Evesham (/ˈiːv(ɪ)ʃəm, ˈiːsəm/) is a market town and civil parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon. It lies within the Vale of Evesham, an area comprising the flood plain of the River Avon, which has been renowned for market gardening.

The town was founded around an 8th-century abbey, one of the largest in Europe, which was destroyed during the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century, with only Abbot Lichfield's Bell Tower remaining. During the 13th century one of the two main battles of the Second Barons' War took place near Evesham, marking the victory of Prince Edward, who later became Edward I of England; this was the Battle of Evesham.

The town centre, situated within a meander of the river, is subjected regularly to flooding. The 2007 floods were the most severe in the town's history. As at the 2021 census Evesham has a population of 27,684.

Evesham is derived from Old English homme or ham, and Eof, the name of a swineherd in the service of Egwin, third Bishop of Worcester. It was originally named Homme or Haum and recorded as Eveshomme in 709 and Evesham in 1086. The second part of the name (homme or ham) typically only signifies a home or dwelling, but in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire was commonly applied to land on the sides of a river, generally in bends of a river, which were liable to flood.

Evesham Abbey, which became possibly the third-largest in England, was founded by Egwin of Evesham, the third Bishop of Worcester (now venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church) about AD 701, following the vision of the Virgin Mary to a local swineherd or shepherd named Eof.

An entry in the Domesday Book of 1086 lists Evesham, mentioning "Two free men; Two radmen; Abbey of St Mary of Evesham; Abbey of St Mary of Pershore; Edmund, Abbot of St Mary of Pershore; Walter, Abbot of St Mary of Evesham; Aethelwig, Abbot of St Mary of Evesham; King William as donor; Odo, Bishop of Bayeux; Ranulph; Turstin, Abbot of St Mary of Pershore; Walter Ponther; Westminster, Gilbert Crispin, Abbot of St Peter."

The abbey was redeveloped and extended after the Norman Conquest, employing many tradesmen and significantly contributing to the growth of Evesham. Income for the abbey came from pilgrims to the abbey to celebrate the vision and visitors to the tomb of Simon de Montfort. As a result of Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries, Evesham Abbey was dismantled in 1540 and sold as building stone, leaving little but the Lichfield Bell Tower. The abbey remains are a Scheduled Ancient Monument (No. WT253), and parts of the abbey complex, Abbot Reginald's Wall (registered monument) and the ruins of Abbot Chryton's Wall (Grade II), are listed buildings managed by English Heritage. The abbey's coat of arms is used as the crest of Prince Henry's High School. Two surviving buildings with links to the abbey are the Middle Littleton Tythe Barn and the Almonry Museum and Heritage Centre, which is housed in the old almonry of the abbey and also displays artefacts from excavations there.

Following the Battle of Lewes on 14 May 1264, where Simon de Montfort had gained control of Parliament, the Battle of Evesham on 4 August 1265 was the second of the two main battles of the Second Barons' War. It marked the victory of Prince Edward, who led the 8,000-strong army of his father, Henry III, over the 6,000 men of de Montfort, and the beginning of the end of the rebellion. The battle was a massacre; de Montfort's army were trapped in the horseshoe bend of the river, Although Simon de Montfort and his son were killed, Prince Edward's victory was not decisive towards the King's hold on the country, and the struggle continued until 1267, after which the Kingdom of England returned to a period of unity and progress that was to last until the early 1290s. During the battle the royal army wore the Saint George's Cross as their distinguishing mark. It is believed that the Battle was one of the first times that the cross was used to officially represent England. According to the chronicler William Rishanger, when de Montfort saw the advance of the royal troops, he exclaimed that "They have not learned that for themselves, but were taught it by me."