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Winchcombe

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Tourist Information:- High Street. Tel: 01242 602925


     Winchcombe is a Cotswold town in the local authority district of Tewkesbury, in Gloucestershire, England. Its 2001 census population was 4,379.
     The Belas Knap Neolithic long barrow on a hilltop above Winchcombe, was constructed from about 3000 BC. Later, during Anglo-Saxon times, Winchcombe was a chief city of Mercia favoured by Coenwulf; the others being Lichfield and Tamworth. Subsequently, during the 11th century, the town was briefly the county town of Winchcombeshire. The Anglo-Saxon saint St. Kenelm is believed to be buried in the town.
     In Winchcombe and the immediate vicinity can be found Sudeley Castle and the remains of Hailes Abbey, which was one of the main centres of pilgrimages in Britain due to a phial possessed by the monks said to contain the Blood of Christ. There is nothing left of the now-vanished Winchcombe Abbey. St Peter's Church in the centre of the town is noted for its grotesques.