Alex Passmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do · Bampton
Bampton Community Archive
Bampton's village archive in the Old Grammar School, the building that played Downton's cottage hospital, with an exhibition room, a shop and the Downton Mile map.
Rainy days
The place to start a Downton visit to Bampton, and the honest source on which building played what. Small, free and run by volunteers.
- Good: Open daily 10am to 4pm, no admission charge listed
- Good: Downton Mile map for a £1 donation
- Good: The building itself played the cottage hospital
- Worth knowing: Run by volunteers, so it may sometimes be shut
- Worth knowing: Do not try to park in Church View
About
The Bampton Community Archive keeps the history of Bampton, the large village south-west of Witney that played Downton in the television series and films. Its shop and exhibition space are in the Robert Vesey Room on the ground floor of the Old Grammar School on Church View, which it shares with West Ox Arts, and the village library is in the same building.
The building is part of the attraction. It opened in 1653 as a school for the children of Bampton and the villages round it, endowed by a legacy from Robert Vesey, a local merchant who died in 1635. It lost its upper floor to public use in the 1960s, and was restored with money raised partly through the Downton connection, reopening in May 2022 with a new staircase and the upper floor back in use. In the series it was the Downton Cottage Hospital.
The archive documented the filming in the village, and it is the source our guide to Downton Abbey in the Cotswolds relies on for which building played what. Its Downton Mile map, first published in 2015, leads you round the filming locations in about a mile. The original map raised its full target of £71,527 for the restoration in 2026, and a new version is now offered for a £1 donation to the archive. Exhibitions in the room have covered Downton in Bampton, the story of cricket in the village and local people, and the archive's database of photographs, documents and recorded interviews can be searched online.
It opens every day from 10am to 4pm, and its website lists no admission charge. It is staffed by volunteers, so now and then it may not open. Allow half an hour, or an hour with the Downton Mile. The houses on Church View are lived in, so look from the lane.
Opening hours and season
| Monday | 10:00 to 16:00 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 10:00 to 16:00 |
| Wednesday | 10:00 to 16:00 |
| Thursday | 10:00 to 16:00 |
| Friday | 10:00 to 16:00 |
| Saturday | 10:00 to 16:00 |
| Sunday | 10:00 to 16:00 |
Open daily, 10am to 4pm. Staffed by volunteers, so it may occasionally be unable to open.
Facilities
- Archive shop
- Street parkingMarket Square up to four hours, or Church Close by the church
The details
- Time to allow
- Half an hour, or an hour with the Downton Mile
- Features
- Shop
- History
- In the Old Grammar School, opened in 1653, restored and reopened in May 2022
- Parking
- Short-term parking in the Market Square, up to four hours, and usually space in Church Close by the church. Not in Church View, which is narrow.
- Without a car
- Pulham's bus 19 serves Bampton. Witney is about 5 miles (8km) away.
Photos
The entrance on Church View 
The Old Grammar School Photo: Seth Whales, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Location
Places to stay nearby
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The Market Tavern
Inn · Bampton
A pub with rooms by the Market Square in Bampton, with a restaurant, a bar and a garden, doubles and family rooms, and a cooked breakfast.
Family-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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Shifford Manor Farm
Self-catering · Bampton
A listed seventeenth-century farmhouse in the Thames-side hamlet of Shifford, about 6 km east of Bampton, let whole for up to 13 guests in six bedrooms, with dogs allowed.
Dog-friendly · Family-friendly · Walker-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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Premier Inn Witney
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A Premier Inn on Ducklington Lane, Witney, off the A40, with double, twin, family, accessible and Premier Plus rooms, a restaurant and free parking.
Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- The Market Tavern 0.1 km away