AN ANCIENT TRADE ETCHED IN STONE

A Cotswold Wool Church steeple with trees and blue sky

The History of the Cotswold Wool Trade

The Cotswolds became wealthy during the medieval period largely due to the wool trade, with fleece from the region considered among the finest in Europe. Known as “the golden fleece of England,” Cotswold wool was exported across the continent, bringing prosperity to merchants, farmers, and towns. This wealth left a lasting legacy of wool churches, grand manor houses, and market towns, a story written in stone and spun in wool.


At Cotswold Wool Trader, we celebrate this remarkable heritage by reconnecting the fibres of the past with the craftsmanship of today. Our products honour the people and places that built the Cotswolds’ wool-rich story, inviting you to follow the thread across villages, footpaths, and markets that once thrived on this trade

  • Chipping Campden

    "The Woolstaplers' Capital"


    "Chipping" means market, and this elegant town was once the beating heart of the Cotswold wool trade. Grevel's House (built 1380) belonged to William Grevel, described in his memorial brass as "the flower of the wool merchants of all England," and the honey-coloured High Street you see today was built on the fortune of the fleece.

  • Stow-on-the-Wold

    "At the Crossroads of Trade"


    Perched at 800 feet, the highest town in the Cotswolds, Stow was the gathering place for the great sheep fairs of the medieval period, where tens of thousands of animals changed hands in a single day. The narrow alleys leading into the market square, known as "tures", connected it to the surrounding streets, including the aptly named Sheep Street, and were used to drive and count sheep as they were herded in to be sold.

  • Burford

    "Gateway to the Cotswolds"


    A powerful wool centre from the 14th to 17th centuries, Burford's long sloping High Street, lined with merchant houses built on wool profits, remains one of the most handsome in England. The Church of St. John the Baptist, a famous wool church, bears witness to the wealth those merchants accumulated.

  • Northleach

    "Merchants and Markets"


    Once a major wool market town, Northleach prospered from the 14th to the 16th centuries as one of the great trading centres of the English wool trade. Its Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, whose floor is covered in memorial brasses of wool merchants depicted with their feet on woolsacks, dwarfs the small town around it.

  • Bibury

    "Where Weavers Worked"


    Arlington Row, Bibury's famous terrace of honey-coloured stone cottages, was built around 1380 as a wool store and later converted into weavers' cottages. The Arlington Mill at the end of the row processed the finished cloth, and still stands today.

  • Fairford

    "Glass and Glory"


    Fairford's Church of St. Mary is the only parish church in England to retain a complete set of original medieval stained glass, 28 windows funded entirely by local wool merchant John Tame and his son in the late 15th century. It is perhaps the most powerful illustration anywhere in the Cotswolds of what wool money could achieve.

  • Cirencester

    "Capital of the Wool Region"


    The commercial heart of the wool region since medieval times, Cirencester hosted the great fairs where fleece was graded and sold to merchants from across Europe. The Church of St. John the Baptist, known as the "Cathedral of the Cotswolds," is the most imposing wool church in the region, its scale a direct reflection of the wealth the trade poured into this town.

  • Painswick

    "Queen of the Cotswolds"


    Painswick's prosperity came from cloth rather than raw wool, its mills processing fabric for a European market. The elegant houses and the Church of St. Mary, framed by its famous 99 yew trees, were built by the clothiers who drove that trade.

  • Tetbury

    "A Market Since the Middle Ages"


    Tetbury's wool markets have run since medieval times, and the elegant Market House (1655), still standing on its stone pillars in the town centre, is one of the most distinctive market buildings in England. Today it is perhaps best known as the nearest town to Highgrove, the country home of King Charles III, but its character as a working market town is the direct inheritance of centuries of trade in wool.

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Map of a route through Cotswolds towns and villages in Gloucestershire, England, with numbered waypoints on a beige background

Follow the Fleece!

Explore Our Cotswold Wool Trail

Trace the path of the medieval wool merchants, stopping in towns and villages that once made England famous for its golden fleece.

Together, these stops form our Cotswold Wool Trail, celebrating the past, supporting today’s farmers, and sharing the beauty of British wool with visitors from around the world.

  • 1. Chipping Campden → 2. Stow‑on‑the‑Wold

    Depart Chipping Campden heading south on the B4081.

    At the junction with the A44, turn left (east) toward Moreton-in-Marsh.

    At Moreton-in-Marsh, pick up the A429 (Fosse Way) heading south into Stow-on-the-Wold.

    Distance: 10 miles
    Approx. driving time: 15 minutes

  • 2. Stow-on-the-Wold → 3. Burford

    From Stow-on-the-Wold, depart south on the A429, then take the A424 heading south-east toward Burford.

    Follow the A424 into Burford, descending the hill into the town centre.

    Distance: 10 miles
    Approx. driving time: 13 minutes

  • 3. Burford → 4. Northleach

    Exit Burford heading west on the A40.
    Follow the A40 west, then follow signs into Northleach village centre.

    Distance: 9 miles
    Approx. driving time: 15 minutes

  • 4. Northleach → 5. Bibury

    Depart Northleach heading south-east via the B4425 toward Bibury.

    Enter Bibury from the north-west and proceed into the village centre and Arlington Row area.

    Distance: 6 miles
    Approx. driving time: 15 minutes

  • 5. Bibury → 6. Fairford

    Leave Bibury heading east on the B4425 (not south-east as previously stated).

    Continue on the B4425 to the A417; turn right (east) toward Lechlade.

    Turn right onto the A417 and continue into Fairford, approaching from the west.

    Distance: 8 miles
    Approx. driving time: 15 minutes

  • 6. Fairford → 7. Cirencester

    From Fairford, join the A417 heading west toward Cirencester.

    Follow signage into Cirencester town centre.

    Distance: 10 miles
    Approx. driving time: 17 minutes

  • 7. Cirencester → 8. Painswick

    Exit Cirencester heading west on the A419 toward Stroud.

    At Stroud, pick up the A46 heading north toward Cheltenham.

    Follow the A46 north and take local roads into Painswick village centre.

    Distance: 16 miles
    Approx. driving time: 21 mins

  • 8. Painswick → 9. Tetbury

    Leave Painswick heading south on the A46 toward Stroud.

    At Stroud/Nailsworth, take the A46 south, then pick up the A4135 heading east toward Tetbury (via Nailsworth and Avening).

    Enter Tetbury from the north-west.

    Distance: 12 miles
    Approx. driving time: 25 mins

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Our Cotswold Wool Trail is presented for informational purposes only as a suggested route to explore.
While the route could be followed in one day, we recommend spending longer to truly enjoy the ancient towns, villages and scenery.

For help planning your trip, visit the official Cotswolds tourism guide at www.cotswolds.com

Explore British Wool

Group of sheep standing in a grassy field with trees in the background

Meet the Flock!

Now you have learnt about the history of the Cotswold wool trade, explore the British heritage and international breeds still farmed today in the local area.

Explore British Wool