Tewkesbury

Tewkesbury
Population
OS grid reference	SO895325
• London	94 miles (151 km) ESE
District	Tewkesbury
Shire county	Gloucestershire
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	TEWKESBURY
Postcode district	GL20
Dialling code	01684
Police	Gloucestershire
Fire	Gloucestershire
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	Tewkesbury

Tewkesbury (Template:PronEng) is a town in Gloucestershire, England. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and also minor tributaries the Swilgate and Carrant Brook. It gives its name to the Borough of Tewkesbury, of which the town is the second largest settlement.

The name Tewkesbury comes from Theoc, the name of a Saxon who founded a hermitage there in the 7th century, and in the Anglo-Saxons Old English tongue was called Theocsbury.

History

Tewkesbury is named after the Saxon hermit, Theoc, who is thought to have founded a hermitage there in the 7th century. Evidence of a church predating the abbey suggests that a considerable settlement rose up on the site previous to the Norman Conquest. Evidence of monastic buildings from the years immediately following the conquest can still be seen surrounding the abbey, which was begun in 1090 and consecrated on 23 October 1121.

Tewkesbury was the site of the Battle of Tewkesbury on 4 May 1471. At the “Bloody Meadow,” south of the town, Edward IV's Yorkist forces defeated the House of Lancaster in an historic battle of the Wars of the Roses with a bloody aftermath. Tewkesbury was incorporated during the reign of Elizabeth I.

Like many towns in the west of England, Tewkesbury played an important part in the development of religious dissent. Tewkesbury dissenters contributed to the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685, and Samuel Jones ran an important academy for dissenters, including Samuel Chandler, future archbishop Thomas Secker and Joseph Butler, in the early 18th century.

Historically, Tewkesbury is a market town, serving the local rural area. It underwent some expansion in the period following World War II, and today has a small but significant high technology industry. Tewkesbury has also been a centre for flour milling for many centuries, and the water mill, the older Abbey Mill still stands though it has now been converted for residential use. Until recently flour was still milled at a more modern mill a short way upriver on the site of the town quay; parts of the mill dated to 1865 when it was built for Healings and it was once thought to be the largest and most modern flour mill in the world. The Mill has, in the course of its history, had three forms of transport in and out: road, railway, and canal and river barge. Whilst the railway line was brought up along with the rest of the Tewkesbury to Upton-upon-Severn, the two barges "Chaceley" and "Tirley" remained in service right up to 1998 transporting grain from Avonmouth and Sharpness to the plant, a practice that originated in the 1930s. However, the mill closed in November 2006, ending at least 800 years of milling in Tewkesbury and 140 years of milling on that particular site. It is expected that the mill buildings will be converted to housing, small businesses and leisure facilities. The two barges were also sold and left Tewkesbury for the last time in March 2007.

The town also hosts a large Armed forces vehicle supply and maintenance depot at nearby Ashchurch. The town suffered from some decline in the early 1990s, with a few local shops and businesses closing, which included the town's Roses Theatre which re-opened in 1996, but now appears to be on the up again.

Flooding

Tewkesbury flooded in July 2007

The area around Tewkesbury is frequently effected by flooding. In general such flooding causes little damage to property as the town is surrounded by large areas of floodplain which restrict urban development and the ability for the town to spread. However, extreme flooding events have caused damage to property and effected transport links, the most significant events occurring in 1947, 1998, 2001 and 2007.

Tewkesbury is prone to flooding due to the number of water courses that run through the town, these water courses give the town a high underground water level. Indeed at one stage the town considered the possibility of running its own pump rooms and operating as a Spa town, however Cheltenham town purchased the pump rooms the day before opening as the town was concerned over the possiblity of rivalry to its own pump rooms.

2007 Floods

Main article: 2007 United Kingdom floods

In July 2007 the town came to both national and international prominence, appearing on the front page of numerous national newspapers, when it suffered from some of the worst flooding in recorded British history. Both rivers which meet at Tewkesbury - the River Severn and River Avon - were overwhelmed by the volume of rain that fell in the surrounding areas (up to 5 inches) on one day, Friday 20th July. All four access roads to the town, the Gloucester road (old A38) from the south, the A38 to the north-west, the B4080 north-east to Bredon and the A438 east were flooded and rendered impassable. The only major remaining access was via what was once a railway line, the embankment allowing for access via foot or cycle, although many braved a route through a residential estate, where the flood levels were low enough to wade through. Despite the lack of access several businesses remained open, most notably the Old Plough pub on Barton Street, where the clientele lined much of the street; lightheartedly many residents noted the irony that the Town's Annual Water Festival, which was planned for that weekend, had been cancelled.

For the first time in its 100-year history the Mythe Water Treatment Works flooded, resulting in the loss of tap water for 140,000 homes over a period of two weeks.

Geography

Suburbs

Ashchurch, Mitton, Newtown, Northway, Priors Park, Walton Cardiff, Wheatpieces.

Nearby places

• Bredon
• Cheltenham
• Gloucester
• Malvern (Great Malvern)
• Upton upon Severn
• The Cotswolds
• The Forest of Dean
• The Malvern Hills

Demography

At the 2001 UK census the town itself had a population of 10,016. If the neighbouring parishes of Walton Cardiff (1,291 including the large new Wheatpieces housing development), and Ashchurch (6,064 including the even larger but older Northway residential area) were added, the figure rose to 17,371, perhaps a more accurate reflection of Tewkesbury's total population. With the continuing growth of Wheatpieces the figure is now close to 19,000. The Tewkesbury urban area is divided in two by the north-south running M5 motorway, opened in February 1971. However, the town is generally considered as the built-up area to the immediate east and west of the M5 at junction 9, with the town centre, abbey and old town situated to the west.

There appear to be limits on how far the town can expand in the future, due to the close proximity of large areas of land that are prone to flooding, as evidenced by the severe floods that struck the region in July 2007. However, the present Borough of Tewkesbury, created on 1 April 1974, also contains a large portion of rural north Gloucestershire, extending as far as the edges of Gloucester itself and also Cheltenham, and has a present population approaching 80,000.

Landmarks

The Tewkesbury War Memorial, locally known as the Cross

The town features many notable Tudor buildings, but its major claim to fame is Tewkesbury Abbey, a fine Norman Abbey, originally part of a monastery, which was saved from the Dissolution of the Monasteries by King Henry VIII after being bought by the townspeople for £453 to use as their parish church. Most of the monastery buildings, as well as the vineyards, were destroyed during this time. The Abbey Mill however still remains, resting upon the Mill Avon, a channel built by the monks so that they could have a working water mill closer to the Abbey. The weir exists to this day, and the channel represents one of the biggest projects in Tewkesbury's history, though the present sluice gate dates only from the 1990s, replacing two installed in the 1930s. The Abbey Mill is also sometimes known as "Abel Fletcher's Mill", but this is simply the name given to it in Dinah Craik's novel John Halifax, Gentleman, whose setting Norton Bury is based on Tewkesbury (see the Tewkesbury in Literature section below); Abel Fletcher never actually existed.

The Abbey is also thought to be the site of the place where the hermit "Jiraiya" (or "Theoc") once lived. The great Romanesque arch on the west front is particularly striking, and the stained glass window at this end has recently been restored. The monastery was founded by the Despensers as a family mausoleum, and the Despenser and Neville tombs are stunning examples of small-scale late medieval stonework. The tower is believed to be the largest Norman tower still in existence (though that at Norwich Cathedral is another strong contender). The tower once had a wooden spire which may have taken the total height of the building to as much as 260 feet (79 m), but this was unfortunately blown off in a heavy storm on Easter Monday 1559; the present pinnacles and battlements were added in 1600 to give the tower a more "finished" look. The height to the top of the pinnacles is 148 feet (45 m). The Abbey is thought to be the third largest church in Britain that is not a cathedral (after Westminster Abbey and Beverley Minster). From end to end it measures 312 feet (95 m), though prior to the destruction of the original Lady Chapel (also at the time of the dissolution), the Abbey's total length was 375 feet (114 m). The Abbey is a parish church, still used for daily services, and is believed to be the second-largest parish church in England, again, after Beverley Minster.

Tewkesbury also lays claim to Gloucestershire's oldest public house, the Black Bear, dating from 1308. Other notable buildings are the Royal Hop Pole Hotel in Church Street (which has recently been converted into a part of the Wetherspoons pub chain with the discovery of a former medieval banqueting hall in the structure), mentioned in Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers, the Bell Hotel, a large half-timbered structure opposite the Abbey gateway, and the House of the Nodding Gables in the High Street. The historic Abbey Cottages, over 500 years old, were rescued from dereliction in the 1970s; one houses a museum, the others are residential homes. At the Tudor House Hotel in the High Street however, although it is indeed chiefly a Tudor building, the frontage comprises artificial half-timbering attached to a brick-built facade. Marks & Spencers was once the location of the Swan Hotel, where a balcony still is today it was from here that local election results were once announced.

Also notable to the town's architecture is the Old Baptist Chapel (on Church Street) built in about 1655, as one of the earliest examples from that denomination, behind the chapel is a small cemetary of those who were members of the chapel.

Just to the west of the town is Thomas Telford's impressive Mythe Bridge over the River Severn, a cast-iron structure with a 170-foot span, opened in 1826. Tewkesbury's other notable bridge is the stone-built King John's Bridge over the Avon, commissioned by King John in the late 12th century as part of improvements to the main road from Gloucester to Worcester. Original stonework can still be seen on its north side; the bridge was considerably widened in the early 1960s to meet modern traffic requirements.

Transport

• Tewkesbury is served by the M5 motorway, the A38 trunk road, and also the A46 and A438.

• Tewkesbury no longer has its own railway station (it was on a branch line from Ashchurch to Upton-upon-Severn and Malvern that was closed in two stages: Upton to Malvern in December 1952; Ashchurch to Upton, including Tewkesbury, in August 1961), but there are regular bus connections to the present Ashchurch for Tewkesbury railway station nearby on the main Bristol to Birmingham line (this station was also closed, in November 1971, but was reopened in June 1997).

• The National Cycle Network is to soon complete its work in this area and connect Tewkesbury to the National Scheme, as well as improving localised cycle routes.

• Tewkesbury has a variety of Bus Services but it is mostly served by Stagecoach and First, the services link the town to nearby Cheltenham and Gloucester. With more limited services into Worcestershire.

Culture

• The Roses Theatre combines an arthouse cinema and a live performance venue. The Roses Theatre is where comedian Eric Morecambe collapsed after a charity performance in May 1984. He died hours later in Cheltenham General Hospital. Eric is remembered at the theatre with the naming of a conference/changing room: The Eric Morecambe Room.
• Tewkesbury School plays host to Tewkesbury Music Centre, an organisation which promotes young musicians.
• Tewkesbury is home to many historic public houses: The Black Bear, The Old Plough, The Nottingham Arms, The Berkeley Arms and the Gupshill Manor among these.
• Robert Falcon Scott, famous for his expedition to the South Pole, left one of the sled, used on that expedition, to the former Tewkesbury Grammar School (c. 1576 - 1972) ; it currently resides in the present Tewkesbury School's new Humanities building.
• Tewkesbury mustard, a creamy blend of mustard and horseradish, made the town famous in the 17th century and is again being manufactured. The mustard was mentioned in some of Shakespeare's works.
• The ska punk band [spunge] are from Tewkesbury.
• Tewkesbury Town Band (a Brass Band) actively plays locally and nationally as well as touring abroad and taking part in competitions. [1]
• Every Wednesday and Saturday, one of the large town centre car parks is the location of the busy Tewkesbury Market. A Farmers Market is also held every month, usually hosted by Tewkesbury Abbey.
• Cascades swimming pool is open all year round and has designated slots for professional swimming, lessons and family fun time with a water slide and bubble seats.

Festivals and fairs

• In February Tewkesbury holds a Winter Beer Festival, organised by the Tewkesbury branch of CAMRA.
• In early May a "Festival of Food & Drink" has been held in the grounds of the abbey church to promote food and drink from regional producers. Started only recently in 2005, it is intended that the festival become an annual event.
• In July the town hosts Tewkesbury Medieval Festival, "Europe's largest battle re-enactment and fair". Thousands of re-enactors travel to the town from around the world to re-enact the Battle of Tewkesbury near to the original battle site. The festival includes a "living history" recreation of a medieval encampment, games, food and a large fair where re-enactment clothing, furniture and weaponry can be purchased. In 2008 the festival celebrates its 25th Anniversary.

Tewkesbury Medieval Fair

• In July the "Water Festival" takes place with events on the river and the banks including an evening procession of brightly-lit boats normally ending with an impressive firework display. The festival started in 1996 but its future is now in question due to funding issues and the 2006 event was much reduced in scale. Ironically, the event was cancelled in 2007 as it coincided with the Summer 2007 Floods.
• In October the town holds the annual Mop Fair. Originally a "hiring" fair where people came to seek employment the event is now just a large funfair taking over much of the centre of town. The Fair itself is also an underlining point of Tewkesbury's industrial past, as Walker Gallopers were produced in the area by Walkers in the early 20th century. The Fair is organised by the Tewkesbury Fair Society and the majority of rides are owned by Danters
• Every year at the end of July and into August the Abbey hosts a festival of liturgical music entitled Musica Deo Sacra (Music Sacred to God). The main focus of the week includes eight services sung by the choir Musica Deo Sacra: directed by David Ireson, they are a group of singers from different cathedral, collegiate and recital choirs, who gather together for this special week at Tewkesbury Abbey and an organ recital which has for the last several years has been played by Carleton Everington.

Cultural references

• Victorian authoress Dinah Craik (1826-1887) visited Tewkesbury in 1852, and later set her most famous work John Halifax, Gentleman (pub. 1857) in the town, calling it Norton Bury in the book. There is a "Craik House" in Church Street, near the Abbey, but Mrs Craik never lived there and had no other connection with Tewkesbury. There is a memorial to her in the Abbey's south transept.
• Author John Moore (1907-1967) was born and lived in Tewkesbury. He set his novel Portrait of Elmbury (pub. 1945) as a "fictionalised biography" of Tewkesbury, the town being the "Elmbury" of the book. Another of his books, Brensham Village (pub. 1946) used nearby Bredon as its basis. A Local Museum has been named after him.
• A.E. Housman's A Shropshire Lad also mentions Tewkesbury, as well as nearby Bredon Hill, even though neither place is in Shropshire.
• The plot in the Dungeon series revolves around Clive Folliot, son of fictional Baron Tewkesbury, and his quest to find his older brother Neville.

Notable people

• Henry Disston (industrialist) was born in Tewkesbury on May 24 1819
• Robert Harold Compton (South African botanist) was born in Tewkesbury on August 6, 1886
• Henry Green (author) was born in Tewkesbury on October 29 1905
• Anna Ford (newsreader and TV presenter) was born in Tewkesbury on October 2 1943
• Eric Morecambe (British comedian) collapsed backstage at the town's Roses Theatre on 24th May 1984

Sports and recreation

• Tewkesbury has one of the 471 King George's Fields as its recreation ground.
• There are two football teams:

• Tewkesbury Town F.C. have two teams in the Saturday Cheltenham Leagues, one in the Evesham Birdseye Sunday League Division 2 and one in Cheltenham Sunday League Division 2.
• Tewkesbury Dynamos F.C., who play in the Cheltenham Football Association Division 2

• The cricket team, Tewkesbury Cricket Club 1st XI play in the Gloucestershire Division of the West of England Premier League.
• The rugby team, Tewkesbury RFC, plays Rugby Union in Gloucestershire Division One.
• The running club, Tewkesbury AC compete in local, national and international running events and triathlons.
• Cheltenham College Boathouse is situated at Lower Lode
• Cascades swimming pool is situated in the centre of the town.
• Facilities at Tewkesbury School are used as a public sports centre for swimming, gym, squash and other sports.
• The town hosts an annual Half-Marathon, however contraversy occured in 2008 due to concerns regarding the management of the half-marathon that had changed that year. With the designation of a set of closed public toilets as the changing rooms and a contraversial change of route for the event.

Twin town

• Miesbach, Bavaria, Germany

External links

• Tewkesbury Borough Council
• Tewkesbury Medieval Festival
• Tewkesbury at Curlie