Evesham, United Kingdom

Evesham is situated on a horseshoe-shaped peninsula, almost completely surrounded by water in a meander of the River Avon between Stratford-upon-Avon and Tewkesbury. The modern town encompasses Bengeworth and Greater and Little Hampton, which were originally independent villages on the opposite bank of the river. The town is linked to Bengeworth by Workman Bridge and Hampton by Abbey Bridge, or New Bridge, the first completely structural concrete bridge in the country. The Cotswold hills stretch from the east to the south-west; to the west, the area is bounded by the Malvern Hills. To the north, the land is flat with gentle undulations. The Avon, a tributary of the River Severn, is navigable but mainly used by leisure traffic and there is a marina, providing moorings.

Due to its exceptionally fertile soil, market gardening is carried out on a commercial scale in the surrounding area; the Vale of Evesham is known for its production of fruit and vegetables. A distinctive form of leasehold tenure, known as the Evesham Custom, still regulates market garden tenancies in the area. A decline in the second half of the 20th century resulted in the closing of Evesham's Smithfield Market, while the Central Market stopped being used for produce auctions.

Between 1983 and 2008, Evesham was home to computer manufacturer Evesham Micros, later renamed Evesham Technology. It was a significant contributor to the United Kingdom's domestic computer and digital television market. At its peak, the company employed up to 300 people with a chain of 19 retail stores in towns and cities throughout the UK. It went into liquidation in 2008.

Evesham's town centre provides a number of food outlets and some retail along its traditional high street and the Riverside Shopping Centre, though the latter is struggling with only 9 of the 40 units being occupied as of May 2024.

Evesham had a distinctive dialect, which locals called "Asum Grammar", or "Asum Grammer". The editor of the local newspaper quoted extracts from a fictitious dictionary of the language. In 1891, a glossary was published of words and phrases in south-east Worcestershire, comprising the district around Evesham and Pershore; this publication was itself built on that of an 1882 author identified only as "Mrs Chamberlain". Prior to the 1882 book, little attention had been paid to the dialect of "the old Worcestershire folks", despite it being "interesting and peculiar". A decline in the dialect was already being noted, attributed at that time to standardisation of English schooling, something noted also by later writers on English dialects. The dialect continues to decline, but is stronger in older generations. More recent factors in its decline are attributed to changes in the market gardening scene, where the dialect was to be heard at its fullest, and the impact of television. In the local dialect, "Asum" is a contraction of the town's name. Asum was an ale produced by the now defunct Evesham Brewery. "Eve-shum" is the more common phonetic pronunciation, but "Eve-uh-shum" is not uncommon.

Schools in Evesham follow the three-tier education model of first school (ages 5–10), middle school (ages 10–13), and high school (ages 13–18) adopted by Wychavon District Council 1974 and completed by 1977. Twelve first (primary) schools which include state non-denominational schools, as well as Church of England Bengeworth Academy and Roman Catholic school, feed four middle schools.

The middle school send pupils to complete their secondary education at The De Montfort School and Prince Henry's High School, which originated as a grammar school established by the monastery and was re-founded by Henry VIII after the Dissolution.

The Vale of Evesham School, operated by Worcestershire County Council, caters for children from the area aged 2 – 19 with special needs, and learning disabilities.

Further education is provided by Evesham College, part of the Warwickshire College Group following the merger with South Worcestershire College (previously known as Evesham and Malvern Hills College) which caters mainly for students studying at the NVQ and BTEC level or undertaking practical vocational courses.

The nearest higher education providers are the University of Worcester and the University of Gloucestershire. A University of the Third Age was established in 2003, which had 600 members in 2010.