Visit Tewkesbury Places

Welcome to Visit Tewkesbury Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Tewkesbury

  

Tewkesbury Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Tewkesbury

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Tewkesbury culture & places

Tewkesbury mustard, a blend of mustard and horseradish, made the town famous in the 17th century and is again being manufactured. The Roses Theatre, where Eric Morecambe collapsed after a charity performance in 1984, is where he died hours later in hospital.

Festivals and fairs

Tewkesbury Medieval Festival is Europe’s largest battle re-enactment and fair. Winter Beer Festival is held in or near the Abbey grounds. Water Festival held on the banks of the River Thames in July.

Tewkesbury landmarks

The town features many Medieval and Tudor buildings, but is most famous for Tewkesbury Abbey, a Norman abbey church, 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 the price of the lead on the roof 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 allegedly built by the monks. This channel represents one of the biggest projects in Tewkesbury’s history, though the present weir dates only from the 1990s, replacing two sluice gates 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. The abbey is thought to be the site of the place where the hermit Theoc once lived. The Romanesque arch and stained glass window has been restored. The monastery was founded by the Despensers as a family mausoleum, and the Despenser and Neville tombs are fine 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, but this was 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 331 feet (101 m), though prior to the destruction of the original Lady Chapel (also at the time of the dissolution), the 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 claims Gloucestershire’s oldest public house, the Black Bear, dating from 1308, although this is currently closed and for sale with its future as a pub in doubt. 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 Abbey Cottages, adjacent to Tewkesbury Abbey, were built between 1410 and 1412. They were restored 1967 to 1972 by the Abbey Lawn Trust, a building preservation charity. They house the John Moore Museum, residential homes and commercial offices. The John Moore Museum was established in 1980 in memory of the writer and naturalist, John Moore. The museum consists of three buildings: the main John Moore Museum, home to an extensive Natural History collection; the Merchant’s House, restored to its Tudor appearance; and the Old Baptist Chapel. The Old Baptist Chapel, located off Church Street, is a timber-framed building, formally a medieval hall house dating to the 1480s. Sometime in the 17th century, it was converted for use as a Nonconformist meeting house. Including the original baptistery and pastor’s room, the building is of significant historic interest. The building was restored to its 1720 appearance in the 1970s by Tewkesbury Borough Council. It was further renovated and interpreted in 2015 by the Abbey Lawn Trust and is used as a venue for a variety of cultural events. Behind the chapel is a small cemetery for those who were members of the congregation. This includes the grave of William Shakespeare-Hart, fifth great grand nephew of William Shakespeare. The cemetery is managed by Tewkesbury Borough Council. Just to the west of the town is Thomas Telford’s Mythe Bridge over the River Severn, a cast-iron structure with a 170 feet (52 m) 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 widened in the 1950s to meet traffic requirements at the time. The Gloucestershire Water Rescue Centre, also known as Tewkesbury fire station, is a combined project between Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) and Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS). Mythe Chapel which was built in 1870 was deconsecrated in 1977.

Tewkesbury geography / climate

Expansion

Tewkesbury borough, Gloucestershire, was enlarged by incorporating Mitton housing estate in 1965. Mitton is now a contiguous low-density rural suburb connected to Tewesbury. A further housing project in Mitton was completed in 2000.

Nearby places

Bredon Bishop’s Cleeve Cheltenham Evesham Gloucester Pershore Malvern (Great Malvern) Cotswolds Forest of Dean Malvern Hills Winchcombe Gretton.

You can visit Tewkesbury places with Walkfo Tewkesbury to hear history at Tewkesbury’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Tewkesbury has 38 places to visit in our interactive Tewkesbury map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Tewkesbury, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Tewkesbury places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Tewkesbury & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 38 audio facts unique to Tewkesbury places in an interactive Tewkesbury map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Tewkesbury Places Map
38 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Tewkesbury historic spots	Tewkesbury tourist destinations	Tewkesbury plaques	Tewkesbury geographic features
Walkfo Tewkesbury tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Tewkesbury

  

Best Tewkesbury places to visit

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Tewkesbury has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Tewkesbury’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Tewkesbury’s information audio spots:

Battle of Tewkesbury The Battle of Tewkesbury was one of the decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses in England. King Edward IV and his forces loyal to the House of York defeated those of the rival House of Lancaster. The Lancastrian heir to the throne was killed during the battle or executed.

Eleanor de Clare Eleanor de Clare, suo jure 6th Lady of Glamorgan, was a powerful Anglo-Welsh noblewoman. She married Hugh Despenser the Younger and was a granddaughter of Edward I of England. She inherited her father’s estates after the death of her brother at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

Severn Ham, Tewkesbury Severn Ham, Tewkesbury is a 70.82-hectare (175.0-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire. It is on the east side of the Severn to Old River Severn, Upper Lode SSSI.

The Royal Hop Pole The Royal Hop Pole is a listed public house in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. It is famous for being mentioned in Charles Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers.

Roses Theatre The Roses Theatre is an arts centre located in the centre of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England. Its main auditorium seats 375 and accommodates 35mm film / digital projection as well as live performance.

Old River Severn, Upper Lode Old River Severn, Upper Lode (grid reference SO880331) is a 3.72-hectare (9.2-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1985. It is on the west side of the Severn to Severn Ham, Tewkesbury SSSI.

Turvey’s Piece Turvey’s Piece (grid reference SO882301) is a 1.02-hectare (2.5-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire near Deerhurst, notified in 1993.

Mythe Railway Nature Reserve Mythe Railway Nature Reserve (grid reference SO887341) is a 2.8-hectare (6.9-acre) nature reserve in Gloucestershire. The site is listed in the ‘Tewkesbury Borough Local Plan to 2011’, adopted March 2006, as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS)

St Mary’s Priory Church, Deerhurst St Mary’s Priory Church, Deerhurst, Gloucestershire, was built in the 8th century. It was part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. The church was restored and altered in the 10th century after Viking invasion of England. It is a Grade I listed building.

Odda’s Chapel Odda’s Chapel is an 11th-century late Anglo-Saxon building. It was completed a decade before the Norman Conquest of England. In the 16th century the chapel ceased to be used for worship and by the 17th century it was part of a farmhouse. The chapel was rediscovered and restored late in the 19th century.

Visit Tewkesbury plaques