Villages: Maugersbury – Upper & Lower Swell – Condicote & Hinchwick – Longborough – Donnington – Upper and Lower Oddington – Adlestrop – Daylesford – Kingham – Icomb – Church Westcote – Nether Westcote – Idbury – Bould – Foscot – Fifield – Cutsdean – Guiting Power – Temple Guiting – Barton – Hawling -Syreford – Turkdean – Hazleton.
Stow-on-the-Wold is likely about a millennium old, give or take a year or two. It was known as Edwardstow when it was first created, after the town’s patron saint and sits 800 ft (200m) above sea level – it’s the highest town in the region. Like most of the Cotswold towns, its wealth was based on the fleece of the Cotswold Lion, the laidback-looking befringed sheep, peculiar to this part of the world. In the 16th and 17th Centuries a Lion fleece was worth more than its weight in gold, so it’s no wonder there are so many grand facades from this era as the money rolled in, so the properties became more lavish, many being upgraded or rebuilt from their origins as simpler, humbler buildings of rubble construction.
To really understand just how much the sheep trade meant to this town in particular, one only has to find a map (or better still a satellite image) and from above you can see the tributaries leading into the Square from all sides, one-sheep’s width. These narrow pens – particularly from Sheep Street – used to funnel the animals into the marketplace in the square, where four centuries ago, as many as 20,000 sheep were sold each day, just in Stow. At a time where the population of the UK was around 4 million, this really is a huge number!
Today, Stow is a very different beast which attracts people from all over the world to drink in its unique personality, feel the wind that the poem talks about, and to use as a base for enjoying the surrounding countryside which is undoubtedly some of the finest in the country. Within 15 minutes you can be in either Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire or Worcestershire, and mainline train stations are even quicker to get to, with Kingham 15 minutes and Moreton ten minutes away. The main secondary school catchment is The Cotswold School at Bourton-on-the-Water, ten minutes away, while independent schools within range include Bloxham School and Kingham Hill both within 30 minutes’ drive.
There is so much to enjoy about Stow, not least the cornucopia of destination dining venues, pubs and clubs to suit most budgets and tastes. The Porch House claims to be The Oldest Inn in England – as many do! – with its roots in the year 947.
Great places to get food if you’re moving to Stow-on-the-Wold:
– The Bell Inn https://www.thebellatstow.com/
– The Old Butchers https://www.theoldbutchers.com/
– Cotswold Baguettes https://www.cotswoldbaguettes.co.uk/
– Huffkins https://huffkins.com/pages/stow-cafe-bakery
– The Old Stocks https://www.oldstocksinn.com/
– The Talbot https://www.talbotstowonthewold.co.uk/index
While a little further afield, these now-famous destinations are hugely popular with residents of the area and visitors alike:
– The Club, by Bamford at Daylesford Organic https://www.bamfordclub.com/
– Soho Farmhouse https://www.sohohouse.com/en-us/houses/soho-farmhouse
– Estelle Manor https://estellemanor.com/
– Diddly Squat Farmshop https://diddlysquatfarmshop.com/
One of the signs of a thriving town is its ability to maintain sports teams and Stow prides itself on the fabulous Stow RUFC, formed in 1879, the Oddington Road residents now maintain 18 different teams from 6 to adult.
Churches in Stow-on-the-Wold:
– Church of England – St Edward’s – https://www.scats.org.uk/st-edwards-stow/
– Catholic – Our Lady & St Kenelm – https://www.stow-bourtoncatholic.net/
– Stow Baptists – https://www.stowonthewoldbaptistchurch.com/
Sport & Leisure in Stow-on-the-Wold
– Stow Rugby Club – http://www.stowrfc.com/
– Stow Civic Society – https://www.stowcivicsociety.co.uk/
– Stow Social Club – https://www.stowsocialclub.com/
– Scout Group – https://www.facebook.com/1stStowScouts/
