Places to see in ( Alcester - UK )
Places to see in ( Alcester - UK )
Alcester is a market town and civil parish of Roman origin at the junction of the River Alne and River Arrow in Warwickshire, England. It is situated approximately 8 miles (13 km) west of Stratford-upon-Avon, and 8 miles south of Redditch, close to the Worcestershire border.
Alcester was founded by the Romans in around AD 47 as a walled fort. The walled colonia named Alauna developed from the military camp. It was sited on Icknield Street (or Ryknild Street), a Roman road that ran the length of Britannia from the north east near Hadrian's Wall to southwest England. The town was also just north of the Fosse Way, another important thoroughfare in Roman Britain.
Alcester was also the site of Alcester Abbey, a Benedictine monastery founded in 1138 by Ralph le Boteler. Richard de Tutbury, the last abbot, resigned his office in 1467 and Alcester Abbey was absorbed into the neighbouring Evesham Abbey. By 1515 Alcester Abbey was in ruins as a result of the neglect of various abbots, and later during the Dissolution of the Monasteries Henry VIII it was largely demolished.
Alcester was previously served by Alcester railway station belonging to the Midland Railway (later part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway), on the Gloucester Loop Line, branching off the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway main line at Ashchurch, passing through Evesham railway station, Alcester and Redditch and rejoining the main line at Barnt Green, near Bromsgrove. The loop was built to address the fact that the main line bypassed most of the towns it might otherwise have served, but it took three separate companies to complete, Alcester being on the Evesham and Redditch Railway prior to absorption by the Midland.
In addition a branch line provided by the Alcester Railway company (later part of the Great Western Railway) ran from Alcester to Bearley, thus giving access to Stratford-upon-Avon. This line, however, was an early casualty, closing in September 1939. The Midland loop was due to close between Ashchurch and Redditch in June 1963 but the poor condition of the track led to all trains between Evesham and Redditch being withdrawn in October 1962 and replaced by a bus service for the final eight months. Redditch to Barnt Green remains open on the electrified Birmingham suburban network. Alcester is served by buses from Redditch, Evesham and Stratford upon Avon.
Alcester is also known for two nearby stately homes. To the north is Coughton Court, the family seat of the Throckmorton baronets as well as a National Trust property. To the south-west is Ragley Hall, the home of the Marquis of Hertford, whose gardens contain a children's adventure playground. Kinwarton, which is just north of Alcester, contains a church of Anglo Saxon origin and a historic dovecote, Kinwarton Dovecote, which is also a National Trust property. Alcester is also a significant town on the 100-mile-long Heart of England Way long-distance walking route.
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