The town of Evesham developed around its abbey- one of the largest in Europe at the time - founded in the 8th century by Saint Egwin, the third Bishop of Worcester. It grew with the influx of the many tradesmen, brought in to carry out major reconstruction and extension work in the wake of the Norman Conquest. At the Battle of Evesham, in 1265, Simon de Montfort - who had gained control of Parliament at the Battle of Lewes a year earlier - was killed in defeat at the hands of Henry III's army and was buried in the abbey. Evesham Abbey was later dismantled during Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries and the only surviving buildings are the old almonry (which houses the museum and heritage centre) and tithe barn. Today, Evesham is better known as a centre of market gardening, especially noted for its asparagus production, and also for being prone to severe flooding, most recently and devastatingly in 2007. The Vale of Evesham Historical Society have documented the history of this Worcestershire town, situated on a horseshoe-shaped peninsula on the River Avon, in these wonderful archive images, comparing how it looked over a century ago how its streets, buildings and enterprises have changed in the intervening years.