ard will
certainly attract the eye by their picturesque grouping. The most
prominent of these gables is carved with a flowing design, and in the
upper angle can be seen a large T, and some smaller letters which have
not been deciphered. Above the chimneys rise the tower and spire of
All Saints Church.

[Illustration: _In the_ Market Place, _Evesham_]

The breadth of High Street may be accounted for by the supposition
that the roadsides in this direction were broad and grass-grown, and
used for the market, which was large and important. Indeed, until
quite lately, the fairs now carried on in a closed market were held in
the open street, the animals being penned up by hurdles. Bordering the
green sward houses would have sprung up to cater for the wants of the
farmers and drovers, and, as the town grew larger, a continuous line
of street would be formed, and the grass edge would naturally be paved
for cleanliness and convenience. The irregularity of the houses in
shape, size, and colour will at once strike the visitor. The primitive
timber has been almost entirely superseded by the more "respectable"
and secure brick front, but the interiors and the backs of the houses
show that the construction is often really of wood with a thin veneer
of old-fashioned respectability. High Street leads on to Green Hill,
now severed from the town by the railway, and becomes the main road
northwards. Near the end of the street, towards the railway stations,
is a building of stone and brick thinly coated with plaster, roofed
with stone tiles, and with a recessed porch and balcony. The railing
of the balcony especially should be noticed, being of unusual design,
and very likely the work of the local blacksmith more than two hundred
years ago. The name, Almswood, reminds us that here was once a wood
belonging to the office of the Almoner to the Abbey. On the same side
of the street, nearer the centre of the town, is another interesting
house. It is a mansion of brick, and in front are some very fine
railings fixed on a low wall of stone. The door, which is in the
middle of the front, is approached by wide steps, and over it is a
heavy canopy supported by wrought-iron brackets of decorated scroll
work. This house belonged to a certain Thomas Cookes, whose family
were large landowners in the neighbourhood of Tardebigg in the
northern part of the county, and was built by him in the time of King
William III. It contains a fine staircase, orname