With a title like that, Painswick in Gloucestershire has a lot to live up to, after all, the Cotswolds is widely recognised as one of the most beautiful parts of England. Yet live up to the title it most certainly does, featuring the wonderful Cotswold stone that would have been quarried from nearby Painswick Beacon.
The atmospheric winding streets would have been built up on the fortunes gained by the buoyant cloth and wool trade, and prominent (but perhaps inappropriately named!) New Street was constructed in about 1428 probably with money earned exactly in that manner. This street is home to the oldest building in England to hold a Post Office, the town’s only example of exposed timber framing.
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| Painswick in the Cotswolds |
Other architectural highlights include Beacon House with its wonderful Georgian frontage and the famous Falcon Hotel with what is said to be the oldest bowling green in England.
Look out for the Church of St. Mary, in truth it is hard to miss! With its Norman origins and its exterior peppered with shot from the Civil War, it will be a highlight of your visit. There are 99 yew trees in the peaceful churchyard, with a popular legend saying that it is proving impossible to grow number 100! Try and be in the town during the September “clypping ceremony” – nothing to do with pruning yew trees!
There are rare 17th century spectacle stocks near the court house. 14th century houses in Bisley Street include two original Donkey doors, wide enough for panniered donkeys who carried the wool from the numerous mills along the local valleys.
Take in the atmosphere with a browse around the range of small shops and galleries as well as a chance to dally in pubs, restaurants and tea shops that serve good food. Painswick is a Fair Trade town.
In early July Painswick puts on the Art couture festival (www.acpfestival.co.uk ), this year it is on the 14th July There are colourful costumes paraded and stalls in the narrow streets.
The Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen has its own exhibition every August and shows the variety and excellence of their workmanship. Painswick Centre Art Studios are in the Painswick Centre. (Check for opening times).
Like so many of the beautiful Cotswold tourist towns, Painswick is undoubtedly a place for any time of the year, whatever the weather. For weekend breaks or longer stays, you can look forward to a cosy log fire set in an original hearth in the winter or a delicious cream tea in the summer.
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