Tuesday 29 October 2013

A Brief Holiday – Day One



Day One (15th October 2013) - Part 2

Welcome to Tewkesbury, a town in Gloucestershire,   where you can still find the occasional horse on the streets (well I saw one :-)).


We had a coca-cola (bottled with ice and lemon, of course) in the Tudor Rose.  


The interior celebrates the Battle of Shrewsbury (Oops I meant Tewkesbury - thanks Helen) of 1471 which was one of the decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses. The forces loyal to the House of Lancaster were completely defeated by those of the rival House of York under their monarch, King Edward IV. The Lancastrian heir to the throne, Edward, Prince of Wales, and many prominent Lancastrian nobles were killed during the battle or were dragged from sanctuary two days later and immediately executed. The Lancastrian King, Henry VI, who was a prisoner in the Tower of London, died or was murdered shortly after the battle. Tewkesbury restored political stability to England until the death of Edward IV in 1483.






This 16th century Tudor building has a rich history. It also has a number of spirits lurking its corridors. The ghost of a dog, a one time maid who likes to tuck people into bed, and the spirit of a young boy have all been reported... 



The original foundations of the Tudor House, were laid in 1540, however main building was built sometime in the 17th century. Front elevations were added in 1701, and restoration was carried out in 1897. An interesting thing to note, is that the door leading to the garden has axe marks, believed to made by Oliver Cromwell’s soldiers. The Tudor House was turned into a hotel in 1926.

Nearby, Gloucestershire’s oldest inn is the Black Bear which dates back to 1308.




Tewkesbury stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and also minor tributaries the Swilgate and Carrant Brook.



The River Avon runs through (and sometimes over) Tewkesbury.  Just across the fields is the River Severn which also has a habit of running through the streets of the town.  







The building on the right in the above picture is the one in which William Shakespeare (the twentieth century one) founded his powerboat building company.  But of greater interest from the point of view of flooding is that the water reached half way up the double doors on July 22nd 2009.



The classic English Shakespeare speed boats are named after their designer, William Shakespeare. William, or Bill, raced powerboats from 1960 until 1971 when he was tragically killed on Lake Windermere while practicing for the Windermere Grand Prix. The year before, he had set the world speed record of 104 mph (90 knots).

This iron bridge was built in 1822 and leads to the flour mill.



 A little alleyway.

Another inn sign.


This warning sign delighted me.


Even more so because next to it was a door with this notice.   


If no one is supposed to go in who is likely to be coming out???

Day two soon.....

16 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Please make it less than six months. Safe travelling.

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  2. What a fun vacation you just took me on! Love all the beautiful pics of scenery and buildings...such wonderful, rich history! I wonder if the "old" Shakespeare was ever called "Bill"? I do love a good ghost story and I would love to hang out at the Tudor building to see if I could spot any spirits...hey, it is Halloween this week! Hope the rest of your vacation was wonderful!

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  3. That's great! These are excellent pix, and I really enjoy your trip through Tewkesbury. I suppose the ghost boy might play with the ghost dog, both of whom get chided by the ghost chamber maid for being too rambunctious indoors.

    Keep up the good work!

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  4. I loved being immersed in history while reading this post...thanks.

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  5. Don't know what to say since I don't know the ins and outs of English history:) But I do like the iron bridge. Your post showed up in my reader (newsfeed). I left google since I have issues with the tracking system they're going to beef up (in order to do that I had to delete my blog -it's still visibile, but I can't get to the dashboard), so am continuing with jeannettestgermain(dot)wordpress(dot)com.
    Advantages - the connection with news - disadvantages: not as user friendly as BlogSpot.
    Wishing you much joy in your vacation!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, I've changed your blog address in my sidebar.

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  6. Me, I get lost all the time. lol Great post; loved it!!

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  7. Great pictures, and, as always on your blog, a host of interesting and entertaining information to go with them.
    What amuses me is the "Secret Garden" - so secret it has its own sign pointing to it. Did you go there? What is secret about it, I wonder?

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    1. We didn't go in, Meike. And we don't know why it was secret. Even though we had a three day trip down to Helen's it all seemed so rushed at times. We didn't even get time to see Tewkesbury Abbey. Next time we'll go in the secret garden and the Abbey!

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  8. Another wonderful look round. I will have to visit.

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  9. You might want to change that to the Battle of Tewkesbury - the Battle of Shrewsbury was 70 years earlier (I looked them up - hadn't heard of either).

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  10. Hm, i'm not sure i want a ghost, no matter how friendly, tucking me into bed! With as haunted as some places may be, who knows if the door might get used?

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  11. being Tewkesbury born and bred (and coming from a family that has been here for almost 200 years), it was hilarious to read your comments on our 2 rivers running through (literally!) and over our town. So true.....!!!! There is so much more to see around the town - I urge people to visit!! :o)

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    Replies
    1. I agree completely about people visiting the town. We called in again this October and hopefully there will be a posting about the Abbey and some of the other attractions in the not too distant future.

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