Castle Combe

It's pretty much a one street village with a small spur to a country hotel in the old manor house.

The village houses are all of typical Cotswold type, constructed in stone with thick walls and roofs made from split natural stone tiles. The properties are many hundreds of years old and are listed as ancient monuments.

The site of the castle linked with the name of Castle Combe is above today's village, but is little other than earthworks now mark its one time presence.

Like Lacock, in Medieval times Castle Combe had become an important centre for the wool industry. The spinners and weavers lived in the cottages and the river, still known as By Brook, provided the power to run the mills.

Village church

The earliest reference to the village church is found in a document dating 1291. The Market Cross is the centrepiece of the village. It is believed to date from the 14th century when the privilege to hold a weekly market was first granted.

Buttercross

Just below this there is also a structure sometimes referred to as the 'buttercross', which was in fact for tethering and mounting horses.

Ancient properties

Castle Combe is one of the least un-commercialised of the Cotswold villages without the tour coach crowds of some other villages further north. The properties are many hundreds of years old and are listed as ancient monuments.

Tea rooms, pubs and village museum

There is a choice of tea rooms and traditional pubs with some craft shops to potter around in. There is a small village museum as well.