Winchcombe is a Cotswold community in the regional authority area of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England. Its population according to the 2011 census was 4,538. During the Anarchy of the 12th century, a motte-and-bailey castle was erected in the very early 1140s by Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford for the Empress Matilda, although the exact site of this is unidentified;. It has actually been suggested nevertheless, that it was to the south of St Peter's Church. In the Restoration period, Winchcombe was noted for livestock rustling and also other lawlessness, caused in part by destitution. In an effort to earn a living, regional individuals expanded tobacco as a cash crop, regardless of this practice having actually been banned considering that the Commonwealth. Soldiers were sent out in on at least one event to damage the illegal plant. In Winchcombe and also the instant location can be located Sudeley Castle and also the remains of Hailes Abbey, which was among the main centres of expeditions in Britain as a result of a phial possessed by the monks claimed to consist of the Blood of Christ. There is absolutely nothing left of the former Winchcombe Abbey. St Peter's Church in the centre of the town is kept in mind for its grotesques.