Evesham's History and Heritage

Evesham's History and Heritage. . , Evesham's History and Heritage: The Civil War , Evesham in the 17th Century was a small town of less than 2,000 people, but significant for its orchards and market gardening, and for production of leather goods including shoes. It was also strategically placed on the road from London and Oxford to Worcester and Wales. The sympathies of the townsfolk were mainly with the Parliamentarians., Brief History , . 1642 - Evesham had a garrison of Parliamentary troops from the army of the Earl of Essex. But they retreated after the Battle of Edgehill, and Evesham was occupied by Royalists. , . 15 June 1644 - King Charles and 7.000 men came into Evesham after Tewkesbury was captured by the Parliamentarians. , . 6 June 1644 - The Royalists retreated from Evesham to Worcester and demolished Evesham Bridge, The townsfolk immediately repaired the bridge, and the parliamentarian army moved in under William Waller. , . 16 June 1644 - William Waller left Evesham and King Charles returned. The townsfolk were fined 1200 and forced to give 1,000 pairs of shoes as a penalty for repairing the bridge. , . July 1644 - The King stayed for days at a house in Bridge Street. , . May 1645 - Charles and the royalist army mustered at Evesham and moved on to Inkberrow and towards Naseby. They left a garrison of 500 under Col. Robert Legge. , . 25 May 1645 - Meanwhile the Parlamentarians under Col. Edward Massey crossed the river to Greenhill, and also Bengeworth. , . 20 May 1645 - The Battle of Evesham - The Parliamentarian army breach the defences at Greenhill and entered the town, and also came across the bridge. The Royalists were forced back to the river and surrendered. , . Evesham remained in Parliamentary hands until the end of the Civil War Out the demands of supporting the armies left it impoverished., Evesham's History and Heritage: Church of Saint Lawrence , St Lawrence's Church is thought to have been built around the end of the 12th century With All Saints Church and the Bell Tower, it survived the Dissolution of the Abbey, and served as a parish church for 400 years., St. Lawrence was a deacon in the church of Rome, martyred in the persecution of 258 AD. His symbol is a gridiron, from a report of his martyrdom., . A covered passage led to St Lawrence's from the Abbey. , . 1223 - the first mention of a "chapel of St Lawrence" in the Abbey records. , . 1285 - Simon de Montfort took mass here before the Battle of Evesham. , . 1296 - After the turbulence and bloodshed of the Barons War, the church was re-consecrated by the Bishop of St Asaph. , . The font dates from the 15th Century. , . 1524-30 - The South Chapel, with its magnificent vaulting, was built by Abbot Clement Lichfield. , . St Lawrence's fell into disrepair in the 18th Century. Worshippers moved to All Saints. , . 1837 - After some earlier unsuccessful attempts, it was restored by Edward and John Fudge and re-opened. , . 1978-8 was in use until 1978, when it was declared redundant. It is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. , . St Lawrence houses many magnificent stained glass window.