Tewkesbury
=How to get there.=–Train from Euston. L. and N.W. Railway.
=Nearest Station.=–Tewkesbury.
=Distance from London.=–171 miles.
=Average Time.=–Varies between 4-1/2 to 6 hours.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=–Single 19s. 3d. ... 9s. 6d.
Return 33s. 9d. ... 19s. 0d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.=–"Swan Hotel,” etc.
=Alternative Routes.=–Train from Paddington via Gloucester, Great
Western Railway. Train from St. Pancras, Midland Railway.
Tewkesbury is famous for its magnificent conventual church, for the
historic battle fought close to the town, and for the ancient timbered
and pargetted houses in the centre of the town and down by the
riverside, which rival even Chester. The population of the town is
decreasing; it is no longer famous for the mustard which made
Shakespeare say, “His wit is thick as Tewkesbury mustard” (_Henry IV._),
but it has a considerable local trade in agricultural produce. Situated
on the banks of the Avon, near its junction with the Severn, it is
almost insulated by these rivers and two tributaries. The old
many-arched bridge over the Avon is extremely picturesque. In a county
famed for its rich monasteries, Tewkesbury was among the most important.
The name is believed to come from Theoc, a Saxon missionary monk, who
founded a hermitage here. The abbey was originally a dependency of
Cranbourne Abbey in Dorsetshire, but being richly endowed, Tewkesbury
became the leading monastic establishment. Fitz-Hamon, Earl of
Gloucester, began the rebuilding of the church. The choir was
reconstructed in 1350 in Gothic style, but the nave and massive central
tower are Norman. The whole building is cruciform, and the choir, having
an hexagonal end, is surrounded by an ambulatory and numerous beautiful
chapels as in Westminster. The nave is extraordinarily long, and the
height of its columns has led to a squat appearance in the triforium,
but the choir has short columns and plenty of height in the triforium.
The colossal arch over the perpendicular window of the west front
forcibly reminds one of Peterborough. The Duke of Clarence and Isabel
his duchess, the king-maker’s daughter; the Duke of Somerset, executed
after the battle of Tewkesbury; Abbot Alear, Becket’s friend, are all
buried here. There is a fine gatehouse near the west end of the church.
At the battle of Tewkesbury in 1471, which proved so disastrous to the
Lancastrian cause, Prince Edward, Henry III.’s son, was slain while
fleeing from the field.
[Illustration: Photochrom Co., Ltd.
TEWKESBURY ABBEY.
Its chief feature is the huge arch over the west window, just appearing
above the trees in the picture.]
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Preface •
Ham House and Petersham •
Walton-On-Thames (scold’s Bridle) •
Harrow •
Holwood House, Keston •
Chigwell, Essex •
Waltham Abbey and Cross •
Downe •
Epsom: Its Races and Its Salts •
Epping Forest •
Hampton Court •
Rye House, Broxbourne •
Hatfield House, Herts •
Runnymead, the Signing of Magna Charta •
The Oldest Brass in England •
St. Albans •
Stoke Poges Church, Bucks •
Windsor •
Jordans and William Penn •
Knole House and Sevenoaks •
Greenstead Church •
Chalfont St. Giles •
Westerham •
Guildford, Surrey •
Gad’s Hill •
Ightham Mote, Kent •
Penshurst •
St. Michael’s Mount and Marazion •
Rochester Cathedral •
Tunbridge Wells •
The Quintain Post At Offham and Malling Abbey •
Eversley •
Farnham, Surrey •
Hindhead, Surrey •
Shottermill •
Penn’s Chapel At Thakeham, Sussex •
Chawton the Home of Jane Austen •
Selborne •
Elstow •
Lewes, Sussex •
Bodiam Castle, Sussex •
Colchester, Essex •
Layer Marney •
Battle Abbey •
Cambridge •
Arundel Castle •
Olney, Bucks •
Wantage and the Country of Alfred the Great •
Canterbury and Its Cathedral •
Reculvers •
Oxford •
Midhurst •
Pevensey Castle •
Savernake Forest •
Ely Cathedral •
St. Ives, Huntingdonshire •
Winchelsea and Rye •
Blenheim Palace •
Peterborough Cathedral and Crowland •
Peterborough •
Southampton •
Helmingham Hall •
Stonehenge, Wiltshire •
Netley Abbey •
Salisbury and Its Cathedral •
Sandwich, Kent •
New Forest, Hampshire •
Osborne House •
Carisbrooke Castle •
Lutterworth •
Compton Wynyates •
Kenilworth Castle •
Belvoir Castle •
Bath •
Boston and the Pilgrim Fathers •
Warwick •
Gloucester and Its Cathedral •
Norfolk Broads •
Norwich Cathedral •
Lichfield •
Sherborne and Its Abbey Church •
Newark •
Wells and Its Cathedral •
Stratford-On-Avon •
Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk •
Lulworth Cove, Dorsetshire •
Corfe Castle •
Lincoln and Its Cathedral •
Somerset, the Birthplace of Tennyson •
Glastonbury Abbey •
Walsingham, Norfolk •
Cheddar Caves, Cheddar, Somerset •
Newstead Abbey •
The Wessex of Thomas Hardy’s Romances •
Tintern Abbey •
Chesterfield, Derbyshire •
Dukeries •
Haddon Hall, Derbyshire •
The Isle of Athelney, and Sedgemoor •
Raglan Castle •
Dovedale •
Wellington and the Wrekin, Shropshire •
Wroxeter and the Roman City of Uriconium, Salop •
Buildwas Abbey, Shropshire •
Ludlow and Its Castle •
Shrewsbury •
Buxton and the Peak District •
Tewkesbury •
Exeter and Its Cathedral •
Market Drayton, Salop •
Chester •
Exmoor •
Knutsford •
Torr Steps On the Barle, Somerset •
Cleeve Abbey, Somerset •
Hawarden •
York Minster •
Coxwold, Yorkshire •
Llangollen and Valle Crucis Abbey •
Knaresborough, Dripping Well •
Fountains Abbey •
Ripon Cathedral •
Dartmoor •
Haworth •
Rievaulx Abbey •
Brixham, Devon •
Conway Castle •
The Doone Valley, Exmoor •
Llandovery, South Wales •
Dartmouth, Devon •
Richmond, Yorkshire •
Tintagel •
Whitby •
Carnarvon Castle •
Plymouth •
Durham and Its Cathedral •
Raby Castle, Durham •
Snowdon •
Harlech Castle •
Grasmere and Rydal Mount •
The Lake District •
St. Davids Cathedral •
Furness Abbey, Lancashire •
Monkwearmouth, Near Jarrow •
The Isle of Man •
Brantwood •
Fowey •
Hexham and Hadrian’s Wall •
The Lake District •
Keswick •
Alnwick Castle •
Lanercost Priory, Cumberland •
Lanercost Priory and Stepping-Stones.] •
St. Ives, Cornwall •
Bamborough Castle, Northumberland
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