Tourists in Tewkesbury.

I have managed to delete yesterday's post without even publishing it, and I had done a very detailed submission too. So this time it will be a little shorter I'm afraid.

The Church was consecrated in 1121 and was the church of a Benedictine Abbey. It is has very nice proportions and is nice and light. The Abbey was saved from Henry VIII's dissolution by the local people buying the Abbey from the King for £453 which was the value of the lead on the roof and the metal in the bells.

 The High Altar from the Presbytery. Notice the very thick Norman pillars and replica medieval floor tiles.

The Church has many very ornate and ancient tombs. The most beautiful is that of the 'Kneeling Knight'. This is the tomb of Sire Edward Despenser who died in 1357. He was the Lord of the Manor of Tewkesbury. He is shown praying towards the High Altar.

 This deep Norman arch is the finest example in England. The building to the right is part of the old Abbey complex.

This row of cottages were built by the Abbey to rent out. The middle on shows the original form as there were no windows just shutters and when they were lowered they were used as counters as they were shops. They were to be knocked doown until somebody realised that there were no other examples left in the country.

The monks dug the Mill Avon to provide water for a mill here in the 12th Century. The present building was built in 18th Century. It was working until 1933. It has now been converted to apartments.

The Royal Hop Pole was a coaching in and is now a very splendid Weaterspoon's house. It is titled Royal as Queen Mary stayed here in 1930.

One of the bloodiest battles of the War's of the Roses was fought in fields to the south of the town. The Yorkist army broke the Lancastrian forces in 1471 and many were killed on the field of battle as they Red Rose forces fled they were slain in their hundreds. Many managed to escape to the town and sort sanctuary in the Abbey Church. The Yorkists did not recognise this and burst into the church and dragged them out murdering them at the site of the town cross here at the meeting of the High Street and Church Street.

This building is known as the House of the Nodding Gables as the roof looks top heavy this is due to the ridge beam failing. It used to be the ticket office for the many stage coaches using the town. Later it was an ironmongers, hence the golden key.

 Healing Mill was built in 1869 and was steam driven from the start. It also stored grain brought from Canada and America ready for use that was brought from Avonmouth or Sharpness in their own barges. It was completely revamped in 1976 and was then among the most productive in the country. It is now empty and awaiting somebody to take it on and love it. The bridge was built in 1821 and next to it was a rail b ridge for use in the mill.

These black and white cottages by the Mill Avon where once owned by the Abbey and were built in the 16th Century.

We went for a walk round the Ham. The word Ham is from Saxon meaning 'a meadow in the bend in a river' and that is a good description. The Mill Avon, Rivers Avon and Severn make it an island. All we could hear were the skylarks and the bells from the Abbey.

Tewkesbury is well known for it's Alleys. These were need to access the land behind the road frontage when the town began to grow. We were told that if it is called an Alley it has public access where as if called a Court it was private. We also heard that if it had blue paving bricks it was public too. There were over 90 at one time but now there are 30 and you can have a great time zig zagging between the roads using the alleys. This one runs besides the Nottingham Arms.

Once again a apologise for a quick post but maybe the photos will give you an iodea of what a lovely Abbey it as and a very interesting place to spend a couple of days.