A day in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire

On By Little Miss TravellerIn Gloucestershire, The Midlands, United Kingdom

Our travels took us to the medieval town of Tewkesbury, noted for its well preserved half timbered Tudor buildings and its 12th century Abbey.

The Cross, Tewkesbury
The Cross, Tewkesbury

We started our walk around town at The Cross adjoining the High Street which has a wonderful collection of Tudor buildings including the cantilevered 18th century Golden Key House, the top floor of which was added in 1660 that leans precariously into the street.

Tudor buildings along Tewkesbury's high street
Tudor buildings are to be found throughout the town

Further along High Street is the Tewkesbury Town Museum housed in a 17th century half timbered building, formerly the home of a prosperous resident.  Entrance to the museum is free and although pre-booking is advisable we were able to go straight inside.  It’s only a small museum but includes a wide range of artefacts dating from Roman times through to the wartime austerity of the 1940’s.

Tewkesbury Town Museum
Tewkesbury Town Museum

The highlight of our visit was to see a scale model of a fairground which took 5 years to build and was purchased as a gift to the town in 1960.  We were each handed small sticks by the museum staff so that we could operate the controls without needing to touch the buttons, to set the fairground rides in motion along with lights and accompanying music from the barrel organs.  The model is very realistic and one of the best of its kind in the country.

Scale model fairground, Tewkesbury Town Museum
Scale model fairground, Tewkesbury Town Museum

Back outdoors we loved seeing lots of brightly coloured flags adorning the exterior of buildings around the town and wondered about their significance.  These medieval banners have a long heritage for which the town is noted.

Medieval flags adorn buildings in Tewkesbury
Medieval flags adorn the historic buildings

The Battlefield Society organise the display of flags during the summer months with each one representing the coat of arms of a participant in the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471, the last major battle of the Wars of the Roses.  The flags are on display each year from mid June until early October.

Victoria Pleasure Gardens, Tewkesbury
The Victoria Pleasure Gardens

Next, we wandered down Mill Street to the Victoria Pleasure Gardens which were created to celebrate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897.  The gardens border the River Avon and are laid out with pergolas, decorative urns and formal flower beds.  A set of three iron arches were added in 2012 to celebrate the diamond jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

View from near Abbey Mill, Tewkesbury
View from near the Abbey Mill

Along one edge of the gardens stands Abbey Mill which has since been converted into apartments.  Two water mills existed where the present 18th century mill now stands.  A footbridge leads across the river to the Severn Ham, an attractive flood plain meadow from where there are some delightful views of the town and its charming country cottages.

Charming period cottages in Tewkesbury
Charming cottages overlooking the mill stream

Tewkesbury lies at the confluence of both the rivers Avon and Severn and is prone to severe flooding.  We wandered over to the Mythe Bridge where we strolled along a backwater of the River Severn which is cut off from the main flow of the river until it joins the main river a little further south.

Along the Severn backwater in Tewkesbury
Along the Severn backwater in Tewkesbury

Returning to the town centre, we had possibly saved the best to last as it was time to visit the 900 year old Tewkesbury Abbey which is renowned for its Norman tower, ornate 12th century ceiling and stunning stained glass windows.  The townsfolk of Tewkesbury were able to save the Abbey from destruction in 1539 by purchasing it for £453.  This sum totalled the value of its bells and lead roof which would otherwise have been salvaged and melted down leaving the Abbey in ruins.

Tewkesbury Abbey
Tewkesbury Abbey

Centuries later, we were visiting the Abbey not only as tourists but also as guests at a family wedding.  At the time of the ceremony, wedding guests were limited to 30 in the United Kingdom but this has since been reduced even further to only 15.  Dressed in our best clothes, we entered the abbey through its huge oak doors and approached its high altar down its long nave which is supported by eight enormous pillars.

The Nave, Tewkesbury Abbey
The Nave, Tewkesbury Abbey

For this most unusual of weddings, all guests were seated in the intricately carved wooden choir stalls and everyone apart from the bride, groom and vicar needed to wear face masks throughout the service.

The choir stalls and high altar, Tewkesbury Abbey
The choir stalls and high altar, Tewkesbury Abbey

The two bridesmaids had accessorised their masks to match their dresses but would have still looked quite strange on the indoor photographs.  A reminder in years to come of what a strange year 2020 has turned out to be.  Still, it was a beautiful intimate wedding and we were delighted to have been present and to be part of the bride and groom’s special day.

Touching Souls sculpture, Tewkesbury Abbey
Touching Souls sculpture, Tewkesbury Abbey

Whilst photographs were being taken in the Abbey grounds we came across the Touching Souls sculpture which has only been positioned there for one year and is the exact replica of the same sculpture in its namesake town of Tewkesbury, Massachusetts, USA.  Cast in bronze it shows four children sitting on the ground, legs outstretched with the soles of their feet touching.  It is designed to create a lasting link between the two Tewkesbury’s.  I wonder if any of my American readers have come across its twin?

Tewkesbury Abbey
Tewkesbury Abbey

Well, it had been a memorable day exploring the medieval town of Tewkesbury and attending a wedding at its abbey.  The day concluded with a garden party reception comprising a hog roast followed by a game of croquet on the lawn.

 

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Tewesbury

 

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75 thoughts on “A day in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire”

  1. Pingback: A day in Stroud, Gloucestershire – Love Travelling Blog

  2. Pingback: Day 1. Cheltenham: Sudeley Castle & Winchcombe – Love Travelling Blog

  3. Ah great, another river walk (and the bonus of a wedding!)
    I love the Tudor buildings and the entrance to the garden is beautiful. I would have loved to ‘operate’ the fairground – what a great idea!
    And then … what a stunning venue for a wedding is Tewkesbury Abbey! I’ve enjoyed your pictures taken inside, it’s really beautiful.

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    1. Thanks. Or a for taking an interest in this post on Tewkesbury. The abbey was a wonderful place for a wedding even if there were only 30 of us allowed in the huge church. Fortunately the weather was on our side and we enjoyed a lovely garden party reception afterwards at the bride’s family home. Marion

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  10. An interesting post and great pics. We have family living in Tewkesbury and always enjoyed our trips to the Cotswolds, although we never actually visited the town itself so it was nice to see some of the things we’d missed. Thank you!

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  11. Pingback: A day in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire

  12. Excellent and interesting post! Great photos, too 👍 I was showing it to my husband, wondering if we had been to Tewkesbury. He asked if your post provided a map, which I didn’t see. You might want to add one to future posts. Having said that, I should add a map to each of my posts, since I write a travel blog!

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  14. Hi Marion.

    Tewkesbury seems to offer very much to see for visitors. I loved very mush the church! Some house brought to my mind Germany with their architecture. Thank you for this interesting post.

    Have a good day!

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  20. Again, I’m blown away by the quaint, but impressive architecture of towns in Gloucestershire! Tewkesbury’s half-timbered homes are lovely; they remind me of those I’ve seen while living in northern France, as they’re quite similar in style. The abbey looks grand, too, and you’re giving me inspiration to venture to this part of England some day. Thanks for sharing!

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  24. I still remember Tewkesbury well. We spent a night there in the marina on our narrowboat tour in 2011, and we enjoyed walking around a lot. If you’d like to look at my articles (and pictures) about our stay there, you might start here:https://wp.me/p107Dr-hr
    There’s a lot more. You might just want to click on “weiter” at the bottom of the articles. Unfortunately, at that time I wrote in German only. I still intend to re-do the whole trip in English – some time.
    Btw, we had a wonderful dinner at the Royal Hop Pole [https://wp.me/p107Dr-ik].

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          1. It was a two-week trip. We went from Wootton Wawen on tne Stratford-on-Avon Canal to Straford, down the Avon to Tewkesbury, up the Severn via Worcester to Stourport-on-Severn, then on the canal to Birmingham, and from there on the Stratford-on-Avon Canal nack to Wooton Wawen. I like to call it the “Heart of England Ring:.

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  31. Wonderful tour, thank you. I’ll add Tewkesbury to my list…especially for the Abbey so I can add it to my Project 101. Thank goodness for the good citizens, buying it. I’ve seen so many abbey ruins around the country and it’s sad really. I’m guessing Tewkesbury is a Domesday Book town? I love that Museum, looks amazing

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