Church of St. Mary and St. Edwin, Evesham

Built 1911-12 by Sebastian Pugin Powell to serve the Catholic community of Evesham. The dedication to St Egwin connects the church to the pre-Reformation Evesham Abbey.

Around 700-710 AD, a swineherd named Eof reported a vision of the Virgin Mary at a place called Evesholme in Worcestershire. Bishop Egwin of Worcester investigated and was granted his own vision. He founded a Benedictine abbey on the site, consecrated in 709, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The abbey grew to become one of medieval England's wealthiest religious houses. Then came Henry VIII. In 1539-40, Evesham Abbey was dissolved along with all England's monasteries. The buildings were demolished; only the bell tower survived. For 350 years, no Catholic church stood in Evesham. In 1887, the Passionist community at Broadway established a Catholic mission in the town, erecting an iron church. In 1897, the mission came under the Diocese of Birmingham. The iron church was moved to the High Street, but a permanent building was needed. The diocese commissioned Sebastian Pugin Powell of Pugin and Pugin—grandson of the great A.W.N. Pugin—to design a church worthy of the location. Rev R J Patten, the rector, funded most of the cost. The foundation stone was laid in September 1911, and the church opened on November 27, 1912, dedicated to St Mary and St Egwin. The dedication was deliberate: a reclaiming of the town's pre-Reformation patron and the Virgin of Eof's vision.