Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CHIPPING CAMPDEN
This is a worthy town in which to finish the Cotswold Way. Like so many others visited
along the route, its elegance stems from the wool trade. The open-sided Market Hall,
built in 1627, is an eye-catching feature, and nearby the 14th-century Woolstaplers'
Hall houses the town's museum, while opposite stands Grevel House, dating from
1380. William Grevel, whose home it was, has a large memorial brass in the Parish
Church of St James, reckoned to be one of the finest examples of a Cotswold 'wool
church'. Next to it stand the fanciful gateway and onion-topped lodges that mark the
entrance to one-time Campden House, built by Sir Baptist Hicks for an unbelievable
£29,000 in 1615. Thirty years later it was burned down by Royalist troops during the
Civil War. Alongside Church Street, on a raised pavement, stands a row of attractive
almshouses, also built by Hicks, but for a more modest £1000, to house 12 of the local
poor. Chipping Campden has a range of accommodation, restaurants, pubs, shops, a
post office, and so on, and there are buses to Stratford-upon-Avon for the nearest rail
link. Tourist information: Old Police Station, High Street, Chipping Campden 01386
841206.
Chipping Campden High Street
Shake the dust from your boots and be thankful for these days of exer-
cise and beauty. Congratulations on your achievement!
