Evesham Abbey

There’s nothing like walking through ruins on a cold winter’s day

Evesham Abbey in its prime

A present day remnant

Abbey wall and its grounds, the surviving parish churches of St Lawrence, and Holy Saints.

A fragment: the Abbey Bell Tower

The 110 ft Bell Tower, built between 1524 and 1532 was the work of Clement Lichfield, the last Abbot of Evesham. The gateway through its base led from the Parish churchyard  to the monks’ graveyard.

Monks were buried in a shroud, placed on a wooden board and placed in a grave with a simple wooden marker. Abbots and rich benefactors were buried in the Abbey along with their regalia.

 The clock at the top of the tower once had an elaborate panorama showing the phases of the moon. Above it were two wooden figures designed to strike a bell every 15 minutes.

Some buildings seem to linger in between worlds as if here on temporary loan. It was a bit like that walking through the remains of one of the great abbeys of medieval England. 

Maybe Eof the swineherd experienced a similar feeling towards the end of the C7^th  when he experienced a vision of the Virgin Mary. There he was, peacefully minding his own business and pigs when Mary appeared in front of him. 

Regaining his composure, Eof  rushed off to Ecgwin. bishop of Worcester. When Ecgwin accompanied Eof to the forested bend in the river, he too saw the apparition of the Virgin Mary and persuaded the king of Mercia, Ethelred, to found a monastery in that exact spot.

 And thus Evesham Abbey was founded, named after a Saxon swineherd and the Saxon word ‘hamm’ meaning land in the bend of a river. Ecgwin for his troubles became a saint.

 All Saints Church side view

Within the grounds of the Abbey, St Lawrence, and All Saints have served as parish churches for the town of Evesham since the C12^th.  They were built for ordinary folk as Evesham grew into an important market town. The Abbey Church was reserved primarily for the use of the monastery and has now vanished along with the monks.

The two churches survived the Reformation, the wonderful stained glass windows a later installation.

In its early years, the Abbey became known for its miracles and grew wealthy from pilgrims. It also had powerful patrons, including Lady Godiva who, presumably fully clothed, gifted a new church to the Abbey. 

Over the next 800 years the abbey grew in wealth and power, until in 1540 it was blown away in a puff of wind—or less poetically—when Henry VIII turfed the monks out in the middle of their Vespers. Little remains of the monastery now, other than the Bell tower, the cloister arch and remnants of walls. Much of the stone was cannibalised by local townsfolk some of which you can spot in the houses nearby.  

Entering the abbey grounds

Remnants of original Norman stone work

                                                      Adjoining lane and buildings

                                                                     And coffee!