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CHIPPING NORTON Independent shops and a fantastic homegrown theatre set Chippy apart from the rest
A vibrant North Cotswold market town (the name in fact meaning ‘market North town’) with some distinctive attractions, Chipping Norton is the Cotswolds at its most cosmopolitan. Possessing a theatre and several well-known pubs and hotels, it also hosts a popular bookstore and, in recent years, has started its own acclaimed literature festival, as well as running music and Jazz and Music Festivals. The Rollright Stones - a stone circle found just over two miles away from the town - suggests that people have been living in the Chipping Norton area for thousands of years. As with much of the Cotswolds, many civic and residential buildings stand testament to the wealth brought to the area by the wool trade. At one time, Chipping Norton even possessed its own railway station (the nearest today is Kingham) and - much later - a recording studio, where a number of hit singles were recorded (by artists including the Bay City Rollers and Kajagoogoo). Chipping Norton’s iconic, Grade II listed Bliss Tweed Mill building (built in 1872, and featuring a distinctive column-style chimney) has been converted to residential apartments. 20
COTSWOLD HOMES MAGAZINE