Pershore () is a market town and civil parish in the Wychavon district in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Avon. At the 2011 census, the population was 7,125. The town is best known for Pershore Abbey. Pershore is situated west of Evesham and east of Upton-upon-Severn in the Vale of Evesham.

History

thumb|left|[[Pershore Town Hall]]

The name Pershore derives from the Old English perscōra meaning 'osier shore/slope' referring to its position between the River Avon and a ridge.

The town contains examples of Georgian architecture. In 1964 the Council for British Archaeology included Pershore in its list of 51 British "Gem Towns" worthy of special consideration for historic preservation, and it has been listed as an outstanding conservation area. Parts of the abbey, which stand in an expanse of public grassland close to the centre of the town, date from the 11th century. The current structure is far smaller than the original building, which was plundered during the reign of Henry VIII at the Dissolution. The original nave was destroyed. The north transept collapsed later. The present nave occupies the western part of what would originally have been the choir. Pershore Town Hall, which was originally built as the local post office, was completed in 1932.

Education

Schools in Pershore follow the three-tier first school (ages 5–9), middle school (ages 9–12), high school (ages 11–18) system practised by parts of Worcestershire County Council. Pershore High School has a sixth form with all-weather sports pitches and sports hall.

Abbey Park First School and Abbey Park Middle School are on Abbey Road, they are both situated down the same drive. Pershore High School is on Station Road, which is on the outskirts of Pershore, bordering Pinvin, a small village.

Holy Redeemer Roman Catholic Primary School, situated on Priest Lane beside Holy Redeemer, Pershore's only Catholic church, stands outside the 3-tier model. It is a primary school (ages 5–11) which acts as a feeder school to Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College in Worcester.

Pershore College, a school of horticulture and other land-based activities, became a campus for Warwickshire College (now WCG) following a merger in 2007.

Annual events

Plum Festival

The Pershore Plum Festival is held in August to celebrate the local tradition of growing plums including the local varieties Pershore Purple, Pershore Yellow Egg Plum and Pershore Emblem. is situated on the river at Pershore Riverside Centre. Pershore Plum Plodders is an England Athletics affiliated running club serving Pershore and the surrounding villages. The Abbey Park includes a bowls club, children's play area and skateboard park (2006), consisting of a mini ramp and a street section.

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central. Television signals can be received from either the Sutton Coldfield or Lark Stoke TV transmitters.

Local radio stations are BBC Hereford and Worcester, Heart West Midlands, Radio Wyvern, Capital Mid-Counties, Greatest Hits Radio Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Hits Radio Herefordshire & Worcestershire, and Smooth West Midlands.

The town is served by the local newspaper, Evesham Journal and its own community based newspaper, The Pershore Times.

Transport

The town lies near the A44, approximately midway between Worcester and Evesham. The nearest motorways are the M5 and M50.

Pershore railway station is located in the village of Pinvin. It lies on the Cotswold Line which enables travel to London Paddington, Oxford and Reading.

Pershore Old Bridge

thumb|Pershore Old Bridge

About outside the town is Pershore Old Bridge over the River Avon. A bridge was originally built on the site in the 15th century. It was remodelled in the 17th century, after damage in the English Civil War, and again in the 18th century. It is a Grade II* listed structure.

Notable people

;Natives

  • Hugh Bennett (1862–1943), cricketer.
  • Claude Choules (1901–2011), was the world's last living veteran of both world wars and supercentenarian.
  • Giles Collier (1622–1678), Anglican divine.
  • George Dowty (1901–1975), inventor and businessman.
  • Florence Feek (1876-1940), suffragette
  • Major Richard Charles Lowndes MC (1888 – 1960), and his father The Rev. William Dobson Lowndes, of Little Comberton Rectory, Pershore, and his mother Margaret Moody JP (1863 – 1943), who was a Pershore district councillor.
  • George Mason I (1629–1686), progenitor of the politically significant Mason family in America.
  • Janet Mary Salsbury (1881-1951), composer and organist

;Residents

  • Nigel Clark, singer with pop band Dodgy
  • Michael Collie (1966–present), TV presenter, BBC Midlands Today.
  • Kay Kinsman, (1909-1998), visual artist and mature student at Bishop's University, Lennoxville, Quebec
  • Maurice McCanlis (1906–1991), sportsman.
  • Charles Shadwell (1898–1979), musician.
  • Toyah Willcox, actor and singer, and her husband Robert Fripp of rock band King Crimson. The January record high strangely occurred when it was dark; On 9 January 2015, temperatures rose to . On 12 December 1981 the lowest reading of was recorded. The warmest temperature ever recorded was on 19 July 2022. On 31 March 2021, Pershore recorded its warmest March day on record, beating the previous record set the day before. On 7 September 2021, Pershore recorded its hottest September day on record, beating the previous record set in 2005.

The lowest maximum temperature ever recorded was on 14 January 1982. On 19 December 2010, Pershore recorded a maximum temperature of . This is the lowest maximum temperature on record for December in England. On the same day Pershore recorded a minimum temperature of (one of the lowest December temperatures ever recorded here) and at the same time exactly 5 years later it was (one of the highest December temperatures ever recorded here). The maximum amount of precipitation in one day was on 20 July 2007 and exactly 9 years later the highest minimum temperature of was recorded on 20 July 2016. The most amount of sunshine in one day was 15.8 hours on 10 June 1969. On 27 June 2025, Pershore recorded its warmest June night on record with . On 26 May 2026, Pershore recorded its hottest May day on record, beating the previous record set the day before.

References

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  • Pershore Tourist Information