Noake's Worcestershire Page 150

150 EVESHAM AND BENGEWORTH.

Evesham and Bengeworth.

THE good old borough of Evesham owes its origin - so 'tis said in romantic records - to a supernatural cause. In the seventh century the rich valley forming the south-eastern portion of Worcestershire, and bordering on the counties of Warwick and Gloucester, was covered with forest land, affording food for immense herds of swine - the staple dish of our Anglo-Saxon forefathers. A portion of this wood, situated on the banks of Avon, and then known by the name of the Homme, was given by Ethelred, King of Mercia, to Egwin, Bishop of Worcester, who intrusted the keepership of the forest to four swineherds, the chief of whom was Eoves. One day, in searching for a sow and litter which had mysteriously disappeared, he discovered the porcine family reposing in a thick bush of brambles, hard by some ancient ruins, said by tradition to be those of a British church. Eoves, who felt great awe at the sacred spot, immediately had a vision - three heavenly females, one of whom was the Virgin, singing. Thereupon the swineherd fled in terror, and the story coming to the ears of the bishop he repaired to the spot, and was blessed with the same vision. By his orders the place was soon cleared of brambles and ruins, and a stately religious house was reared, which was called the Abbey of of Eoves-ham, and in after age was famous under the slightly altered name of Evesham.

Such is the legend, which probably had its foundation in a fairy tale then popular among the peasantry of Worcestershire, and which Bishop Egwin handed down to us as historic truth. The tale is about as probable as that of the connection of the wolf with the origin of Rome.

It was in the year 709 that the Archbishop of Canterbury