Side by side with the growth of the abbey the little village sprang up, and gradually increased in importance.  No doubt in times of stress it was accustomed to look to that wealthy institution for succour.  On the Church the inhabitants would be dependent for all sacred rites and the fulfilment of their spiritual needs; but occasionally we find them waxing independent, and even defying the abbot himself.  At best, however, the fight must have been an unequal one, with wealth, learning, and power on the one side, and poverty and ignorance on the other.  After an honourable career of eight hundred years the monastery was overthrown.  Even this great abbey, with its wealth and power and integrity, was impotent to withstand the popular prejudice aroused by the exposure of the degradation and vice prevailing in so many kindred institutions, the greed of Henry VIII., and the ruthless energy of Thomas Cromwell.  In a few years it was swept away, leaving only a few beautiful fragments to tell of its former grandeur.

Evesham’s next great claim to notice is as the field of the decisive battle of 1265, ending in the defeat and death of Simon de Montfort, and the allies still remaining faithful to their leader.  This event, we know, added much to the fame of the monastery, and reacted on the town by bringing many pilgrims to the grave of that popular hero.  The tomb of the great Earl vied with, or exceeded in popularity, the many sacred relics already enshrined in the abbey church.

In early days, as has been pointed out, Evesham lay out of the common beat; the Avon formed a cul-de-sac, and the main road from Worcester to London and Oxford merely skirted the town, ascending Green Hill from Chadbury, continuing its course by what is now known as Blayney’s Lane, and crossing the river by a ford or bridge at Offenham Ferry.  In consequence of the growing importance of the town, the road was probably diverted to its present line.

Although in pre-Reformation days the abbey dominated the town and the abbot’s will was practically law to the inhabitants, yet the townsmen on the whole lived quite apart, doing their own work, managing their own affairs, and enjoying themselves in their own way.  The monastery, too, was complete in itself, having its own staff of servants and needing little, if any, outside help.  The precincts of the abbey were as entirely shut in with their high wall and strong gates, all fortified in the Edwardian times, as any castle; and little of what went on in this self-contained society would be known to the people living without.  It must be remembered also that the townsmen had their own church, that of All Saints, and only on special occasions would they be allowed entrance to the great church belonging to the monks.  It would seem that the second church, dedicated to St. Lawrence, was principally used by pilgrims, and this was connected with the monastic buildings by a covered walk of stone.