the dismay of the inhabitants. For their rebellious
behaviour a fine of two hundred pounds was imposed on the borough, and
in addition to this they were forced to provide the royal army with a
thousand pairs of shoes.

A year later we find the King once more passing through Evesham. This
time he left a garrison in charge of the town under Colonel Legge. But
Evesham was too important a place in this conflict, being a connecting
link between the "loyal cities" of Worcester and Oxford, to be left in
the hands of the King's party unchallenged. Almost immediately, in the
same month of May, 1645, Colonel Massey, Governor of Gloucester, with
a troop of horse and foot collected from the neighbouring counties,
attacked the town, and after vainly calling upon Colonel Legge to
yield, they assailed the fortifications at the bridge and in five
other places at the same time. After a short but hard fought encounter
the Royalists surrendered, and until the end of the struggle Evesham
remained in the hands of the Parliament.

On the 29th of May the House of Commons ordered the Speaker to convey
their thanks to the colonel and his officers in acknowledgment of
their great service.

CHAPTER IX

THE RIVER

_There is a willow grows aslant a brook,_
_That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream;_
_There with fantastic garlands did she come,_
_Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples._

--SHAKESPEARE: Hamlet.

In tracing the history of our little town from its origin it has often
been observed how important a part has been played in its fortunes by
the river that flows through and partly encircles it. It is to the
river that the town owes its position, and its very existence probably
depended upon the advantages which the stream provided. To the early
settlers a good supply of water and natural means of protection were
necessary to life, and both these were offered by this narrow tongue
of land.

For a long period the river was of little use for traffic, and not
until the seventeenth century was it made properly navigable. Now,
through the neglect of the owners of the navigation rights, it is once
more reverting in places to its primitive character. From Evesham to
Tewkesbury the stream is still in good order, but for a short
distance only towards Stratford-on-Avon.

Apart from the fascination exercised on the mind by the ever changing
surface of water, varied and rippled by motion and by wind,