Evesham
Evesham is a middle-sized, rural market town in Worcestershire, UK in the Local Authority District of Wychavon.

Roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham, and Stratford-upon-Avon, it was originally built within a loop of the River Avon, which flows through the Vale of Evesham. The surrounding area (the Vale of Evesham) is known for fruit growing and market gardening, due to its unusually fertile soil which, on a commercial level, has led to a large number of migrant temporary workers living in the Vale, but also means it is one of the country's most well-known production centres for fruit and vegetables. The Vale of Evesham at its height was second only to Kent as the Garden of England.

A decline in the second half of the 20th century in domestic agriculture and home cleaning led to the closing of Evesham garden market in the 1990s, and many orchards in the town's Greenhill area fell into disuse.

The distinctive local dialect, now declining in use but strong still in older generations of the town's inhabitants, has 'Asum' as a contraction of the town's name. Asum was the name given to the produce of a popular micro-brewery based at the historic Green Dragon public house (built 1510 and boasting fine Tudor architecture) - Asum Ale. The pub has since been relaunched and the micro-brewery closed.

Another quirk of local language gives rise to the debate as to the pronunciation of the town's name itself. 'Eve-shum' is the more common phonetic pronunciation, but the pronunciation 'Eve-er-shum' is not uncommon. Younger generations of the town's inhabitants give a pseudo-affectionate name, The Sham, to the town.