Evesham Biblio

Friday, 04 March 2005

Books about Evesham

As a service to visitors, students and researchers the V.E.H.S. is compiling a list of books that are likely to be of interest to local historians, or just to interested parties.  Some books are old and out of print; some are new and current.  Some may even not yet have been published.  If you have any books you would like to add to the list please eMail: webmaster@vehs.org.uk.

The Civil War in Evesham: "A Storm of Fire and Leaden Hail"
Malcolm Atkin

• Paperback: 38 pages (Evesham 2004)

• Publisher: The Vale of Evesham Historical Society

• ISBN: 090735310X

Worcestershire held an important strategic position during the English Civil Wars of 1642-1651.   It commanded the main route from the Royalist and Parliamentary capitals of Oxford and London into Wales and to the munitions centres of the West Midlands.  The war affected the whole county and nowhere more so than Evesham and its surrounding villages.  Evesham was the gateway to the country, controlling the vital bridging point over the Avon.  It was a place of frequent rendezvous for the Royalists, a coveted prize for Parliamentarians and ultimately the scene of a violent battle to seize control as part of the campaign of re-conquest of the county.  This was a town on the front line of the English Civil War.  "The Civil War in Evesham" is available from the Almonry Heritage Centre or from Caliver Books in Southend-on-Sea. 

Malcolm Atkin is County Archaeological Officer for Worcestershire, a veteran Civil War re-enactor, with a special interest in the history and archaeology of the English Civil War.  His earlier books include:

• "Worcestershire and the Civil War" (Sutton Publishing, 1995)

• "Cromwell's 'Crowning Mercy': the Battle of Worcester 1651" (Sutton Publishing, 1998)

• "The Battle of Worcester" (Harlot Publications, 2001)

Evesham's role in the English Civil Wars is also covered in Malcolm Atkin's latest book: "Worcestershire Under Arms: An English County During the Civil Wars", hardcover, 192 pages, published by  Pen & Sword Books/ Leo Cooper in August 2004, ISBN:  1844150720 at a list price of £19.99.

Thomas of Marlborough: History of the Abbey of Evesham
(Oxford Medieval Texts)  
Jane Sayers (Editor), Leslie Watkiss (Editor)

• Hardcover:  688 pages (Oxford 2003)
• Publisher:  Clarendon Press
• ISBN:  0198204809

The "Evesham History" is one of the last important 13th-century texts to be translated. The author, Thomas of Marlborough, was an educated and much travelled man and his work was written not so much in terms of a chronicle but as a history of the lawsuit between the monastery at Evesham and the Bishop of Worcester over the Bishop's right to visit or inspect the community. The case began in England, but was finally taken to Rome and battled out with much legal argument before Pope Innocent III's curia. Much of the History is an eye-witness account. It shows the development of canon law at this period and illustrates aspects of England's relationship with the papacy during King John's reign, including the period of the Interdict. It is valuable too for the light it sheds into the mind of its author, a Benedictine monk, who had pursued a career at Oxford before entering the community. It tells us much about institutional pride and of the use of earlier archives to help the case. List price is £110 a copy.  However, by shopping around, you should be able to buy it at a much better price.

"The Laurels"
A Worcestershire Farmstead and its People
1555 to 1982
Lloyd J. Edwards

• Hardcover:  129 pages (Evesham 2001)
• Publisher:  Vale of Evesham Historical Society
• ISBN: 0907353118

This book was not intended as a definitive history, either of the house called 'The Laurels' and its various properties or of the people who lived and worked there.  It was intended as an exposition of the "W.L.Edwards Collection" of documents dating from Tudor times and accumulated at The Laurels, to make the wealth of source material contained in the collection available to a wider audience.  The result is a fascinating insight into the development of agriculture in the Vale over a period of 400 years.  A scholarly work, 'The Laurels' is still available from the Almonry Heritage Centre.

The Castle at Elmley
David Phillips

• Softcover:  28 pages (Elmley Castle 2001)

• Privately published

Little is known about the castle at Elmley Castle, even to the residents of the village, because little remains of the castle above ground level and the site is difficult to visit.  So David Phillips' book is a valuable addition to the library of a local historian, outlining the fascinating history of the castle from the ancient hill fort it supplanted to its eventual decline and looting for stone.  There is a little of (historical) romance in the story, too.  A pleasant and illuminating book, available from the Almonry Heritage Centre (among other places).