The Local Time is
Tuesday, 19-Mar-2024 07:00:40 CET

Moreton-in-Marsh Tourist Information & Travel Guide

Check Out Lastminute
Promotional Hot Deals
Accommodation
SEARCH THIS SITE
YOU ARE HERE: Home Page > Places to Visit > Moreton-in-Marsh
 

CHOOSE FROM OVER
850 PLACES TO STAY
IN THE COTSWOLDS


COTSWOLD HOTELS


BED AND BREAKFAST

PUBS & INNS

HOLIDAY COTTAGES

FARM ACCOMMODATION

CONFERENCES

WEDDINGS

DOG FRIENDLY

LUXURY / EXCLUSIVE

CAMPING

HOT DEALS

 

Travel Assistance

 



We will help you plan the perfect Cotswold holiday with touring itinerary so you don't miss-out on the hidden secrets and charm of this unique region

For more info....

 




STRANGE THINGS
IN THE
COTSWOLDS

Click Here to go to Strange Things

 
 
 
Market Day at Moreton-in-Marsh
Stratford - 17 miles Evesham - 16 miles Bath - 61 miles Oxford - 28 miles

Moreton-in-Marsh Tourist Information & Travel Guide

Toll Charges

Moreton-in-Marsh is one of the principal market towns in the northern Cotswolds situated on the Fosse Way and now served by the main line railway from London Paddington. It grew up in the thirteenth century as a market town with a wide main street, narrow burgage plots and back lanes. There still is a busy Tuesday market with about 200 stalls attracting many visitors. See image of Tolls charged in 1905.

Toll Notice on the Curfew Tower Moreton has been a traveller's town for at least 1700 years and was used as a coaching station before the coming of the Oxford to Worcester railway in 1853. There are several pubs, inns, hotels, tea shops, restaurants and accommodation in the form of B&Bs and holiday cottages in the immediate vicinity. A popular caravan site exists just on the outskirts of the town.

The high street has many elegant eighteenth-century inns and houses including the Redesdale Market Hall (seen in the above picture). This hall is at the centre of the town, a plaque on the building reads -

"The Redesdale Hall was erected in 1887 by Sir Algernon Bertram Freeman Mitford, G.C.V.O., K.C.B., 1st Baron Redesdale, Lord-of-the-Manor of Moreton-in-Marsh in pious Memory of his kinsman, Earl of Redesdale, 1805-1886".

The Hall was subsequently purchased by Sir Gilbert Alan Hamilton Wills, BART, O.B.E, The First Baron Dulverton who presented it in the year 1951 to The North Cotswold Rural District Council.

Moreton-in-Marsh High StreetLord Redesdale lived at nearby Batsford House and is also known for his famous daughters, the Mitford sisters.

The oldest building is likely to be the sixteenth-century Curfew tower on the High Street. Its bell was rung nightly until 1860 to remind people of the risk of fire at night. The Curfew Tower at the junction of High Street and Oxford Street dates from the 17th century, in daily use until 1860. It is said that it once guided home a Sir Robert Fry, lost in the fog, who gave money for its maintenance, in gratitude.

The Parish church of St. David was originally a chapel of ease for Bourton-on-the-Hill and in 1858 was rebuilt in medieval style.

Moreton-in-Marsh was founded on the Roman Fosse Way, later the traditional London to Worcester coaching route via Broadway.

Two miles away in the hamlet of Dorn, many Roman remains have been found.

It was transferred to the ownership of Westminster Abbey just before the Norman Conquest, the estate sold only in 1856 after a thousand years of church ownership.

Shops on the High StreetClose to the town is the Four Shires Stone marking the historic meeting point of Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire.

Moreton-in-Marsh was granted its market charter in 1227 and the well known Market is still held every Tuesday throughout the year.

Many of the old buildings along the High Street date from the 17th and 18th centuries.

The White Hart (Royal) Hotel was used by King Charles I as shelter during the English Civil War following the Battle of Marston Moor on July 2, 1644. A copy of the King’s unpaid bill is commemorated on a plaque within the entrance lobby.

The Batsford Arboretum was planted by Lord Redesdale, one of the largest private collection of rare trees in England.

Tolkien Connections

The famous author J R R Tolkien is believed to have had connections with Moreton-in-Marsh - a pub in the town was presented with a special print by a branch of the J R R Tolkien Society.

After painstaking research the Society claim that The Bell Inn is the inspiration behind The Prancing Pony, Middle Earth's most famous pub in the book 'Lord of the Rings'.

The Society believes the similarities between the The Bell Inn in and The Prancing Pony in Tolkein's town of Bree is irrefutable evidence Tolkien used the pub as inspiration. These similarities include the three storeys of the pub building and its entrance via a courtyard, and the similarities of Moreton in Marsh to the town of Bree, where the hobbits find the Prancing Pony on a cold, rainy night.

Four Shire Stone near Moreton-in-MarshThe Four Shire Stone is a 9 foot high pillar situated approximately two miles east of Moreton-in-Marsh on the A44 at the turn off to Great Wolford village. The 16th century pillar, made from Cotswold stone, marks the centuries old meeting place of four county shires: Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Worcestershire.

Due to local government reorganisation in the 1970s, the boundaries of these counties have now been moved and only three shires - no longer including Worcestershire, whose boundary is now further west - currently intercept here.

It is believed this stone was an inspiration for Tolkien's Three-Farthing Stone, a central point in the 'Shire' where three Farthings met.

You can select an alternative
Place to Visit from here

Pictures of Moreton-in-Marsh annual country show
held on first saturday in September



ATTRACTIONS

Good shopping including antiques and the very popular Tuesday market. Several good eating places.

Visiting Famous Gardens

There are several famous gardens within 15 minutes car journey of Moreton-in-Marsh including Hidcote Manor, Snowshill Manor, Bourton House, Sezincote, Hidcote Manor, Kiftsgate Court and Batsford Arboretum. See - Cotswold Gardens and North Cotswold Gardens Map and Driving Directions.

Places to Visit Nearby

Water colour of Bourton-on-the-Hill
Watercolour of the village of Bourton-on-the-Hill looking towards the
market town of Moreton-in-Marsh by Leslie Holmes

Dormer House School

Dormer House School is an independent prep school in the heart of the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire. It is made up of a nursery and primary school, catering for boys and girls of all abilities from 2-11 years old. The school education offers a mix of traditional values and modern techniques where creativity and individuality are encouraged. Children and their families are supported by our highly qualified, caring team of staff. Browse this website for a taster of what we have to offer you. Feel free to get in touch for more information. Our contact details are below. We look forward to meeting you soon.

Dormer House School, Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire, GL56 0AD

Moreton-in-Marsh Taxis

CJP Cotswold Tours and Private Hire
Contact - Chris Peake, e-mail: chrispeake@cotswold-tours.com
Tel: +44 (0)1386  859444, Mobile: +44 (0)7787 193334. Website: www.cotswold-tours.com

AJW's Private Hire - Any Time, Any Place, Any Where - Located in Broadway
Contact - Andrew Walters Tel: 07598 954848 or 07930 868552

Click for full list of Hotels, Guest Houses and B&B's, Cottages, Inns and Pubs, Wedding Venues, Camping and Caravanning and Conference Centres in the Cotswolds and the six counties of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Somerset, Warwickshire and Oxfordshire:-
HOTELS B&B COTTAGES FARMS INNS / PUBS CAMPING WEDDINGS CONFERENCE CENTRES
Ads by Cotswolds.Info Ads by Cotswolds.Info Ads by Cotswolds.Info Ads by Cotswolds.Info
PRIVATE CAR TOURS UPLANDS 5 STAR ACCOMMODATION ABBOTS GRANGE CROWN & TRUMPET INN
The best way to see the hidden cotswolds timeless villages and scenery is by Private Car Hire on narrow country lanes
Luxurious home and gardens offering top class accommodation and food. Close to Stratford upon Avon Stay in the beautifulAbbot's Broadway summer residence - a truly unique Cotswolds experience. Old Cotswolds Inn at Broadway - Jewel of the Cotswolds. Providing good accommodation and restaurant.
MIND THE DUCKS INDIVIDUAL AND MEMORABLE MAGICAL & UNFORGETTABLE FRIENDLY HOSPITALITY
Ads by Cotswolds.Info Ads by Cotswolds.Info Ads by Cotswolds.Info Ads by Cotswolds.Info
HOLLY HOUSE B&B Available CHARACTER COTTAGES NETHERCOTE FIELDS
4 Star GOLD Award and Tripadvisor 2015 Excellence Winner. Located in beautiful Bourton-on-the-Water 5 minutes walk from village centre This box is seen on 600 of our webpages
Specialists in stylish, contemporary and characterful Cotswold Cottages.
Unique, luxury holiday lettings agent.
B&B Offering a comfortable & relaxed stay with far reaching views across the Cotswolds includes use of swimming pool
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Best Advertising FABULOUS COUNTRY HOMES DISTINCTIVENESS
Ads by Cotswolds.Info Ads by Cotswolds.Info Ads by Cotswolds.Info Ads by Cotswolds.Info
Available Available STAY AT HISTORIC WATER MILL Available
This box is seen on 600 of our webpages

This box is seen on 600 of our webpages

  * 4 STAR COTTAGES
  * EACH SLEEPS 4
  * ISLAND ON RIVER STOUR
  * PEACEFUL RETREAT
  * EXPLORE COTSWOLDS

This box is seen on 600 of our webpages
Best Advertising Best Advertising UNIQUE PLACE TO STAY Best Advertising

The Market Town of Moreton-in-Marsh