Cotswold Art, Galleries, Crafts, Antiques, Music and Books

   'Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be
useful or believe to be beautiful’  -  William Morris

The Cotswolds region is famous for its Arts, Crafts and Antiques not least due to the historical connections with the Arts and Crafts movement and people such as William Morris.

The famous artists colony in the village of Broadway which included well known painters such as John Singer Sargent and Francis Millet all go to add to the rich inheritence of the area as a destination point for seeking the products of skill, workmanship and creativity in its many forms.

Many parts of the Cotswolds has built up the reputation for producing and retailing Arts, Crafts and Antiques. The Stroud area has become a centre for artists, writers, poets and craftspeople. Perhaps it's the long history of artists settling and working in the surrounding Stroud villages - the Gimsons and Barnsleys in Sapperton, the Powells, Simmonds and Rothensteins in Oakridge, and many others - all of which created a critical mass of interest throughout the twentieth century.

Stow-on-the-Wold has become a centre of fine antiques shops particularly for furniture. The village of Broadway for its Art Galleries and fine paintings and the ancient market town of Chipping Campden, with its fine Cotswolds buildings such as William Grevel's house built in 1380, still has silver smith craftsmen working in the old Guild of Handicrafts building founded by C.R.Ashbee on Sheep Street.

Cotswold Art, Crafts, and Antiques