Chipping Campden, England: travel guide to the Cotswold wool town, its Market Hall and Arts and Crafts heritage

Chipping Campden is one of the most beautiful market towns in the Cotswolds, in the district of the same name in Gloucestershire, England. Famous for its gently curving High Street of honey-coloured limestone houses, it grew rich on the medieval wool trade and later became a centre of the Arts and Crafts movement.

For travellers searching for Chipping Campden Cotswolds, the Market Hall, Cotswold wool towns or the start of the Cotswold Way, the town is one of the finest and best-preserved destinations in the region, with more than 270 listed buildings.

History

The name Chipping comes from the Old English word for market, reflecting the town's long role as a trading centre, while Campden grew wealthy in the Middle Ages through the wool trade. Merchants dealing in Cotswold wool, most notably William Grevel, transformed it into one of the most prosperous settlements in the region; Grevel House, dating from around 1380, is the oldest house in the town. After the decline of wool, Chipping Campden turned to silk and farming.

Main sights

The Market Hall, built in 1627 by Sir Baptist Hicks as a sheltered place for traders to sell butter, poultry and cheese, still stands at the centre of town and is its defining image. At the end of the High Street, the Church of St James is one of the finest Cotswold wool churches, noted for its altar tapestries and one of the largest collections of monumental brasses in England. A row of almshouses built in 1612, also funded by Hicks, survives nearby.

Arts and Crafts and walking

In 1902 the designer C. R. Ashbee moved his Guild of Handicraft from the East End of London to Chipping Campden, settling in the Old Silk Mill. Although the Guild was dissolved in 1907, several craftsmen stayed on, and the Court Barn Museum tells the story of the town's craft legacy. Chipping Campden also marks the official start of the Cotswold Way, the 102-mile National Trail that runs all the way to Bath.