The legend of the swineherd Eof

The legend of the founding of Evesham is that while searching for his pigs on the banks of the River Avon, Eof, a swineherd, received a vision of the Virgin Mary. Eof related this vision to Ecgwine (Saint Egwin), Bishop of Worcester. Ecgwine founded the great Evesham Abbey in about 701 AD on the site of the vision. The town's early name 'Eofeshamme' reflects this legend. The Cotswold and Vale Magazine of Evesham ran a public art competition around the 2000 millennium, to select by public vote a sculpture using the theme of the legend of Eof. Six sculptors were shortlisted and asked to submit a maquette sculpture idea. All the proposals were anonymously displayed where they could be voted for by the public. So the most popular design was chosen without the 'interference' of a named artist. This information was published in the Cotswold and Vale magazine to describe the winning entry by the sculptor John McKenna ARBS. Originally intended to be 12 feet tall, the design was finally agreed at about 5 feet tall. The sculptor believes the poem he composed to go around the base helped the proposal to be chosen. The statue was unveiled in 2008 on the edge of the town market square in Evesham.