Chipping Campden

Chipping Campden is a market town in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is famous for its beautiful High Street, which has rows of buildings from the 14th to the 17th centuries.

In the Middle Ages, Chipping Campden was an important place for trading wool. It received support from rich wool merchants, especially William Greville, who lived until 1401. The town's High Street is filled with buildings made from local oolitic limestone, called Cotswold stone. Many of these buildings have been carefully protected in a conservation area.

Chipping Campden is also the end point of the Cotswold Way, a long path that stretches 102 miles. Since 1612, the town has held its own Cotswold Games, which are a special event for the community.

History

The name Chipping comes from an old word meaning "market" or "market-place". Chipping Campden is a historic town with many old buildings. One of the oldest is the Market Hall, built in 1627. It was made to shelter merchants and farmers selling their goods. Locals saved it from being sold in the 1940s and gave it to the National Trust.

The town has a beautiful wool church called the Church of St James, built in the early perpendicular style. It includes old decorations and monuments, including one for a famous wool merchant, William Grevel. Nearby, Grevel's House was built around 1380 but is not open to visitors. There are also old almshouses built in 1612 for retired people, and a historic silk mill that is now a museum.

In 1970, the High Street and much of the town centre were protected as a conservation area to keep the old buildings safe. There are also two lovely gardens nearby: Hidcote Manor Garden, owned by the National Trust, and Kiftsgate, which is open to the public.

Governance

The town is part of the Campden-Vale electoral ward, which stretches north from Chipping Campden to Mickleton. In the 2011 census, the ward had a population of 5,888 people. The local government includes a town council with 11 councillors, and one of them is chosen each year to be the mayor.

The Chipping Campden Council meets on the second Tuesday of every month at Chipping Campden Town Hall. These meetings are open to the public, and there is time for people to ask questions.

Schools

Chipping Campden has two primary schools: St James’ & Ebrington Church of England and St Catharine's Catholic. The town also has a secondary school called Chipping Campden School.

Transport

Chipping Campden railway station used to be a stop on the Cotswold Line, but it closed in 1966. There have been ideas to open it again since 2014.

The closest train station is at Moreton-in-Marsh, about eight miles away. Great Western Railway runs trains about once an hour between London Paddington and Worcestershire Parkway, stopping at Reading, Oxford, and Evesham.

Local buses run by Stagecoach Midlands, Pulham Coaches, and Hedgehog Community Buses link the town with Cheltenham, Evesham, Mickleton, Moreton-in-Marsh, and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Cotswold Games

Main article: Cotswold Olimpick Games

Since the 1600s, this town has hosted fun outdoor games that grew into Robert Dover's Cotswold Olimpick Games. The games stopped in 1852 but started again in 1963 and are still held today.

The games happen every summer on the Friday night after the late Spring holiday, usually in May or June, on Dover's Hill near Chipping Campden. One special game is shin-kicking, where players may stuff hay in their pants for extra protection.

At the end of the games, there is a big bonfire and a firework show. This is followed by a torchlight parade back into the town, where people dance to local music in the square. The next day is called Scuttlebrook Wake, where people dress up and follow the Scuttlebrook Queen in a parade pulled by Morris dancers. There are also dancing performances and a fair that continues into the night.

Media

Local news and television shows come from BBC West Midlands and ITV Central. People watch TV from either the Sutton Coldfield or Lark Stoke TV towers.

The town has BBC CWR and BBC Radio Gloucestershire. Other radio stations include Heart West, Greatest Hits Radio South West, Capital Mid-Counties, and North Cotswold Community Radio, a community radio station that broadcasts from the town.

The local newspapers are the Chipping Campden Bulletin, Evesham Observer, and Cotswold Journal.

Music

Since 2002, Chipping Campden has hosted a very popular music festival in the UK. The festival that was planned for May 2020 had to be cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Arts and Crafts movement

In the early 1900s, Chipping Campden became a special place for a group called the Cotswold Arts and Crafts Movement. This happened when Charles Robert Ashbee and his Guild and School of Handicraft moved there from the East End of London in 1902. This movement liked making things by hand instead of using machines, which were taking over and making people forget old skills.

The Guild of Handicraft made beautiful things like jewelry, metalwork, and furniture. It was very important in showing how people could live and work together in a special way. Even though the Guild stopped working in 1907, people can still see their creations on display.

Many artists and writers also chose to live in Chipping Campden. One of them, F. L. Griggs, helped protect the town’s beautiful places. He worked hard to keep the town looking nice and safe from unwanted changes. In 2005, some craftspeople moved into an old building called The Old Silk Mill, and by 2019, there were 28 members in this group.

Notable people

Chipping Campden has been home to many interesting people. The famous writer Graham Greene lived there with his wife Vivien Greene in the 1930s. Another well-known person, plant expert Ernest Wilson, was born in the town and there is a garden in his memory. During the Second World War, military leader Sir Percy Hobart commanded special tank units and also led the Home Guard in Chipping Campden. Designer Sir Gordon Russell, famous for his furniture, went to school in the town and built his home there in 1925. There is a plaque in the town to remember architect Frederick Landseer Maur Griggs.

Arms

Chipping Campden has a special coat of arms that represents its history. This symbol shows the town's past as a place where people traded wool, a type of material made from sheep's fur. The coat of arms reminds everyone of the town's old buildings and the support it received from important people long ago.

Twin towns and sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in England

Chipping Campden is twinned with:

• Pont-d'Ouilly, France