Evesham

“ Battle of Evesham.—Death of Simon de Montfort.
By a sudden and unexpected attack the prince surprised and scattered young Montfort's army under the walls of Kenilworth; he then hurried off to attack Simon. The earl lay in Evesham town, which is girt round by a deep loop of the river Avon. Edward and Gloucester seized the narrow neck of this loop, while another royalist force, under Mortimer, crossed the river and watched the only bridge which leads southward out of the town. Simon awoke to find himself surrounded. "God have mercy on our souls," he cried, "for our bodies are our enemy's." ”

“ A young man is not long satisfied with the mystery his thoughts have woven around the woman who is their object. Evesham had grown impatient; he had broken the spell of her sweet remoteness. He had touched her and found her human, deliciously, distractingly human, but with a streak of that obduracy which history has attributed to the Quakers under persecution. In vain he haunted the mill-dam, and bribed the boys with traps and pop-guns, and lingered at the well-curb to ask Dorothy for water that did not reach his thirst. ”

“ When a delicate, blue haze shrouds their forms, entirely obliterating the more distant heights, the pleasure-seeker rests content in the promise of a fair morn; but no pleasant expectations can be formed when, robed in deepest purple, they seem to draw in and crowd together, and with vastly increased bulk to frown upon the darkening vale.
At each end of the Cotswold range, as seen from Evesham, stands, sentinel like, an isolated elevation, and in early times, as present remains testify, both these were occupied as fortified posts. ”

“ St Lawrence and All Saints have both been restored and are in use at the present time, under the care of the Vicar of Evesham.
In his Spiritual Quixote Graves writes with great delight of the beautiful vale of Evesham bounded by the Malvern Hills. The town lies on a hill on a well-cultivated plain, and its name, derived (some say) from Eovesham, conveys the impression of its picturesque situation, “the dwelling on the level by the river side.” ”

“ Possibly he had angled for that laugh. "Yes, it is a shame!" she agreed. "But then Sir Beverley is rather old, isn't he? No doubt it's the comparison that does it."
"He isn't old," said Piers Evesham in sharp contradiction. "He's only seventy-four. That's not old for an Evesham. He'll go for another twenty years. There's a saying in our family that if we don't die violently, we never die at all." He pulled himself up abruptly. "I've given you my name and history. Won't you tell me yours?"
She hesitated momentarily. "I am only the mother's help at the Vicarage," she said then. ”

“ ADAM of Evesham (d. 1191) , was a monk of Notre Dame de la Charité-sur-Loire, Nièvre, afterwards joined to Cluny, and became prior of Bermondsey in 1157, and for that monastery he obtained important privileges in 1160 from Henry II. In 1161 he was made abbot of Evesham, where he completed the cloister, finished St. Egwine's shrine, glazed many of the windows, and made an aqueduct. He obtained the right to use episcopal ornaments in 1163, Evesham being the first abbey which obtained the use of the mitre for its abbot. ”

“ The tomb of the great Earl vied with, or exceeded in popularity, the many sacred relics already enshrined in the abbey church.
In early days, as has been pointed out, Evesham lay out of the common beat; the Avon formed a cul-de-sac, and the main road from Worcester to London and Oxford merely skirted the town, ascending Green Hill from Chadbury, continuing its course by what is now known as Blayney's Lane, and crossing the river by a ford or bridge at Offenham Ferry. In consequence of the growing importance of the town, the road was probably diverted to its present line. ”

“ Two churches in one churchyard are to be found at Evesham in Worcestershire, and at Reepham in Norfolk. These I have seen; others are at Willingate in Essex, and at Trimley in Suffolk. At Evesham there is even a third tower for the bells. This is of stone, but in a few other places, as at Brookland in Romney Marsh, the bell tower is a separate timber erection. The reason for two here was that Alvingham, dedicated to St. Adelwold, is the parish church, but there was once a Gilbertine priory for monks and nuns close by, to which the other church served as a chapel. ”

“ He answered her instantly with the utmost quietness, the utmost kindness.
"Lady Evesham, your own heart has already told you the truth."
She put out a quick hand, and he took it and held it firmly, sustainingly, while he went on.
"There is nothing whatever to be done. Give her rest, that's all; absolute rest. She looks as if she has been worked beyond her strength. Is that so?"
Avery nodded mutely.
"It must stop," he said. "She is in a very precarious state, and any exertion, mental or physical, is bound to hasten the end—which cannot, in any case, be very far off." ”

“ Waller having now outflanked the King, his Majesty returned suddenly to Worcester, and hastened through Evesham to join the remainder of his forces at Oxford. At Evesham, he took the Mayor and certain Aldermen prisoners and carried them to Oxford; but the Royalists were closely pursued by the forces of the Parliament under Waller, and were obliged to break down the bridges behind them to make good their retreat. The Royalists also burned down many houses in the suburbs of Worcester, the better to secure the city. Between Evesham and Oxford are several memorials of his Majesty's misfortunes. ”

“ He was also successful in resisting the claim of the bishop of Worcester over the abbey, and asserted its liberty by appointing the prior Avitius dean of the vale of Evesham. He added a guest-house to the buildings of the abbey. Cnut, who is said to have been a kinsman of Ælfweard, enriched Evesham with many gifts for his sake. Ælfweard also was liberal in his benefactions; some of these were books, and others relics of saints, of which he was a great collector. He was made bishop of London in 1035, but retained his position as abbot. ”

“ Edith, the queen of Edward the Confessor, being anxious to acquire some precious relic for purposes of her own, called upon a number of the religious houses of England to send their treasures to Gloucester, there to be inspected by her, and, among others, the convent of Evesham sent the remains of Saint Odulf and Saint Egwin. As the queen was examining the shrine of the former, she was suddenly struck with a peculiar form of blindness, and not until she had invoked the saint's intercession, and declared her intention of restoring the sacred relics to the monks, did she regain her sight! ”

“ The borough includes the parish of Bengeworth St Peter, on the left bank of the river. Evesham is governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen and 12 councillors. Area, 2265 acres.
Evesham (Homme, Ethomme) grew up around the Benedictine abbey, and had evidently become of some importance as a trading centre in 1055, when Edward the Confessor gave it a market and the privileges of a commercial town. It is uncertain when the town first became a borough, but the Domesday statement that the men paid 20s. may indicate the existence of a more or less organized body of tradesmen. ”

“ Evesham always retained its character for learning, and there, as well as at Reading, St. Alban’s, Ramsey, and Glastonbury, a great number of excellent scholars were reared. There can be no doubt that the monastic schools of England continued to cultivate humane letters long after they had fallen into neglect at the universities. The Latin poets who flourished in England in the twelfth century are noticed with respect by all critics ”

“ Such a course for Ryknield Street would make it the connection between the north, running through the Roman Alauna (Alcester) to Glevum (Gloucester) . It must be remembered that there was, in Roman times, nothing at Evesham to take the road there, for Evesham did not exist as a town until long after the Romans left. Leland says that there was "noe towene at Eovesham before the foundation of the Abbey," which took place about A.D. 701, about 250 years later, and there was no road from Alcester to Gloucester except the one we are following. ”

“ But Avery's indignation could not be contained.
"You will kill her if you persist!" she said. "Even as it is—even as it is—her days are numbered."
"The days of all of us are numbered," said the Reverend Stephen. "And it behoves us to make the very utmost of each one of them. I cannot allow my child's character to be ruined on account of a physical weakness which a little judicious discipline will speedily overcome. The spirit must triumph over the flesh, Lady Evesham. A hard rule for worldlings, I grant you, but one which must be observed by all who would enter the Kingdom of Heaven." ”

“ Not far below Chadbury, past Wood Norton—a country seat of the Duke of Orleans, and by him lately rebuilt—its deer park and plantations, past flowery banks, and thick beds of rushes haunted by waterfowl, is the village of Fladbury. Pleasant-looking houses with trim gardens border the river on our right, and beyond are two mills, with the rushing weir between. That on our left is Cropthorne Mill, now a dwelling-house.
In Fladbury Church are some coats-of-arms in stained glass, said to have come from the Abbey of Evesham. One shield bears the device of Earl Simon. ”

“ Lawrence was practically rebuilt a century ago, but All Saints, which existed in 1223, has an Early English north aisle and chancel, and examples of the succeeding periods in the other parts of the building. The Battle of Evesham was fought on August 4, 1265, rather less than a mile from the town, on high ground to the north, marked by an obelisk. Simon de Montfort, who held Henry III. prisoner, was crushingly defeated by Prince Edward, and both he and his son Henry were killed, their bodies being buried in Evesham Abbey Church before the high-altar.
Town Plan No. 10—Tewkesbury. ”

“ Sir Lawrence Palk argued on behalf of Wells that it is 'a cathedral city of great antiquity.' This appeal on behalf of the seculars was at once met by the monastic zeal of Sir John Pakington, who daringly answered, that if Evesham 'cannot boast of a cathedral, it can of one of the most beautiful abbeys in England.' We should be sorry to suspect the good town of Evesham of any Anabaptist tendencies, but it is certain that, if it makes the boast which the member for Droitwich puts into its mouth, it belongs to the class of those who do falsely boast ... ”

“ The victory of Evesham, with the death of Leicester, proved decisive in favor of the royalists, and made an equal though an opposite impression on friends and enemies, in every part of England. The king of the Romans recovered his liberty: the other prisoners of the royal party were not only freed, but courted by their keepers; Fitz-Richard, the seditious mayor of London, who had marked out forty of the most wealthy citizens for slaughter, immediately stopped his hand on receiving intelligence of this great event ”

“ But more probably these orchards grow for the same reason that the meadows above are fat and a bell-tower stands in Evesham. There is a legend to that effect which is worth telling.
A MARKET-GARDEN NEAR EVESHAM
Egwin, Bishop of Worcester in the year 700 or thereabouts, was a saint of shining piety, but unpopular in his diocese, which had not long been converted from paganism, and retained many “ethnic and uncomely customs.” Against these the bishop thundered, till the people seized and haled him before Ethelred, then King of Mercia, charging him with tyranny and many bitter things. ”

“ Let the young folks have their way. There's strife and contention enough in the world without my stirring up more. And it may be I'm resisting the Master's will. I left her in his care; this may be his way of dealing with her.”
Walter Evesham did not take down his grandfather's sword. Fifty years later another went up beside it, the sword of a young Evesham who never left the field of Shiloh; and beneath them both hangs the portrait of the Quaker grandmother, Dorothy Evesham, at the age of sixty-nine. ”

“ Its valley becomes more and more definitely marked as the river cuts its way through the upland, which forms the eastern limit of the broad Vale of Severn. On a peninsula of Worcestershire made by a southward sweep of the stream, near the boundary of the two other counties, stands an historic town, Evesham, which gives its name to the beautiful vale. A ruined archway and a noble tower are the sole relics of its once famous abbey. This was founded early in the eighth century, on a spot where they said both a swineherd and a bishop had seen a vision of the Virgin. ”

“ The sheep are feeding now in that “odd angle of the isle” that then was piled high with corpses. And so we come to a high railway embankment, and thence to a bridge, and the beautiful bell-tower leaps into view, soaring above the mills and roofs of Evesham.{100}
THE AVON FROM EVESHAM TO TEWKESBURY
TO remember Evesham is to call up a broad and smiling vale; a river looped about a green hill and returning almost on itself, on the lower slope of the hill, beside the river, a little town; and above its mills and roofs, two spires and one pre-eminent tower, all set in the same church-yard. ”

“ He also subscribed a charter of Æthelheard and Æthelweard, joint under-kings of the Hwiccas, addressed to the abbess Cuthswith of Worcester, and another of Æthelweard alone, endowing the newly founded abbey in Evesham with land at Ombersley. The other Evesham charters containing Coenred's name (Cod. Dipl. 57-61) are with good reason considered spurious.
It does not appear that Coenred was married. The great variety of forms in which his name occurs may need explanation. The early Mercian form is Coenraed or Coenred; Coinred is the Northumbrian spelling adopted by Bæda ”