Winchcombe, North Street c.1950

Photo ref: W378004

More about this scene

This old wool town is situated north of Cheltenham in the deep valley of the River Isbourne. Unusually, this river flows north to join the River Avon at Evesham; most Cotswold rivers flow south-east to join the Thames. In Saxon times, Winchcombe was the capital of the Mercian kingdom; the famous King Offa founded an abbey here. Winchcombe Abbey became one of the largest landowners in the Cotswolds. In medieval times it became a place of pilgrimage - the murdered St Kenelm was buried here. In the 17th century, an attempt to replace the declining wool trade with tobacco was thwarted by parliament because they thought it would disadvantage the North American Colonies. The White Lion Inn on the left dates from this period.