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Stow-on-the-Wold

Stow-on-the-Wold is one of the larger and more famous of the towns of the Cotswolds, with lots of restaurants, shops and several main streets. it makes a very good place to visit, walk around, do a little shopping and have lunch.

The large market square and busy streets testify to the town's former importance and to its current popularity. The market square is surrounded by town houses, independent shops, antique centers, cosy cafes and inns all built in the mellow local stone. It has been the focus of town life over many centuries, with the medieval market stocks at one end, the ancient market cross at the other.

Stow is an important center of shopping with antique and art galleries, gift shops, craft stores and wide variety of restaurants in all prices. At nearly 800 feet elevation, Stow is the highest of the Cotswold towns, located on the old Roman Fosse Way at the point where several roads meet, hence an important trading center in the old days.

One of the town’s major attractions is St. Edwards, a medieval church with cut stone and stained-glass and most famous for its very attractive doorway surrounded by yew trees, right out of Lord of the Rings. The garden and old graveyard out back provide a tranquil oasis to relax and play. The Norman Church had later additions with the tower completed in 1476.

St Edward’s Church, was used as a prison during the English Civil War, as it was the only lockable building in the town. In 1646, the English Civil War ended here after a battle at nearby Donnington, which saw Royalist troops defeated, and put an end to Charles I’s hopes of retaining the English crown.

Stow is built on layers of much earlier history, dating back to the Neolithic, which left behind stone axes and arrow heads, and a later Iron Age fort. It was originally called Stow St Edward or Edwardstow, after the town's patron saint Edward, and is said to have originated as an Iron Age fort on this defensive position on a hill. Indeed, there are many sites of similar forts in the area, and Stone Age and Bronze Age burial mounds are common throughout the area.

The town was founded by Norman lords to absorb trade from the roads converging there. Located on major trade routes including the Roman-era Fosseway, in 1107 Henry I granted a charter for a weekly market, and the commercial centre of Stow prospered.

The town’s later history is mostly noted for the medieval wool trade. Later traders dealing in livestock added many handmade goods, but the wool trade was always prominent. It is reported that 20,000 sheep changed hands at one 19th-century fair. Today the only market to take place in the square is the monthly Farmers' Market, on the first Thursday of the month, very popular with both visitors and locals alike.

The Porch House claims to be England’s oldest inn, with a history reaching as far back as 947AD. The Porch House is a pub and hotel, with a fine restaurant and high-quality accommodations, with 13 charming bedrooms brimming with classic country charisma. some sections od the building date back 1000 years. But it is thoroughly renovated today.

Their brochure says: The Porch House has been a millennia in the making and it was worth every minute. Every nook and cranny of our extraordinary Porch House exuberates centuries-old character within its rustic stone walls. Embellished with twisting crooked staircases, roaring open fires and low slung ceilings that are beamed with ancient timber. The menu is teaming with fresh, seasonal dishes carefully curated using a fine blend of locally sourced ingredients and our culinary expertise.

From 1881 until 1962, Stow was served by Stow-on-the-Wold railway station on the Great Western Railway's Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway. The nearest station is now Moreton-in-Marsh, some 4 miles (6 km) from Stow on the Cotswold Line between Hereford and London Paddington.

Stow slideshow

Google map of Stow

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