Chipping Norton, England

 

This afternoon, I am posting information on the popular Cotswolds market town of Chipping Norton.

Chipping Norton has a population of about 6,000 persons. Here can be found a wide variety of shops ranging from supermarkets to craft outlets plus various hospitality venues such as pubs and hotels.

The town lies 82 miles NW of London and benefits from good road access.The nearest railway station is Moreton-in-Marsh, some nine miles away.

The locale has a history stretching back at least 2000 years. A Romano-British rural settlement dating from the 1st to 4th century AD has been found with evidence of possible Iron Age (750 BC-43 AD) origins.The site consists of the buried remains of rectilinear stone houses within walled enclosures with possible shrines, bathhouse and cemetery.Access via trackways or roads located to the east.

The word 'Chipping' is derived from the Old English meaning 'a market' or 'market place'. This points to Anglo-Saxon origins in the first millennium.

Today, Chipping Norton is best known as the base for the 'Chipping Norton Set'.This is a loose/informal network of the great, good and wealthy which has coalesced around the town no doubt attracted by rolling Cotswold countryside, rich farmland, upscale housing and proximity to London.

 Here is a selection of images taken during a recent visit:-

Unusual house architecture

 Town Centre

 

 Parade of small shops

 Interesting architectural feature on the Co-op Building

 Side road with Pub

 

 Town Hall

 More shops

 Ancient town building

 

Craft shop

Yet more shops

 

Street view

Finally, a dip into Chipping Norton's industrial past. Bliss Mill was built in 1872 for the local Bliss family, who came from a line of textile producers. The Mill was designed to look like a grand Italianate country house, with its chimney rising through a central dome. Its architecture is distinctive.Bliss Mill ceased production in the 1980s, and the Mill was later converted into 40 luxury apartments in 1989.

Here is a link to a tour of the Cotswolds.


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