Tewkesbury History Festival
Walks
Thursday 18th June at 10.30am · Tewkesbury’s Floods and Flood Meadows
Time: 10:30am
Starting Location: The John Moore Museum
Cost: £5.00
Tewkesbury is world famous for its floods! Join us, as we walk around the Historic part of Tewkesbury to see the impact that our converging rivers have had on the town. View photographs from the past to the present, as we explain the importance of willow trees; why some of the town architecture has been updated; the meaning of the word Ham and so much more!
This walk lasts approximately 75 minutes
Thursday 18th June at 2pm · Historic Highlights of Prior’s Park
Time: 2pm
Starting Location: The Watson Hall, Barton Street
Cost: Free of Charge/Donation Option
Diving deep into the fascinating social history of Priors Park, we uncover why this development began and how it mirrored a massive, history-making reform across the entire UK.
Witness how the post-war "Housing for All" revolution transformed the welfare state, trading wartime destruction and slum conditions for secure, high-quality, and affordable homes.
The walk lasts approximately 2 hours.
Thursday 18th June at 4pm · Alleyway Strolls
Time: 4pm
Starting Location: Bottom of Warders Alley
Cost: £5.00
Explore Tewkesbury's Social Heritage with a walk around the lanes and alleys. This walk is about the people who lived here and the buildings they lived in.
Barton Street's Alleyways.
The walk lasts approximately 2 hours.
Friday 19th June at 7pm · John Moore's Elmbury Walk
Time: 7pm
Starting Location: The Crescent on Church Street
Cost: £5.00
“I have written a book which gives me much pleasure. It is a kind of full-length portrait of a small country town – this small town – between the wars. The sort of life that will never come back.” John Moore
Author, conservationist and founder of the Cheltenham Literature Festival, John Moore was Gloucestershire’s best-known and loved author of the Twentieth century – described by Sir Compton Mackenzie as the most talented writer about the countryside of his generation.
This literary walk will take you to John Moore’s home town of Tewkesbury, otherwise affectionately known as “Elmbury”. You will be transported back in time, as we explore the places and characters that inspired John Moore to pick up his pen in this 75-minute walk. You will be regaled with readings on Tewkesbury Abbey, the Severn Hamm, and the notorious character, Black Sal, to name just a few!
Saturday 20th June at 4pm · Alleyway Strolls
Time: 4pm
Starting Location: Bottom of Warders Alley
Cost: £5.00
Explore Tewkesbury's Social Heritage with a walk around the lanes and alleys. This walk is about the people who lived here and the buildings they lived in.
Barton Street's Alleyways.
The walk lasts approximately 2 hours.
Saturday 21st June at 10am · Tewkesbury Battlefield Walk
Time: 10am
Starting Location: Short stay car park in Gander Lane
Cost: £Tbc
On Saturday 4th May 1471 the “Wars of the Roses” came to a head at Tewkesbury. This was a clash between the 2 great houses of Lancaster and York, each fighting for the crown of England. On the Yorkist side stood King Edward the IV, a strong and determined man who had regained his throne only weeks earlier. Against him were the Lancastrians led in the field by Edward Prince of Wales, the teenage son of Henry the VI and Queen Margaret of Anjou, fighting to restore his father's cause and secure his own destiny as a future King of England.
The walk seeks to take you into the battlefield through the Lancastrian lines explaining the positioning of the Lancastrian forces and detailing their commanders and tactics. We will make our way to the front line of The Gaston Field and discuss the Yorkist advance to the field and their tactics developed to meet the Lancastrian threat. We will examine the “ambush” tactics employed by both sides before making our way back towards the town looking at how the topography influenced the rout that was to follow. Our walk will conclude at Tewkesbury Abbey where will discuss the events that occurred there and, in the town, following the Lancastrian defeat. The walk lasts approximately 2 hours and covers a little under 2 miles on well-trodden paths.
The walks last approximately 2 hours.
Saturday 21th June at 4pm · Alleyway Strolls
Time: 4pm
Starting Location: Bottom of Warders Alley
Cost: £5.00
Explore Tewkesbury's Social Heritage with a walk around the lanes and alleys. This walk is about the people who lived here and the buildings they lived in.
Barton Street's Alleyways.
The walk lasts approximately 2 hours.
