Chipping Campden is a
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
in the
Cotswold
The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale.
The area is defined by the bedrock of Juras ...
district of
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
, England. It is notable for its terraced High Street, dating from the 14th century to the 17th century. ("Chipping" is from
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
''cēping'', 'market', 'market-place'; the same element is found in other towns such as
Chipping Norton
Chipping Norton is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the civil parish population as ...
,
Chipping Sodbury
Chipping Sodbury is a market town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sodbury, in the unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. It was founded in the 12th century by William ...
and Chipping (now High)
Wycombe.)
A
wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
As ...
trading centre in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, Chipping Campden enjoyed the
patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
of wealthy wool merchants, most notably
William Greville
William Greville (died 1 October 1401) (''alias'' Grevel, Graville, Grevill, etc.), of Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire and a Citizen of the City of London, was a prominent wool-merchant and is the ancestor of the present Greville Earls of ...
(d.1401). The High Street is lined with buildings built from locally
quarried
A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...
oolitic
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
known as
Cotswold stone
The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale.
The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...
, and boasts a wealth of
vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. This category encompasses a wide range and variety of building types, with differing methods of construction, from around the world, bo ...
. Much of the town centre is a
conservation area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
which has helped to preserve the original buildings.
The town is an end point of the
Cotswold Way
The Cotswold Way is a long-distance footpath, running along the Cotswold Edge escarpment of the Cotswold Hills in England. It was officially inaugurated as a National Trail on 24 May 2007 and several new rights of way have been created.
His ...
, a 102-mile
long-distance footpath
A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exce ...
.
Chipping Campden has hosted its own Olympic Games since 1612.
History
![East Banqueting StJames Chipping Campden](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/East_Banqueting_StJames_Chipping_Campden.jpg)
One of the oldest buildings in the town is the Grade I listed Market Hall, built in 1627 by Sir
Baptist Hicks
Baptist Hicks, 1st Viscount Campden (1551 – 18 October 1629) was an English cloth merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1621 and 1628. King James I knighted Hicks in 1603 and in 1620 he was created a baronet.
He wa ...
in 1627 and still in use. The building was intended as a shelter for merchants and farmers selling their wares with the
arch
An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it.
Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...
ed side walls open to allow light, and customers, to enter.
There was a plan to sell the hall in the 1940s but locals raised funds to purchase the property and donated it to the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
.
The grand
early perpendicular Cotswold
wool church
A wool church is an English church financed primarily by donations from rich merchants and farmers who had benefitted from the medieval wool trade, hoping to ensure a place in heaven due to their largesse.
Wool churches are common in the Cotswold ...
,
Church of St James, with its
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
altar frontals (c. 1500),
cope
The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colours, litu ...
(c. 1400), and 17th century
monuments
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...
includes a monument to silk merchant Sir Baptist Hicks and his family. As well, the Grade I listed Church of St James includes a plaque to William Grevel, described as "the flower of the wool merchants of all England". His home, the Grade I listed Grevel's House, was built c. 1380. It is not open to visitors.
The Grade I listed
almshouse
An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...
s on Church Street were built in 1612, provided by Sir Baptist Hicks as homes for 12 pensioners and still remains in use for that purpose. The Old Silk Mill in Sheep Street, Grade II listed, is a three-storey building originally used as a mill for spinning of silk thread; it closed in 1860 and became a
silk throwing
Silk throwing is the industrial process wherein silk that has been reeled into skeins, is cleaned, receives a twist and is wound onto bobbins. The yarn is now twisted together with threads, in a process known as ''doubling''. Colloquially silk thro ...
mill.
In 1902, the building was converted into the headquarters for the Guild of Handicraft.
The Court Barn near the church is now a museum celebrating the
Arts and Crafts
A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...
tradition of the area.
Hicks was also the owner of Campden House, on land he purchased some time after 1608; he added the manor and gained the title 1st Viscount Campden. The manor was destroyed by Royalists in 1645 during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
possibly to prevent it falling into the hands of the
Parliamentarians.
There is little reliable evidence as to the appearance of the manor and gardens. Any drawings of the house were made long after it had been destroyed. All that now remains of Sir Baptist Hicks' once imposing estate are a gatehouse and two
Jacobean banqueting houses;
the latter were restored by the
Landmark Trust
The Landmark Trust is a British building conservation charity, founded in 1965 by Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or architectural merit and then makes them available for holiday rental. The Trust's headqua ...
. Lady Juliana Noel, Sir Baptist's daughter, and her family lived at the converted stables near the site in Calf Lane, now called the Court House. Her descendant still lives in that Grade II listed building.
In 1970 the High Street and much of the town centre was designated a conservation area to preserve the architecture.
There are two historic gardens nearby: the Arts and Crafts
Hidcote Manor Garden
Hidcote Manor Garden is a garden in the United Kingdom, located at the village of Hidcote Bartrim, near Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire. It is one of the best-known and most influential Arts and Crafts gardens in Britain, with its linked "g ...
, owned and managed by the National Trust, and another at nearby Mickleton,
Kiftsgate
Kiftsgate Court Gardens is situated above the village of Mickleton in the county of Gloucestershire, England, in the far north of the county close to the county border with both Worcestershire and Warwickshire.
The gardens, famed for its ...
; this site is privately owned, but open to the public. Two miles to the west, in the grounds of
Weston Park
Weston Park is a country house in Weston-under-Lizard, Staffordshire, England, set in more than of park landscaped by Capability Brown. The park is located north-west of Wolverhampton, and north-east of Telford, close to the border with Sh ...
near Saintbury, are the earthwork remains of a
motte-and-bailey castle
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
.
Governance
![Chipping Campden Town Hall-geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Chipping_Campden_Town_Hall-geograph.org.uk-4092614.jpg)
The town falls within 'Campden-Vale'
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
. This ward stretches north from Chipping Campden to
Mickleton. The ward population taken at the
2011 census was 5,888.
Local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
consists of a town council of 11 councillors. One councillor is selected to serve as mayor for a term of 12 months. Chipping Campden Council meets on the second Tuesday of every month in
Chipping Campden Town Hall
Chipping Campden Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, England. The building, which is the meeting place of Chipping Campden Town Council, is a Grade II* listed building.
History
The site in th ...
. Council meetings are open to the public with time set aside for public questions.
Schools
There are two primary schools, St James’ & Ebrington Church of England and St Catharine's Catholic and one secondary school, Chipping Campden School.
Public transport
![Site of Chipping Campden Station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Site_of_Chipping_Campden_Station._-_geograph.org.uk_-_235186.jpg)
The
Cotswold Line
The Cotswold Line is an railway line between and in England.
History Early years
The line between Oxford and Worcester was built under an 1845 Act of Parliament and opened in 1851 as part of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway.
...
passes near Chipping Campden, but the town's
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
closed in 1966. Since 2014, there have been proposals to reopen it. Regular trains currently stop at , eight miles away, from where is a 26-49 minute ride and can often be reached in less than 90 minutes.
Buses are available to
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...
,
Moreton-in-Marsh
Moreton-in-Marsh is a market town in the Evenlode Valley, within the Cotswolds district and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Gloucestershire, England.
The town stands at the crossroads of the Fosse Way Roman road (now the A429) and the ...
and
Cheltenham
Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
.
Cotswold Games
![CotswoldGames01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/CotswoldGames01.jpg)
Since the early seventeenth century, the town has been home to a championship of rural games, which later turned into
Robert Dover's
Cotswold Olimpick Games
The Cotswold Olimpick Games is an annual public celebration of games and sports now held on the Friday after Spring Bank Holiday near Chipping Campden, in the Cotswolds of England. The games likely began in 1612 and ran (through a period of disc ...
. The games were discontinued in 1852 but revived in 1963 and still continue.
The Olimpicks are held every summer on the Friday evening following the late Spring Bank-holiday (usually late May or early June), on Dover's Hill, near Chipping Campden. Peculiar to the games is the sport of shin-kicking (hay stuffed down the trousers can ease one's brave passage to later rounds).
To mark the end of the games, there is a huge bonfire and
firework
Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices in ...
display. This is followed by a torch-lit procession back into the town and dancing to a local band in the square. The Scuttlebrook Wake takes place the following day. The locals don fancy dress costumes and follow the Scuttlebrook Queen, with her four attendants and Page Boy, in a procession to the centre of town pulled on a decorated
dray by the town's own Morris Men. This is then followed by the presentation of prizes and displays of Maypole and Country dancing by the two primary schools and
Morris dancing
Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may ...
. Another procession from there past the fairground in Leysbourne and the Alms Houses brings that stage of the celebration to a close whilst the fair continues until midnight and, like a ghost, is gone by the morning.
The 2019 Games agenda included events such as a children's half-mile Junior Circuit, a Championship of the Hill race for adults and a Tug O’War competition. The organizers also planned fireworks, a torchlit procession, marching bands and cannons firing.
Music
Since 2002 Chipping Campden has hosted what is now widely recognised as one of the UK's leading music festivals. The 2020 Festival had been scheduled to run from May 9 to 23, but was cancelled due to the
Covid-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Arts and Crafts movement
![C](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/C.R._Ashbee_by_William_Strang_1903.jpg)
In the early 20th century, the town became known as a centre for the Cotswold
Arts and Crafts Movement, following the move of
Charles Robert Ashbee
Charles Robert Ashbee (17 May 1863 – 23 May 1942) was an English architect and designer who was a prime mover of the Arts and Crafts movement, which took its craft ethic from the works of John Ruskin and its co-operative structure from the soc ...
and the members of his
Guild and School of Handicraft
The Guild and School of Handicraft was established in 1888 in London, later moving to Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire, England, as a community of artists and craftspeople by the arts and crafts architect Charles Robert Ashbee (1863-1942). Acc ...
from the
East End of London
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
in 1902. According to the local historical society, the movement "focused on handmade objects, reacting against the rapidly growing dominance of machinery which resulted in the loss of craft skills".
The Guild of Handicraft specialised in metalworking, producing jewellery and enamels, as well as hand-wrought copper and wrought ironwork, and furniture-making. According to
Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...
, "the Guild of Handicraft, founded by Ashbee in 1888, became one of the foremost Arts and Crafts workshops of its period .. formed the focus of the communal life which, as a pioneering social experiment, formed the most bold and important expression of Arts and Crafts principles". The Guild ceased operation in 1907 but the centre for crafts offers a permanent exhibition of their work.
A number of artists and writers settled in the area, including
F. L. Griggs, the etcher, who built Dover's Court (now known as New Dover's House), one of the last significant Arts and Crafts houses. He set up the Campden Trust in 1929 with
Norman Jewson
Norman Jewson (12 February 1884 – 28 August 1975) was an English architect-craftsman of the Arts and Crafts movement, who practised in the Cotswolds. He was a distinguished, younger member of the group which had settled in Sapperton, Glouces ...
and others, initially to protect Dover's Hill from development. According to a 2018 report, Griggs "sympathetically restored houses on the High Street, battled against a tide of ugliness that engulfed other towns and villages and used money he could ill afford to safeguard its surroundings". In 1934, he raised funds to buy the Coneygree field (where rabbits had been raised generations earlier) for the National Trust to ensure its protection. Many of Griggs' etchings are preserved at the
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...
in
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
.
H. J. Massingham
Harold John Massingham (25 March 1888 – 22 August 1952) was a prolific British writer on ruralism, matters to do with the countryside and agriculture. He was also a published poet.
Life
Massingham was the son of the journalist H. W. Massingham ...
, the rural writer who celebrated the traditions of the English countryside, also settled near the town, as did
Arthur Gaskin
Arthur Joseph Gaskin RBSA
The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists or RBSA is an art society, based in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, England, where it owns and operates an art gallery, the RBSA Gallery, on Brook Street, just off St ...
.
Ananda Coomaraswamy
Ananda Kentish Muthu Coomaraswamy ( ta, ஆனந்த குமாரசுவாமி, ''Ānanda Kentiś Muthū Kumāraswāmī''; si, ආනන්ද කුමාරස්වාමි ''Ānanda Kumārasvāmī''; 22 August 1877 − 9 Septem ...
, the Sri Lankan philosopher and art critic and his wife the handloom weaver
Ethel Mairet
Ethel Mary Partridge, Ethel Mary Mairet RDI, or Ethel Mary Coomaraswamy (17 February 1872 – 18 November 1952) was a British hand loom weaver, significant in the development of the craft during the first half of the twentieth century.
Early l ...
, settled at
Broad Campden
Broad Campden is a small village in Gloucestershire, England, with a church and pub, and notable for its beauty and fine walking trails.
History
The village is the site of the listed partly 12th century Norman Chapel House that was renovated by C ...
where Ashbee adapted the
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
chapel for him.
In 2005, a group of traditional craftspeople moved into The Old Silk Mill building. As of 2019, there were 28 members of this co-operative.
Notable people
*
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
, English novelist, playwright, short story writer and critic, lived, between 1931 and 1933, with his wife
Vivien Greene
Vivien Greene (''née'' Dayrell-Browning; 1 August 1904Richard Greene (ed.), ''Graham Greene: A Life in Letters''. London: Little, Brown, 2007, p. 10 (citing her birth certificate). – 19 August 2003) was a British writer regarded as the worl ...
at "Little Orchard" in the town.
*
Ernest Wilson, plantsman, was born in the town. A memorial garden is dedicated to him.
*Sir
Percy Hobart
Major General Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, (14 June 1885 – 19 February 1957), also known as "Hobo", was a British military engineer noted for his command of the 79th Armoured Division during the Second World War. He was responsible for ...
, armoured vehicle strategist and commander of the 79th Armoured Division in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, came from Chipping Campden and led the
Home Guard
Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense.
The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting wi ...
there during the war.
*
Frederick Landseer Maur Griggs has a commemorative plaque in the town.
*Sir
Gordon Russell (1892-1980), celebrated furniture designer and maker, went to school in Chipping Campden and built his home, Kingcombe, here in 1925. He lived at Kingcombe until he died.
[Designer's Trade, Gordon Russell]
Arms
See also
*
The Campden Wonder
The Campden Wonder is the name given to events surrounding the return of a man thought to have been murdered in the town of Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, England, in the 17th century. A family servant and the servant's mother and brother we ...
*
Chipping Campden School
Chipping Campden School is a non-selective secondary school and sixth form with academy status located in Chipping Campden, in the English county of Gloucestershire. Founded in c.1440 the school celebrated its 575th birthday in 2015.
The sch ...
Court Barn Museumin
Chipping Camden
Chipping Campden is a market town in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its terraced High Street, dating from the 14th century to the 17th century. ("Chipping" is from Old English ''cēping'', 'market', 'market- ...
: Life and works of Charles Ashbee and other members of the
Guild and School of Handicraft
The Guild and School of Handicraft was established in 1888 in London, later moving to Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire, England, as a community of artists and craftspeople by the arts and crafts architect Charles Robert Ashbee (1863-1942). Acc ...
References
External links
*
Chipping Campden's Official WebsiteAll About Chipping Campden, a Town Guide, a site run by the town for the town*
{{authority control
Towns in Gloucestershire
Civil parishes in Gloucestershire
Cotswold District
Cotswolds