Chipping Campden is one of the loveliest small towns in the Cotswolds and a gilded masterpiece of limestone and craftmanship.The main street curves in a shallow arc lined with a succession of ancient houses each grafted to the next but each with its own distinctive embellishments.Campden was already established in the 7th century and derives its name from the Saxon "Campa-denu" or "Campadene", meaning a valley with fields or enclosures of cultivated land.
Chipping Campden's church, St. James, at the north end of the town, is perhaps, the finest 'wool' church in the Cotswolds, with a magnificent 120ft (36 metre) tower and a very spacious interior. The church is famed for having one of the oldest altar tapestries (pre-reformation) and largest brass in England.