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History of Campden

A (Brief) History of Chipping Campden

The name Campden or Camperdene is believed to be a Saxon name meaning valley with fields, a written reference to Campden in the Domesday Book (1085), records that before the Norman conquest the manor of Camperdene had been held by King Harold.

The Almshouses

By the early 13th century, the market area was being called 'Cepynge Caumpedene' (or 'Market Campden'). The word Chipping means market.

Chipping Campden established itself as a busy wooltraders town in the 14th century. Wool from Cotswold Sheep, grazed on the surrounding farmland, was graded, sold and transported to London.

The Woolstaplers Hall in the High Street was built in 1340 by a wool merchant.

The Market Hall, in the centre of the High Street, was constructed in 1627 by Sir Baptist Hicks to give shelter to the market traders. This is now owned by The National Trust.

St James' Church

Sir Baptist Hicks also built the Almshouses in 1612 – to house six poor men and six poor women and they are lived in today by twelve pensioners. A mansion he built next to St James' Church was destroyed in 1645 following a Royalist occupation, but its magnificent gatehouses still survive.

St James' Church is situated in the north of the town. It is an early perpendicular wool church, rebuilt in the 15th century by the town's wool merchants.

Grevel House is the oldest house in Chipping Campden. It was built in the 14th century with decorated windows, gargoyles and a sundial set in one of the walls.

Grevel House

In 1902, 150 craftsmen from the East End of London arrived to make their homes in Chipping Campden and introduced their crafts to the town. They occupied the abandoned Silk Mill and a Guild of Handicrafts was established by C R Ashbee.

The High Street contains many Cotswold stone buildings constructed between the 14th and 17th centuries and is now designated as a conservation area.

Want to know more about the history of Chipping Campden? Well you'll just have to visit! (Or you could read about Chipping Campden at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com .)