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I disremember if he's buried there; but we'll wake his ghost, anyway." So by Offenham and Dead Man Eyot they came to the high embankment of a railway, and thence to a bridge, and a beautiful bell-tower leapt into view, soaring above the mills and roofs of Evesham. At Evesham, a little above the Workman Gardens, they left the canoe in charge of a waterman, and fared up to the town, where Mr.

Presently we reach Offenham Ferry, while a little beyond, set back behind willow trees and plough-land, is the village; and we soon catch sight of the old church tower peering over the bank. At the further extremity of the village, quite near the bank, is the "Court" farm, once protected by a moat fed by the river, and used by the Evesham Abbots as a country retreat.

Two young de Montforts fell by their father's side, and many barons, knights, and common soldiers; but few fled. The stragglers from the defeated army were, many of them, slaughtered, as they attempted their escape; and by Offenham Ferry, where in those times probably stood a bridge, there is a meadow, once an island, which to this day bears the name of "Deadman's Ait."

Abbot Lichfield was allowed to retire to the manor house of Offenham, where he died in 1546, and was buried in the lovely chapel he had built in early life on to the church of All Saints beneath the shelter of his own Abbey. The story of the Monastery has now come to an end.

It lies a hundred yards to the left of the road nearly opposite a pretty thatched lodge, but cannot be seen from the highway. Just beyond is a double cottage dividing the road into two, and on the right is a shady lane. This is Blayney's Lane, and, as already mentioned, it was once the London road; by pursuing it we come to the river meadows and Offenham Ferry.

Hither Clement Lichfield, the last Abbot, retired on his resignation, and here he probably died. The village of Offenham is peculiar in lying away from any main road, and this gives it an air of repose and antiquity, which is pleasant in these days.

The circular dovecote belonging to monastic times is carefully preserved. Bretforton, with its church built by the monks of Evesham, lies on the road between Badsey and Honeybourne. The villages of Middle and South Littleton have been little affected by modern enterprise. They may be reached by way of Offenham or Bengeworth, or from the village station.

In early days, as has been pointed out, Evesham lay out of the common beat; the Avon formed a cul-de-sac, and the main road from Worcester to London and Oxford merely skirted the town, ascending Green Hill from Chadbury, continuing its course by what is now known as Blayney's Lane, and crossing the river by a ford or bridge at Offenham Ferry.