One thing you certainly notice when you’re exploring the Cotswolds is that it’s a world apart from urban life. Having come here from London, one of the world’s most international and mult-cultural cities. where you can hear ten languages on a quick 15-minute tube ride, and where temples, mosques and synagogues are as common a sight as churches, it takes a bit of getting used to.
I might be just a two and a half hour drive from the British capital, but as I wander around these country villages I feel I’ve stepped back in time. Local shop owners in Shipston-on-Stour are friendly and welcoming, as I browse their wares. People in Moreton on Marsh nod and smile at me as I walk past them. Life moves at a slower pace - this is real country living.
And to see it at its finest, I’ve decided to head to Chipping Norton. Home to some rather well-known individuals (including David & Sam Cameron, Matthew Freud and Jeremy Clarkson) I figure I’ve got to check it out and since it’s just 10 kms away (although local transport is scarce, with just a few buses a day) off I head. Bang on time the driver pulls up at the stop and for the princely sum of £2, I take a fifteen minute journey past rolling green hills, country lanes and tiny churches before being deposited right on the main drag.
Ok, according to the bus timetable, I have just under four hours to explore!
Chipping Norton (or ‘Chippy’) as it’s fondly referred to by the locals) was actually mentioned in the Domesday Book (there referred to as ‘Nortone’).
Like many other spots in the Cotswolds, it was made prosperous by the mediaeval wool trade
Today, it’s a very popular place for alluent city dwellers to buy second homes.
As well as the beautiful countryside that surrounds the village, it boasts several eateries, a few typical English pubs and a small cinema (‘the Living Room’) not to mention a Women’s Institute and even a branch of U3A (University of the Third Age, aimed at the over 65’s).
But I’m more interested in the history of the place, so the first stop is the Bliss Tweed Mill, just a 20 minute stroll from town. Dating back to 1872, it was founded by cloth manufacturer William Bliss and was a working mill for over 100 years, producing tweed (a quality wool) until its closure in 1980.
Today, it’s been transformed into apartments but its architectural style is wonderful - built of local limestone, in the style of a country house, it has square towers on every corner and its chimney stack rises out of a blue domed cupola and circular tower. All around it is ‘common land’ (affording a general right to roam).
Next up are the Almshouses, a local landmark built in the mid 17th century for the use of a wealthy merchant by the name of Henry Cornish.
Living to a ripe old age (and outliving his wife and children), he bequeathed them to ‘eight godly widows.’
Set back from the road, their honey-coloured stone hues are quite beautiful.
There’s a quiet air as I walk the street, wandering past homes built by a man who strongly believed in charity (nearby, look vase fully and you’ll see an inscription entitled ‘Remember the Poor’).
Onto Chipping Norton’s Town Hall. designed by the architect George Repton. A pupil of John Nash (think Regent’s Park and Regent Street in central London) he’d clearly been influenced by his mentor because the building has a very simple front, in neoclassical style, with stone walls and the standout feature of the portico at centre. Dominating the main street, I’ve read that it operated respectively as a butter market, a corn exchange and a prison!
I wish I had more time to wander, but time has ticked away and (reliant on the bus service) I realise that the pubs and shops in the area are going to have to wait for another day. But it’s really very pretty and whilst I'm still a city girl at heart, I can genuinely see the attraction of decamping here - at least for a while. Chippy - I’ll be back in a few days!