_The towne of Evesham is meetly large and well builded of tymbre ...
The market is very celebrate_.--LELAND, _circ._ 1540.


The town of Evesham consists, by reason of its insular position, of
only one thoroughfare. The river winds round enclosing it on three
sides, so that, there being but one bridge, there is no other outlet
except towards the north. There are four principal streets: High
Street, which was in all probability an extension of the "celebrate"
market along the Worcester and North Road; Vine Street and Bridge
Street, both skirting the boundary wall of the abbey precincts, and so
probably the oldest in their origin; and Port Street, the main
thoroughfare of Bengeworth, forming part of the London road beyond the
river bridge. High Street, Bridge Street, and Vine Street lead from
the Market Place, and here we will stand and look around. On the north
side is the "market-sted," "fayre and large" as when Leland viewed
it, but now converted to private uses. It is a fine example of Gothic
timber construction; but to think of it as it appeared to Leland's
admiring gaze, we must imagine the walls and partitions of the lower
storey cleared away, and fancy it supported only by massive pillars of
oak, roughly hewn and of great strength. Below was the market
sheltered from the rain, and such as may still be seen at Ledbury and
other places; and above were chambers devoted to the business of the
town, and presumably of the various guilds, of which little is now
known.

About 1586 the "New Town Hall" was erected, probably of stone from the
ruins of the Abbey, on the west side of the square; but from this
point the older part of the building is entirely obscured by recent
additions, and to understand its first appearance we must walk round