53 Church Street
53 CHURCH STREET
Holiday Cottage in Historic Tewkesbury
The Cottage
Several hundred years old and with a wealth of character, the cottage served as a corner shop for many years, still evidenced by the door sign and enamel advertising signs found during renovation
The cosy lounge/diner
A warm and welcoming room to relax after a day exploring the area, this former shop area has many original features including an inglenook fireplace uncovered during renovation and now featuring a wood burning stove for extra cosy evenings
The Master Bedroom
An elegant and luxuriously furnished bedroom featuring wooden beams, a four poster bed, and a stunning view of Tewkesbury's magnificent Abbey. A truly special place to end the day
53 Church Street can't be accurately dated but is likely to be around 500 years old, and it's windows will have witnessed many weddings, funerals, visiting royalty and dignitaries, pomp and ceremony, processions and pageantry.
It has been lovingly and carefully restored by the present owners, who haven taken great care to be sympathetic to it's history and re-create an unmistakably historic building with all the modern comforts you could possibly want in a holiday home. From a four poster bed to a sleek, modern bathroom, from a beamed, cosy lounge to a characterful kitchen, and from a winding oak staircase to a breathtaking view of the spectacular Abbey
For bird watchers, a pair of binoculars are on hand and you may be lucky enough to see the Tewkesbury Abbey Peregrines:
Make your way to the top floor of the cottage by means of a beautiful oak winding staircase, and you're rewarded with one the best views of the town's wonderful Abbey church. Take time to sit and enjoy it, and imagine the many historical events which have been witnessed from the very same viewpoint
A taste of Tewkesbury through the year
“
At the Hop Pole Tewkesbury they stopped to dine, ....
”
In the early 19th century, the Hop Pole (later the Royal Hop Pole) was visited by Mr Pickwick and his companions. The friends dined together and drank ‘bottled ale, with some more Madeira and some port besides’.
Samuel Pickwick is the fictional creation of Charles Dickens and the main character in The Pickwick Paper. This loosely-related collection of his adventures was Dickens first novel.
The magnificent Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, dating from 1102, is a parish church and a former Benedictine monastery. It is one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in Britain.
After the Battle of Tewkesbury in the Wars of the Roses on 4 May 1471, some of the defeated Lancastrians sought sanctuary in the abbey. Historians are reasonably sure that many of these Lancastrian nobles were forcibly removed from the Abbey by Yorkist soldiers on the 6th May 1471 and executed following brief trials.
Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, died during or immediately after the Battle of Tewkesbury and is buried in the Abbey.
Photograph: © Copyright Philip Halling
The Battle of Tewkesbury is commemorated every year at Tewkesbury Medieval Festival, widely regarded as the largest free medieval gathering of its kind in Europe, attracting re-enactors, traders and entertainers, and visitors from all over the world.
For more information, visit the Medieval Festival website.
Photograph: © Copyright Philip Halling
During the summer months the town is decorated with a display of medieval banners. Each is based on the arms of a person who was involved in the Battle. This is the scene looking along Church Street, just a few paces away from the cottage.
Photograph: © Copyright Philip Halling
The Abbey Mill is just 200 metres from 53 Church Street. The mill is sometimes referred to as “Fletcher’s Mill”, after Abel Fletcher who was a Quaker miller immortalised in Mrs Craik’s nineteenth century novel “John Halifax – Gentleman”. There has been a mill on this site since around 1190, although it was rebuilt in 1793. In monastic times, it was the principal mill for Tewkesbury Abbey from which it gets its name. It eventually ceased operation as a mill in 1921, when it became a restaurant, and in 2005, it was converted into private apartments
Photograph: © Copyright Colin Smith
If you're lucky enough to be staying at 53 Church Street around Bonfire Night, you could get the chance to watch the local Rotary Club's annual firework display. Situated on the Vineyards, directly behind the Abbey, the pyrotechnics will provide you with a stunning backdrop to the Abbey Tower from your vantage viewpoint through the top floor window
Photograph: © Copyright Philip Halling
