Tower Tour - views

The road carries on round toward Abbey Terrace and the centre of the town

The street going away and out of the town - towards Cleeve Hill and Cheltenham.

Christian worship began in Winchcombe in Saxon times. The earliest reference to St Peter’s church is in 1175 with reference to its association with the abbey that once stood to the east of the church. Winchcombe Abbey was a Benedictine abbey was once in the heart of Mercia, an Anglo Saxon kingdom.  It was founded in c.798 for three hundred Benedictine monks, by King Offa of Mercia or King Coenwulf of Mercia.

During Edward the Confessor 's reign, between 1042–1066, Winchcombe Abbey became one of the most powerful Benedictine monasteries in the country. Later, in the early sixteenth century, Winchcombe Abbey was known as a centre of learning under Abbot Richard Kidderminster (1488–1527), who was also a renowned preacher and acted as an ambassador for Henry VII.

The church tower is 90ft tall and is built in perpendicular style.  Surrounding the church roof 40 stone ‘grotesques’ – scary and ugly stone faces.  Half of the grotesques represent demons and the rest are possibly caricatures based on town and Winchcombe Abbey dignitaries from the 15th century.  One of the grotesques is reputed to be the inspiration for The Mad Hatter from Alice In Wonderland; Lewis Carroll is known to have spent some time in the town and surrounding area. 

The quality of the stonemasons at Winchcombe was known to be very high, and it was a Winchcombe master mason who built the Divinity School at Oxford.

The present church building dates from the 1450s (recent then!).

Photos above and to the left are the same view - but obviously I've tried to show where our row of cottages are situated in relation to the church and the centre of the town.