Things to do · Burford
Burford Tolsey Museum
Burford's small free museum in the Tolsey, the sixteenth-century market house on the High Street, run by volunteers and open on summer afternoons.
Half an hour well spent in Burford, and free. The rooms are upstairs, so it is not for everyone.
- Good: Free, with donations welcome
- Good: In the middle of the High Street
- Worth knowing: First floor by stairs only, no toilets
- Worth knowing: Afternoons only, April to October; weekends in November and December
- Worth knowing: Volunteer-run, so it may close at short notice
About
The Tolsey, halfway down the High Street in Burford, is the sixteenth-century market house where traders paid their tolls and the borough court met. The museum dates it to about 1525; it is first documented in 1561 and is listed Grade II*. Volunteers run a museum of the town's history in it, arranged in themed cabinets.
It opens daily from 2pm to 5pm from April to the end of October, and at weekends in November and December (or by arrangement); it is closed from January to March. Entry is free, with donations welcome. Because it is run entirely by volunteers it may close now and then without notice.
The museum is on the first floor, up stairs, and has no toilets. Its sister, the Burford Tolsey Archive in Swan Lane, a few minutes away, is easier to reach for visitors with access needs; visits are arranged through the chairman. St John the Baptist is at the bottom of the hill.
Opening hours and season
| Monday | 14:00 to 17:00 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 14:00 to 17:00 |
| Wednesday | 14:00 to 17:00 |
| Thursday | 14:00 to 17:00 |
| Friday | 14:00 to 17:00 |
| Saturday | 14:00 to 17:00 |
| Sunday | 14:00 to 17:00 |
Daily 2pm to 5pm, April to the end of October; weekends only in November and December; closed January to March. Run by volunteers, so it can close at short notice.
The details
- History
- Market house built about 1525
Photos
The Tolsey and its clock 
The display cases 
Burford's trades 
A present from Burford
Location
Places to stay nearby
-
Bull, Burford
Hotel · Burford
A coaching inn on Burford's High Street, opened in 1536 by its own account, now a hotel with 18 rooms, three restaurants and a treatment suite.
Wedding venues
Verified Oct 2026
-
The Angel at Burford
Pubs · Burford
An inn on Witney Street, Burford, run by the King family since 2011, with an AA Rosette for its cooking, a walled garden and sun terrace, three bedrooms and food from breakfast onwards.
Verified Nov 2026
-
The Bay Tree
Hotel · Burford
A Grade II listed hotel on Sheep Street, Burford, with 21 rooms and a walled garden, part of Cotswold Inns and Hotels, dogs welcome.
Dog-friendly · Wedding venues
Verified Oct 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- Bull, Burford 0.1 km away
- Huffkins, Burford 0.1 km away
- The Angel at Burford 0.1 km away
- The Cotswold Arms 0.1 km away
Sights nearby
-
Burford Bridge
Sight · Bridge · Burford
Burford Bridge carries the road over the River Windrush at the foot of Burford's High Street: four low arches with pointed cutwaters, medieval in origin and heavily remodelled in 1791. Grade II*, on the way in and out of the town.
-
Burford Priory
Sight · Historic building · Burford
Burford Priory is a Jacobean mansion on the site of a medieval hospital in Burford, remodelled by Speaker Lenthall in the seventeenth century, with his chapel of 1661 to 1662 beside it. Grade I; a private house, seen only from Priory Lane.
-
St John the Baptist, Burford
Sight · Church · Burford
St John the Baptist is Burford's great wool church by the Windrush: Norman at its core, with a fan-vaulted porch, the Tanfield and Harman monuments, and the font where a Leveller carved his name before three were shot in 1649. Grade I; open daily, free.
-
River Windrush
Sight · River · The Oxfordshire Cotswolds
The River Windrush rises on the high wolds of Gloucestershire and runs south-east through Naunton, Bourton-on-the-Water, Burford, Minster Lovell and Witney to join the Thames at Newbridge. Public footpaths follow much of it, and eight of our walks meet it.