Buscot and Coleshill Estates
A visit to the Buscot and Coleshill estates nets you not one National Trust property, but two whole working communities.
The delightfully unspoilt Oxfordshire villages of Buscot and Coleshill show a whole way of life with 63 cottages, thriving village stores, a pub, village hall, church and welcoming tea rooms.
Coleshill:
Coleshill looks like a traditional English village developed over the centuries by farm labourers who did not own their own land, but in fact Coleshill was the brainchild of the Earl of Radnor in the 19th century. He wanted to recreate a "typical" English country village and set about building one for his employees, which explains the somewhat uniform design and age of the community. He built the cottages around an existing pub, a former smithy and the local 12th century church with its vicarage.
Coleshill is quite beautiful; a real celebration of rural life and a simpler existence of a bygone era, yet it still is a fully functioning 21st century community for the residents.
After parking, visitors should head for the village stores or tea room to pick up a local map of the various footpaths and byways to local places of interest in the surrounding countryside. A stroll around the village, peering over garden walls is also highly recommended!
A pleasant stroll along Snowswick lane will bring you to the neighbouring village of Buscot, about 4km (2miles) away.
Buscot:
Buscot has all the main highlights you would expect in any small village community. It has a village hall, simply built with a squat clock tower, weathervane and covered entrance. Nearby is the old covered well beneath a gabled roof with a standpipe and a more modern tap.
The local church of St Mary's has some stained glass windows by William Morris, who lived nearby for a time at Kelmscot Manor.
Most of the small cottages in the village are now owned by the National Trust and are let to tenants, many of whom are local farm workers on the surrounding farm estates. The red brick cottages with their small-paned windows are separated by tall green hedges and lichen-covered stone walls.
Most of the village of Buscot lies on a no-through road which runs northwards from the local village hall to Buscot Lock on the River Thames. It makes a delightful scenic walk and the lock often has small cruise boats and colourful canal longboats navigating this stretch of scenic waterway. It is a great place for a picnic and is bound to attract the attention of resident ducks and moorhens looking for crusts.
Further upstream is Brandy Island, the site of an alcohol distillery and an old mill which was used to make oil cake. There was also an old gas works, and fertilizer and vitriol were produced in the neighbouring factory which closed in 1879.
Further along the Faringdon Road, is Buscot Park, also a National Trust owned country house and working farm estate. The contents of the house, which is still the residence of Lord Faringdon, include paintings and furniture which are owned by the Faringdon Collection Trust. The four seasons walled garden and the splendid water gardens are worth seeing.
The delightfully unspoilt Oxfordshire villages of Buscot and Coleshill show a whole way of life with 63 cottages, thriving village stores, a pub, village hall, church and welcoming tea rooms.
Coleshill:
Coleshill looks like a traditional English village developed over the centuries by farm labourers who did not own their own land, but in fact Coleshill was the brainchild of the Earl of Radnor in the 19th century. He wanted to recreate a "typical" English country village and set about building one for his employees, which explains the somewhat uniform design and age of the community. He built the cottages around an existing pub, a former smithy and the local 12th century church with its vicarage.
Coleshill is quite beautiful; a real celebration of rural life and a simpler existence of a bygone era, yet it still is a fully functioning 21st century community for the residents.
After parking, visitors should head for the village stores or tea room to pick up a local map of the various footpaths and byways to local places of interest in the surrounding countryside. A stroll around the village, peering over garden walls is also highly recommended!
A pleasant stroll along Snowswick lane will bring you to the neighbouring village of Buscot, about 4km (2miles) away.
Buscot:
Buscot has all the main highlights you would expect in any small village community. It has a village hall, simply built with a squat clock tower, weathervane and covered entrance. Nearby is the old covered well beneath a gabled roof with a standpipe and a more modern tap.
The local church of St Mary's has some stained glass windows by William Morris, who lived nearby for a time at Kelmscot Manor.
Most of the small cottages in the village are now owned by the National Trust and are let to tenants, many of whom are local farm workers on the surrounding farm estates. The red brick cottages with their small-paned windows are separated by tall green hedges and lichen-covered stone walls.
Most of the village of Buscot lies on a no-through road which runs northwards from the local village hall to Buscot Lock on the River Thames. It makes a delightful scenic walk and the lock often has small cruise boats and colourful canal longboats navigating this stretch of scenic waterway. It is a great place for a picnic and is bound to attract the attention of resident ducks and moorhens looking for crusts.
Further upstream is Brandy Island, the site of an alcohol distillery and an old mill which was used to make oil cake. There was also an old gas works, and fertilizer and vitriol were produced in the neighbouring factory which closed in 1879.
Further along the Faringdon Road, is Buscot Park, also a National Trust owned country house and working farm estate. The contents of the house, which is still the residence of Lord Faringdon, include paintings and furniture which are owned by the Faringdon Collection Trust. The four seasons walled garden and the splendid water gardens are worth seeing.
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Directions |
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Bus Services:Stagecoach in Swindon 64 Swindon£Carterton (passing close Swindon ), alight Highworth, 2 miles.
Cycling: NCN45, 10 miles. Regional Route 40: Oxfordshire Cycleway By Road: Coleshill village on B4019 between Faringdon and Highworth. Buscot village on A417 between Faringdon and Lechlade. By Train: Swindon 10 miles. Ordnance Survey Reference: SU239973 |
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Buscot and Coleshill Estates Postcode for SatNav: SN6 7PT
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Days Out near Buscot and Coleshill Estates
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Buscot Park and the Faringdon Collection (2 Miles)*
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Farmer Gow's (3 Miles)*
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Kelmscott Manor (4 Miles)*
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Tom Browns School Museum (5 Miles)*
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Lydiard House & Park (9 Miles)*
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Vale and Downland Museum and Visitor Centre (10 Miles)*
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Cogges Manor Farm (12 Miles)*
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Witney & District Museum (12 Miles)*
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Lodge Park and Sherborne Estate (12 Miles)*
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Chedworth Roman Villa (16 Miles)*
Places to Visit near Buscot and Coleshill Estates
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Swindon (7 Miles)*
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Bibury (10 Miles)*
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Letcombe Regis (10 Miles)*
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Letcombe Bassett (11 Miles)*
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Burford (11 Miles)*
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Wantage (11 Miles)*
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Coln Rogers (12 Miles)*
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Cirencester (14 Miles)*
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Marlborough (15 Miles)*
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Abingdon (16 Miles)*
Also near Buscot and Coleshill Estates |
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