferring goods from the river to the High Street and beyond. At the bottom of the lane on the Mill Avon, a gap in the warehouses gave access to the river and probably to a busy wharf., Known in the early 18th century as Lawrells Lane, the Smith it is now named for was said to be a blacksmith whose shop was on the corner. In 1836 there were 24 cottages in the lane interspersed with coal yards, warehouses and stables. Some were extensive operations and residents often complained about the nuisances caused. Censuses show that people didn't stay long in the lane and alongside watermen, the main occupation was stocking knitting., Over time the lane became an area of light industry and warehousing as cottages were converted or demolished, but many survived into the 1960s when a desire for modernisation came to Tewkesbury. The area now occupied by Poundland and beyond was purchased by Lipton's supermarket and Hanover Court was built on the Back of Avon.