David Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do · Winchcombe
Winchcombe Museum
A free, volunteer-led museum in Winchcombe's former Town Hall, with fragments of the Winchcombe meteorite, a rare pair of fifteenth-century town maces and the town's story from its trades and tanneries to the Arts and Crafts makers.
Rainy days · Car-free
A short, free stop on a Winchcombe day, with a lift upstairs; the meteorite fragments are the draw. Pair it with Sudeley or the climb to Belas Knap.
- Good: Free entry; donations welcome
- Good: Step-free ground floor and a lift upstairs
- Good: Shop with walking gear, local books, ice cream and sweets
- Worth knowing: Weekends only from 2 November 2026
- Worth knowing: Closed on Mondays
- Worth knowing: No car park of its own
About
Winchcombe Museum is a free, volunteer-led museum in the former Town Hall at the centre of Winchcombe, at the T-junction where North Street meets Hailes Street. It tells the story of the town and the country round it, with collections on trades and the tanneries, farming, the Arts and Crafts makers and social history, a small police section, and an ever-changing display.
Two things stand out. The first is three fragments of the Winchcombe meteorite, which fell on a driveway in the town on 28 February 2021; the museum calls it the UK's most important meteorite, a rock about 4.6 billion years old. The second is a rare pair of fifteenth-century town maces.
Until 1 November 2026 the museum opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 4pm; after that it opens at weekends only, 10am to 4pm, and on the two Christmas Market days, 3 and 4 December. Entry is free, with donations welcome, and there is nothing to book. The ground floor is step-free and a lift serves the two upstairs rooms. Allow about an hour.
The Undercroft shop sells walking gear and local books, useful before the climb on our walk from Winchcombe to Belas Knap. Our walk to Sudeley Castle starts in the town too.
Opening hours and season
To 1 November 2026: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm. From 2 November: weekends only, 10am to 4pm, plus the Christmas Market days, 3 and 4 December.
Facilities
- The Undercroft shopGifts, walking gear, local books, ice cream and sweets
- LiftStep-free ground floor; lift to the two upstairs rooms
- No car parkBack Lane (£1.50 all day, RingGo) and Bull Lane, both within five minutes' walk
The details
- Time to allow
- About an hour
- Features
- Shop
- History
- Volunteer-led museum in the former Town Hall
- Parking
- No car park: Back Lane car park (GL54 5PZ), £1.50 all day by RingGo and free for Blue Badge holders, and Bull Lane (GL54 5HX), which is closer, are both within five minutes' walk.
- Without a car
- Stagecoach West's W runs about hourly, Monday to Saturday (no Sunday buses), from Cheltenham's Primark stop to Winchcombe War Memorial. GWSR's Winchcombe station at Greet is about a mile away.
Photos
The museum in the old Town Hall 
Winchcombe pottery in the collection 
The shop in the Undercroft 
The museum entrance
Location
Accessibility
- Step-free access
Step-free access to the ground floor, and a lift to the two upstairs rooms.
Places to stay nearby
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The White Hart Inn
Inn · Winchcombe
An inn with sixteen rooms on Winchcombe's High Street, with dog-friendly rooms and a restaurant and bar open all day to non-residents.
Dog-friendly · Wedding venues · Walker-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
-
The Lion Inn
Inn · Winchcombe
A restored fifteenth-century coaching inn on North Street, Winchcombe, with nine rooms, run by Butcombe.
Dog-friendly · Walker-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
-
Sudeley Castle Cottages
Self-catering · Winchcombe
Nineteen holiday cottages on the Sudeley Castle estate at Winchcombe, sleeping three to fourteen, some dog-friendly, with free castle entry in season.
Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- The White Hart Inn 0.1 km away
- Café 21 0.1 km away
- The Lion Inn 0.2 km away
- Sudeley Castle and Gardens 0.2 km away
Sights nearby
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Dent's Terrace, Winchcombe
Sight · Historic building · Winchcombe
A row of ten almshouses of 1865 on Abbey Terrace, Winchcombe, by Sir George Gilbert Scott and J Drayton Wyatt for John and Emma Dent of Sudeley Castle: cream, yellow and pink stone under stepped gables. Grade II.
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River Isbourne
Sight · River · Winchcombe
The River Isbourne rises at a spring on Cleeve Hill above Winchcombe and runs north past Postlip, Winchcombe, Toddington and Sedgeberrow to join the Avon at Evesham. A waymarked path of some 14 miles, the Isbourne Way, follows it.
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Vineyard Bridge, Winchcombe
Sight · Bridge · Winchcombe
Vineyard Bridge is the single stone arch of 1891 that carries Vineyard Street over the River Isbourne in Winchcombe, the last work in the town of the architect J. Drayton Wyatt and the way to Sudeley Castle. Listed Grade II.
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St Peter's Church, Winchcombe
Sight · Church · Winchcombe
St Peter's is Winchcombe's Grade I parish church, built in one campaign in about 1458 to 1468, with some 40 carved grotesques round its walls, a fan-vaulted tower and two stone coffins tied to the St Kenelm story. Usually open daily.