History geeks and devotees of Shakespeare's history plays may know of Tewkesbury as the site of one of the last battles in the War of the Roses, which were fought to determine whether the Lancastrian or Yorkist branches of the Plantagenet family would rule England. In this battle, York's forces crushed Lancaster. Henry VI's son Edward was killed after the battle and Henry VI himself was killed in the Tower of London shortly thereafter.
Looking at this site today, the splendid Abbey and fields outside look utterly peaceful, belying their violent past: the Abbey itself had to be reconsecrated because of the violence of the battle fought on its grounds, with some seeking sanctuary killed IN the Abbey itself.
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