52°06N 1°56W, pop (2000e) 17 300. Town in Worcestershire, WC England, UK; in the Vale of Evesham in a fruit- and vegetable-growing area; railway; foodstuffs, engineering.
For other places and companies named Evesham, see Evesham (disambiguation). It is roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon and was originally built within a loop of the River Avon, which flows through the Vale of Evesham. The surrounding area (the Vale of Evesham) is known for fruit growing and market gardening, due to its unusually fertile soil which, on a commercial level, has lead to a large number of immigrant temporary workers living in the Vale.The town had a population of 22,304 at the 2001 census, with a small hospital, a library, two secondary schools and a college. The town is home to the Evesham Technology computer manufacturing company, has a number of food processing businesses and is a modest tourist destination.
Evesham could reasonably be described as a pleasant rather than an exciting place to visit: it is a well-known destination for day-trippers who picnic by the river and a base for tourists visiting the Cotswolds. The remains of Evesham Abbey include the landmark Lichfield Bell Tower and two historic parish churches.
History
Evesham was the site of a major battle—the Battle of Evesham, in which Simon de Montfort was defeated and killed on 4 August 1265. Evesham Abbey was founded by Saint Ecgwin, Bishop of Worcester, following the vision of the Virgin Mary by a local swineherd or shepherd named Eof (sometimes Eoves).
While Ecgwin was beatified and later canonised (a local C of E middle school is named after him), Eof arguably had the greater historical resonance and posterity. The name of Evesham is derived from "Eof's ham" (This derivation is contested, as some would have it known that the name stems from "Eof's Swine"). Evesham Abbey funded smaller abbeys and churches in Belgium, Holland and France.
One historical quirk of Evesham is that the town consists of Evesham "proper" on the north side of the Avon (within the loop of the river) and Bengeworth on the southern side.
The presence of the abbey, its residents and the pilgrims coming to the site led to a growth in the town within the loop of the river. A model of the town in the middle ages is sited in the Almonry Museum in the town centre.
Despite this seeming disaster, the town survived and grew into one of the country's most well-known production centres for fruit and vegetables.
A decline in the second half of the 20th century in domestic agriculture led to the closing of Evesham garden market in the 1990s, and many orchards in the town's Greenhill area fell into disuse.
In May 1998 Evesham was one of the towns hit by record flooding along the River Avon.
The distinctive local dialect, now slipping into lesser use but strong still in older generations of the town's inhabitants, has 'Asum' as a contraction of the town's name.
Another quirk of local language gives rise to the debate as to the pronunciation of the town's name itself.
Education
As it is situated within Wychavon Disctrict Council Evesham's schools conform to the 3-tier model of First School (ages 5-10), Middle School (ages 10-13), High School (ages 13-18). This has been the situation since 1974, before then the model was Primary School (ages 5-11), Secondary School (ages 11-18).
The town has many First Schools including both Church of England and Roman Catholic as well as non-denominational. There are two Middle schools within the town, Simon de Montford Middle School and St Egwin's CofE Middle School and two High schools in Evesham, Prince Henry's High School and Evesham High School. The two High schools serve the wider area around Evesham their intake coming from the Middle Schools already mentioned as well as other Middle Schools in the surrounding area. The School was run as a Grammar School until 1973 when it was reorganised under the Comprehensive School system. In 1993 the school became Grant Maintained then in 1999 it became a Foundation School.
Evesham High School (formerly known as Four Pools because of the area in which it is situated) was created as a Secondary Modern school. In 1973, at the same time as Prince Henry's, the school was reorganised under the Comprehensive School system.
Whilst a Grammar School and for several years afterwards Prince Henry's academic results were on average considerably better than those of Evesham High.
Within the town there is also Greenhill School, a Public School catering for both boys and girls from age 3 to 13. The school is over 100 years old and though now co-educational was originally a Girl’s school.
Higher Education (16+) is provided in the town by Evesham and Malvern Hills College. The college was formed by the merger of Evesham College and Malvern Hills College in September 2000 .
Travel
Road: Evesham is at the junction of the A46 and A44 trunk roads - the four-mile A46 £7m single-carriageway bypass to the east of the town opened in July 1987 as the A435.
Rail: Evesham railway station is about two hours from London Paddington on the Cotswold Line.
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