highworth tourist information

Explore Highworth

Plan your trip to highworth: best of highworth tourism.

Essential Highworth

Highworth Is Great For

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• Ciao Eatalia
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Explore Highworth

Plan your highworth holiday: best of highworth.

Essential Highworth

Highworth Is Great For

Eat & drink.

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Visitors on site: 501

Information

County - Wiltshire | Map Population: 8000 Highworth Jobs Visitor reports Add your shop free Folk Customs: Grovely Rights Potterne Christmas Mumming The Druids

A guide to Highworth Businesses: Golf Club Pub and Bar Taxi Shops

Best rates for a local hotel.

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Highworth Community Golf Centre Wrag Barn Golf & Country Club

Pub and Bar

Fox Inn Globe Inn Rose & Crown The Jolly Tar White Horse Inn Wine Cellar

Link Radio Cars

Eastrop Farm

Places to Stay near Highworth

The saracens head hotel (0.06 miles), jesmonds of highworth (0.26 miles).

More Information

Stanton House Hotel (1.96 miles)

Overlooking a lake and parkland, this idyllic stone house nestles amid picturesque Wiltshire countryside, fusing traditional English surroundings with a hint of the Far East.

The Mercure Swindon South Marston Hotel & Spa (2.73 miles)

Heart in hand (3.24 miles).

Family run inn, Village Location on the edge of the Cotwolds.Close links to M4 & M5, 3 Miles to Swindon.

Portquin Guest House (3.30 miles)

The old post office (3.35 miles), best western premier blunsdon house hotel (3.37 miles), premier inn swindon north (3.56 miles), national trust cottages (4.00 miles).

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You have to know the past to understand the present

A generation which ignores history has no past - and no future, robert a. heinlein, those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it, edmond burke, the further backward you can look, the further forward you are likely to see, winston churchill, welcome to the highworth historical society.

Here you can find a wealth of historical information, documents and photographs all relating to Highworth and its neighbourhood throughout the ages. From local characters to the buildings and the ever-changing face of our town and its surrounding area, it is all here. Please browse the various sections and photographic galleries to discover for yourself the amazing stories of the people and events which have made our town what it is today.. 

HHS Galleries

Browse or search our Photograph & Postcard Galleries

Search HHS Website

Search through Pages, Galleries and Graveyard Surveys

History of Highworth

Read about the History of Highworth

Museum & Displays

HHS have three permanent display areas in the town

Lest We Forget

Men of Highworth and District in the Second World War

Ghost Stories

Stories from Highworth and the surrounding villages

Graveyard Surveys

Selection of inscriptions on tombstones & memorial tablets

Read about The Highworth Historical Society

Next Lecture

22nd May 2024

The Littlecote Roman Villa. A talk by Hugh Pihles.

Click here to see more information about our future events

This site has been designed as just one of the resources available to anyone interested in the history of this area. We have endeavoured to make finding the information you want as easy as possible and we are constantly updating and adding relevant information.

We are always on the lookout for items or documents relating to Highworth and its surrounding villages to add to our archive. If you have anything which might be of interest to us, and you have no objection to the society copying or photographing it, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Our latest publication, Highworth Through Time, is now for sale in the Visit Highworth shop in the High Street, the Lighthouse Bookshop in the High Street and Highworth Library. Only £9.00

HHS OUTDOOR DISPLAY OF FARM EQUIPMENT IS NOW OPEN

Come along to the Community Centre in The Dormers to view the impressive display of farming equipment, much of which is over 100 years old.

Free Entry.

We hope you enjoy our site and happy hunting…

Join us for free entry to HHS events and Newsletters

St Michael's church, Highworth

History, tourist information, and nearby accommodation.

• Historic Connections
• Nearby attractions

Accommodation

HERITAGE HIGHLIGHTS:   12th-century tympanum

St Michael's, Highworth, is located in the centre of the conservation area of old Highworth, just behind the Market Square. The most immediately striking thing about St Michaels is the large, high parapet which extends along the roofline of the south front. This is 15th-century work, as is the large south porch with the priest's quarters above the entrance.

Much of the exterior you can see is 14th and 15th-century work, but the church itself dates back to at least the time of the Domesday Book. The earliest remaining feature of the church is a small single-light window in the chancel.

The south door features an excellent 15th-century moulding, with the very flat lines characteristic of this period and the later Tudor style. Contrast this style with the pointed style common in the earlier Gothic period. To the left of the south porch is a small scratch-dial. This is a very simple device, similar to a sundial, consisting of a small hole surrounded by radiating lines scratched in the stone.

As you enter by the south door, the first thing you see is the very large royal coat of arms on the north wall opposite. This dates from the reign of George III. Closer at hand is a very large oak chest, bound with padlocks. This chest probably served as a secure holding place for church and town documents.

The age of the chest is a matter of conjecture. According to the informative church history leaflet - available for a small charge - it may be as early as the 10th century. Though this seems somewhat unlikely, it is obviously of very great age.

Beside the south door is the font, which dates to the 15th century. This rests upon a square, ornamented base, which may have formed part of the earlier Norman church on this site.

Immediately above the interior of the south door by which you enter the church is the pride of St Michael's; a beautifully carved tympanum dating perhaps to the early 12th century. The centrepiece of the tympanum depicts Samson wrestling with a lion.

The carving is superbly executed, in a style very much like earlier Saxon work in this area. To the right of the tympanum is an extremely tiny window. This window, really no more than a slit, allowed the priest in his room above the south porch, to view the altar of the church.

Other notable features of the interior include two carved wooden seats in the chancel. These are quite rough and very worn, and are thought to belong to the 15th century. To the south of the chancel is the Warneford Chapel, which contains numerous memorials to members of the Warneford family, dating back to the 17th century.

In the south crossing, a small glass case is set upon the wall. In the case is displayed a Civil War era tabard, or short-sleeved coat, worn by Captain T. Batford during the period 1642-1651. The tabard is in quite good repair and remarkably unfaded considering that the material is not protected from sunlight.

The exterior of St Michael's features another reminder of the Civil War era. Beside the west door is a large hole in the masonry. This is thought to have been made by a cannonball fired during the assault on Highwiorth by Parliamentary troops on 27 June 1645. The church has in its possession a cannonball, thought to be the one responsible for the hole in the wall. This is not, unfortunately, generally on display, but may be viewed by permission.

The Highworth Ghost

According to published reports in the London Illustrated News, Highworth church is haunted by a spectral figure. The ghost was last reported seen in 1938 and was described as having a featureless countenance, with dark shadows where the eyes should have been.

Highworth, St Michael's Church Photo Gallery

About St Michaels Church, Highworth Address: Vicarage Lane, Highworth, Wiltshire, England, SN6 7AG Attraction Type: Historic Church Location: Just off the Market Square. Nearby paid parking lot, and free on street parking if you can find a spot! Location map OS: SU200924 Photo Credit: David Ross and Britain Express

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Nearest Holiday Cottages to St Michaels Church, Highworth:

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Travel Guide

• Introduction to Wiltshire
• Wilton House

Towns and Villages

• Castle Combe

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• All attractions
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Stunning UK prints for sale by award-winning photographer David Ross, editor of Britain Express, the UK Travel and Heritage Guide.

Top Historic Attractions in Wiltshire

Towns / villages.

1A Erneston Crescent Corsham Sleeps 4, from £462.00 36 High Street Downton Sleeps 4, from £499.00 38 Clyffe Pypard Lyneham Sleeps 6, from £502.00 8 The Light Malmesbury Sleeps 6, from £636.00 9 Velley Hill Corsham Sleeps 13, from £1636.00 More self catering in Wiltshire

• 01793 762377
• [email protected]

Whats Happening?

HIGHWORTH TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB

Highworth Town Junior Football Club

Highworth Bowls Club

Htc projects.

play area survey results

Invitation to tender.

litter pick survey results

20mph survey results

Wildflower Site Proposal

Cycling and walking survey results

Fox statue - iN CONJUNCTION WITH HIGHWORTH COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP GROUP crafted by model maker and sculptor peter pullon funded with S106 monies

‘Compassionate Swindon’ has been set up to support Voluntary organisations helping those who are either self-isolating or safe distancing, There are links for individuals and volunteer groups to either offer or ask for help and a lot of useful information.

  Highworth Town Council supports the Visitor Information Centre in the form of a grant for 2021/2022.  

The Information Centre can be found on Highworth High Street opposite the Market Place. This quintessential hilltop market town has a unique heritage (including over 80 listed buildings) and a link to an important WWII resistance story. The centre enhances the visitor experience to the town and showcases local art and crafts. It develops public engagement with the heritage story through exhibits, displays and local information.

3 Gilberts Lane, Highworth, Swindon SN6 7FB

Important Links

Copyright © 2020 - Highworth Town Council

Highworth Hotel

The Highworth Hotel is set within an elegant Georgian town house located at the gateway to the Cotswolds. Highworth is a charming market town filled with historic high streets, modern boutique shops and a listed building at every corner, with just a 15 minute drive to Swindon town centre. We have original wooden beams, antique fireplaces and 10 elegant, individually designed guest rooms combing luxurious bedrooms and state of the art en-suite bathrooms giving you the perfect blend of both old and new. The Highworth Hotel is a warm and welcoming place to pop in for an Illy coffee, a pint of local real ale, or the perfect G&T – whichever is your favourite tipple, and in the warmer weather we have our own suntrap large patio garden for you to relax in. We offer great home cooked food, using many local products where you can be delighted by anything from a honey mustard glazed Wiltshire ham sandwich to great steaks, burgers, tagines, curries and much more. Our Sunday lunch is great value and not to be missed, with fabulous crispy roasties, huge Yorkshire puds with all our roasts and rich gravy. Oh and leave room for dessert, with our sticky toffee pudding definitely not to be missed, and rich creamy Italian ice creams delivered especially to us from Gigi’s gelateria. We are an excellent place to hold a variety of events, due to our dedication to service, fantastic catering and a number of adaptable spaces and private rooms on offer. We are perfect for: • Events & Functions – Whether you are hosting a corporate event or family get together • Weddings – We are a boutique hotel in Wiltshire. If you are looking for a cosy wedding venue that is beautiful throughout and can provide exceptional food, look no further than The Highworth Hotel • Birthday Parties – We can provide customised dining experiences for birthday parties of all ages. Check out our “Mad Hatter” party theme which has been very popular • Hen Parties and Baby Showers –often choosing our delicious home baked Afternoon teas • Anniversary dinners – with private rooms to seat from 10 – 50 people we offer the perfect, tasteful setting to celebrate • Meetings – Why not get away from your usual place of business and host a meeting at The Highworth? Located just on the edge of Swindon, we can offer private rooms, adaptable spaces and overnight accommodation if required, all with a free high-speed, reliable internet connection. So why not pop in, the team will be very pleased to offer you a very warm welcome!

Contact Information:

Swindon, SN6 7H

+44(0) 1793 762364

Opening Times:

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