Tewkesbury
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Template:GBdot Tewkesbury is a historic town in Gloucestershire, England. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and also the minor tributary the Swilgate. It gives its name to the district of Tewkesbury. The name Tewkesbury comes from the name of a Saxon who founded a hermitage there in the seventh century, Theot, and in the Saxon tongue was called Theocsbury.
The town features many notable Tudor buildings, and was the site of the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471, at “Bloody Meadow,” south of the town, Edward IV's forces defeated the Lancastrians in the final battle of the War of the Roses. It also has a fine Norman abbey, originally a monastery, which was saved from dissolution by King Henry VIII after being bought by the townspeople for their parish church. The great Norman arch on the west front is particularly striking. 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. Tewkesbury also lays claim to Gloucestershire's oldest public house, the Black Bear. Another notable building is the Royal Hop Pole Hotel, mentioned in Charles Dickens's The Pickwick Papers. The historic Abbey Cottages, over 500 years old, were rescued from dereliction in the 1970s. One houses the town museum, the others are residential homes.
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 Abbey Mill still stands. Flour is still milled at a more modern factory a short way upriver. The town also hosts a large Army supply depot at nearby Ashchurch. The town suffered from some decline in the early 1990s, with many local shops and businesses closing.
It is served by the M5 motorway and the A38 trunk road. Tewkesbury no longer has its own railway station, but there are regular bus connections to nearby Ashchurch for Tewkesbury railway station on the main Bristol-Birmingham line.
The ska punk band [spunge] is from Tewkesbury. The Bristol band The Cuban Heels all attended Tewkesbury School.
Nearby Places
- The Cotswolds
- The Forest of Dean
- The Malvern Hills
Template:River Severn towns Template:Severn from Bewdley to Gloucester