Honey Coloured Stanton Is The Cotswolds At Its Very Best

Many British travel guides over the years have labelled Stanton in Gloucestershire the very best example of pure Cotswold beauty and it is hard not to disagree. You certainly won’t go there for the quality shopping as there are no shops, and the night life is pretty non-existent, apart from the one pub, but what you will get is the chance to wander slowly throughout a main street choc full of the most enticing honey coloured buildings that you would wish to find.

We can thank Sir Philip Stott for this, because he owned the estate from 1906 to 1937. It takes its name from Stan (“stone”) farmstead, and can be found three miles south west of Broadway, close to where the Gloucestershire and Worcestershire borders join.

Stanton is one of the most beautiful of the Cotswold villages

Behind the village cross which has a medieval base, is the church of St. Michael. This is a happy mix of the old and the new, but doesn’t suffer because of that. Some damage inflicted by Civil War soldiers who were locked in the church has been tastefully repaired.

This is a church that offers stone flagged floors worn down with use through the ages. Look out for the medieval pews, to be found under the organ loft. The gouge marks are said to be made by shepherds taking their dogs to church and tying the leads around the “poppy heads”.

Look out also for the road dividing at the northern end. This is known locally as Sheppey Corner, dating from the time when sheep were driven off the hills to the farm belonging to the manor for shearing.

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