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 Where
to Stay in Tewkesbury
Here you can locate places
to stay within Tewkesbury. Just click on the type of establishment
you wish to stay at and a selection of entries will be displayed.
Tewkesbury
is an attractive, historic town dominated by timber-framed buildings
with overhanging eaves and has a fascinating maze of small alleyways
behind the main streets. So
if you are looking for a hotel, Tewkesbury has a number of hotels
for you to choose from. It is situated on a spit of gravel just
above flood level at the junction of two great rivers (The Severn
and Avon) . The town has always been a favoured resting place for
travellers on the highway which winds it's way up the Severn valley.
Tewkesbury's
glory is it's Abbey, founded by Robert Fitz Hamon at the end of
the 11th century as a Benedictine monastery. Stone to build it was
brought by sea and river from Normandy in the 12th century. One
of Britain's largest churches, it has some fine Norman work in the
nave, 14th-century stained glass above the choir and an organ dating
from 1620. Look out for the tombs of Edward, Baron Le Despenser,
who fought at Poitiers in 1356 and of John Wakeman, the last abbot,
who is shown as a vermin-ridden skeleton. If you are wishing to
stay
near the Abbey in a hotel, Tewkesbury has a lots of hotels for
you to choose from.
The
Battle of Tewkesbury was just one of an episode of a pageant of
events affecting the town. Tewkesbury developed from a feudal Norman
settlement into a Free Borough under the charter of the Earls of
Gloucester. Subsequent charters were confirmed by Edward II and
Edward III and the town received its first charter of incorporation
during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1574), at which time Tewkesbury
was described as 'great and populous'. If you are wishing to stay
close to the Battle Trail in a
hotel, Tewkesbury has a lots of hotels for you to choose from.
Tewkesbury
is remarkable in that its medieval layout and character has survived
to this day. At the beginning of the 19th century it was one of
the most important towns in the country but suffered a decline,
and from 1850 to 1930 there was virtually new building in the town.
As a result, the development of the town from it's earliest days
can be seen in it's street pattern and buildings. To walk around
it is a rewarding experience.
The
importance of Tewkesbury in its earliest days was due both to its
position at the junction of navigable rivers and to the foundation
of the Abbey. The junction of what is now Church Street, High Street
and Barton Street (known as 'The Cross') was likely home to a market
and by the time the Abbey was founded Church Street would have extended
as far as the Bull Ring (now known as the Crescent). It is probable
that most of High Street, north from the Cross, and Barton Street
as far as the present Chance Street had been developed by the end
of the 14th century. The original layout with burgages extending
to the rear of houses fronting the streets remains to this day.
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