Welcome to Tewkesbury

Tewkesbury is located at the confluence of the rivers Avon and Severn, in the county of Gloucestershire, approximately 100 miles north-west of London and 11 miles north of Gloucester.

The town has a population of around 9,500. Administratively it is within the Borough of Tewkesbury which covers an area of approximately 414 sq kms and which has a population of around 78,000.

It is a charming town of great antiquity, and which retains a medieval atmosphere with its many fine timber-framed buildings and narrow streets. It is dominated by its magnificent abbey church of St.Mary the Virgin which has the largest surviving Norman tower in the country at 148ft high. Other notable historic buildings include the Bell Inn, which was largely rebuilt in 1696, and the 16th century Warwick House.

There is evidence to show that there was a considerable settlement here prior to the Norman Conquest in 1066. The town is thought to be named after a Saxon hermit, Theoc, who founded a hermitage in the 7th century. Tewkesbury is the site of the final battle of the Wars of the Roses when, in 1471, Edward IV's forces defeated the House of Lancaster at "Bloody Meadow" to the south of the town.

Historically the town's economy was based upon agriculture and this is still significant. The service industry is the largest sector of the local economy, employing around 65% of all workers.

The name Tewkesbury derives from the name of a Saxon who founded a hermitage there in the 7th century, Theot. In the Saxon tongue it was called Theocsbury. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the town was recorded as Teodekesberie.