When I was a young child my mother used to take me and my sister on the bus, from our home in Minchinhampton, to Tetbury on a regular basis.
We used to get off at the famous central Market Place and then walk up Cirencester Road to see my grandmother. She used to live in a bungalow in the middle of a field at the top of this road just before the junction with London Road and Cherington Lane. I remember it well particularly the lengthy vegetable patch with the outside loo positioned near the top!
These days Tetbury is often known locally as “Royal Tetbury” since Prince Charles (as he was then) moved into Highgrove back in 1980.
Located just 2 miles south west of Tetbury this Georgian neo-classical style house was built between 1796 and 1798 on the site of an older property.
The house was purchased by the Duchy of Cornwall for Charles, ahead of his marriage to Princess Diana. As such, ownership has now transferred to Prince William when his father acceded to the throne and he became Duke of Cornwall on 8 September 2022. The King and Queen, therefore, lease the house from the Duchy to use as a country residence.
After much renovation and hard work, Charles opened the gardens 25 years ago to visitors and up to 40,000 people now flock here every year to take part in garden tours and specific advertised events.
With over 1300 years of recorded history Tetbury, itself, is the second largest town in the Cotswolds and was developed on the site of an ancient hill fort, on which an Anglo-Saxon monastery was founded.
Like so many local towns and villages it played an important role in marketing Cotswold wool and yarn during the Middle Ages. As a result many of the houses you can still see today were originally built and financed on the proceeds of the sale of wool. Others display the changing architectural fashions of the last 400 years.
We arrived mid morning and having parked at the Chipping Car Park and paid for a 3 hr stay we wandered into the small adjacent shopping arcade for our first introduction, that day, into what now makes Tetbury famous -antiques!
Back in 2018 Homes and Antiques magazine named Long Street in Tetbury one of the UK’s top 10 favourite streets for shopping.
Browsing the lovingly designed small shops within the arcade we relish the fact that you are allowed to meander at will without the normal pressure of eagle eyed shopkeepers. The owners are around if you need them but merely impart a friendly smile and greeting which we willingly return.
Moving on we go to the Market Place, at the centre of town, which dates back to 1655. Being Wednesday there is a small farmers market, which can also be visited on Saturday, with their stalls perched underneath the beautiful pillars.
Crossing over to the right hand corner of the small roundabout we then begin our own stroll along the righthand side of Long Street.
French Grey is always a nice place to start. Founded by Sally Marks in 2005 this independent business that has grown into 5 beautiful shops over the years, is a great place to browse for gifts, jewellery and home accessories and is the starting point today for what turns into a pilgrimage to candles and diffusers. Every shop seems to haver a display. The ones sold here are hand poured and made in Wiltshire.
Moving along we are soon outside the famous Jesse Smith’s butchers. Owned by the Hawes family and with ancestry dating back to the early 1800’s this shop opened in the 1980’s. There is always an extensive array of meats, deli and other cooked items on display to choose from.
Moving on past the local Co-op supermarket we enter the beginning of the antiques quarter starting with the fairly new Amy Perry Antiques, then continuing onto Philip Adler Antiques, Westwood House, the Anne Fowler Antique Shop, Decorator Source and Trilogy Antiques, Dimity and Miss Brown’s Nice Things until we eventually arrive at Domestic Science. If you have read my previous post entitled “The Cotswolds -Shopping in Nailsworth” you will have read about my introduction to this independent home and lifestyle store.
This branch is arranged over three floors and has another brilliant cafe-Cafe 53 sequestered next door with a well crafted outdoor garden space at the rear. It was busy even midweek and thus with no tables currently free we booked a table for 1 p.m.
With just under an hour to kill and having fairly briskly perused the previous long list of antique shops we walked on up the road past The Police Museum (check this out online if you fancy visiting, it has free entry but restricted opening times) and crossed over the road to the far right corner and entered Top Banana Antiques.
I’m not going to lie, I’m not a great fan of antique stores although my appreciation of such items seems to be deepening as I too become older, maybe I am beginning to see the value of aging things?
The Top Banana Antiques Mall is an Aladdin’s cave. It’s like walking into an old, friendly home with rooms filled with everything you might be looking for to furnish your home or present as a gift for a birthday etc. This is my type of antiques shop. No posh voices, accentuated displays or inflated prices.
With over 50 dealers specialising in items such as Antique Country Furniture, Prints and Oil Paintings, Georgian and Victorian Furniture and China, French Painted Furniture and Kitchenalia, Antiquarian Books and Prints, Vintage Clothing and Textiles, plus a whole lot more it is well worth dropping into.
Just like the small mall at the start of our trip today no one is there to harass you. You can just meander at your will and if you are interested in an item you just take a note of its location and then make your way up to the retail point to discuss purchase.
Antique shopping finished for us for the day we make our way back to Cafe 53.
Opened in 2005, Café 53 began its life as a small 20 seat cafe, tucked behind Domestic Science. As its popularity grew the business expanded. You can now either enter direct from the shop or alternatively via the doorway entrance on Long Street. The dining area is light and airy and overlooks a lovely Mediterranean style water garden, with additional seating.
We take our seats at our reserved table right next to the window affording us a lovely view of the garden.
It’s a bit of a cold, Autumnal day so sitting inside is preferable although some folks are braver than us and take the outside option. We enjoy a beautiful lunch opting for the Ultimate 53 burger and a Saganaki Greek Salad followed of course by cakes and washed down with great hot coffee. This cafe is slightly more expensive than it’s sister branch in Nailsworth but that’s Tetbury pricing for you!
Conscious of our car park ticket running out my husband kindly walks back to the truck to refresh our parking for another hour while I make my way back down the opposite side of Long Street towards the Market Place. Skipping past another array of antique shops I stop off at The Cherry Tree.
With two shops, one here and the other in Malmesbury you can browse their beautiful range of ladieswear, fine gifts and decorative accessories. It’s certainly different to the normal hum-drum of so many High Street retailers, offering something that is quite often unique.
We finish our shopping on Long Street by popping into the Highgrove Shop. This is an opportunity to take something home from the King’s estate!
There’s lots to choose from whether it’s a gift you are looking for, some chinaware, a book or art, bath and body products, gardenware, even luxury food and drink including Highgrove champagne. They have done well to deliver so many choices in what is in effect just a local shop.
No visit to Tetbury is complete without a wander through Artique in Church Street. This amazing Central Asian Interiors and Carpets Shop is a rare find in the Cotswolds but so worth a visit. It really feels like you are entering a small part of India.
Housed in Talboys House since 1980, with carpets from Afghanistan, tribal furniture from the North West Frontier and exotic interiors from India it is so homely and warm.
It has grown to become one of the country’s leading sources of Central Asian artifacts and is so worth a visit while you are here.
Church Street is where my Mum lived in lodgings and thus where my Dad met her and romance blossomed.
Our final internal visit is just across the road from Artique – St Marys’ Church. This church also forms part of many family memories, aunts and uncles were married here, cousins were christened here and grandparents are buried here.
The impressive spire can be seen from all directions as you enter the town, the nave dates from the late 1770s, but the best part for me are the high box pews which are fast becoming unique as other local churches seek to replace them with more modern chairs and furniture! The church, as a whole, has a lovely light and airy feel to it. It is worth popping in, even if like me you may not be religious.
After a wander around the graveyard we make our way back to the car park making sure we stop off at Chipping Steps. These are in the corner of The Chipping car park and represent one of the original entrances to the town. The cottages running down the side, thought to be originally weavers’ cottages are really quaint and a great representation of the beautiful Cotswold’s district.
NB: This is the third of a series of posts about the wonderful “Cotswolds”. An area in the UK that you really shouldn’t miss out on visiting if you are coming to the UK. It’s full of olde world charm, history going back to the Roman era and beautiful architecture. Check out previous posts in this series plus more to come soon.
Please don’t forget to comment and/or like. I love to hear what my readers think. and also look forward to your recommendations of places to see in the Cotswolds for my future adventures Thank you
A Midlife Adventure 