Stow-on-the-Wold

“Stow-on-the-Wold, where the wind blows cold” so the local rhyme says - because of the town’s hill-top location on the Fosse Way
In the 17th century, one of the most prosperous wool towns, where some 20,000 sheep a day were traded during the twice-annual fairs.
As the importance of sheep declined, the fairs became a market for horses - now a great gathering for travelling, gipsy people
Now a busy tourist town, with many antique shops
Next to Market Square the 17th Century penal stocks still stand, in front of the Old Stocks Hotel, dating back to the 16th century
During the English Civil War, in 1646 the Royalist army was soundly defeated & the parish church became the refuge for 1500 soldiers who were taken prisoner.