The Wheatsheaf Inn, Northleach
A Brief Introduction to Northleach
Image courtesy of cotswoldswheatsheaf.com.
The Wheatsheaf Inn is a seventeenth-century coaching inn located in the Cotswold town of Northleach, Gloucestershire. The town sits just half a mile from the ancient Roman road, the Fosse Way, which was still a major thoroughfare in Tudor England.
This sleepy little settlement, which looks more like a village than a town today, was once an important medieval centre of trade. In fact, it is difficult to believe, but once upon a time, Northleach was the epicentre of the wool trade in Europe.
From its foundation during the Roman occupation of Britain, Northleach was a ‘Planned Town’, which meant that the hub of the town was its marketplace, functioning as a centre for trade. The streets fanned out from this marketplace, presumably allowing easy access to onward trading centres or major roads. Around the marketplace, the townsfolk lived, each house given a sizable ‘burbage’ or plot of land that ran a considerable distance from the back of the house. This gave the inhabitants a place to grow their food and rear animals.
Much of the town’s original layout, the houses with their burbages, remains largely intact. A population census from 1551 gives 400 people living in the parish of Northleach and Easington. In 1984, this had risen to just under 1,500.
Northleach remains a small and picturesque town renowned for its beautifully preserved Cotswold stone buildings. Home to the fifteenth-century church of St Peter and St Paul, paid for by the wealthy wool merchants, Northleach has a rich history and was visited by Henry VII and Elizabeth of York on their 1502 progress.
Stay at The Wheatsheaf Inn
This historic coaching inn is now a bespoke hotel with fourteen bedrooms and a restaurant. Decorated to preserve its original character, expect original beams, exposed brickwork and wooden floorboards. Designed with luxury in mind, the hotel fuses old with new and feels contemporary and comfortable. Guests are treated to handwritten welcome notes, organic Bramley toiletries, premium bathrobes and bed linen.
Historic Properties Nearby
Tudor Northleach
The Cotswold Wool Churches – podcast here and image gallery here : Church of St Peter and St Paul (minutes from the hotel), St Mary’s Church, Fairford (10 miles), St. John The Baptist Church, Cirencester (10 miles)
Sudeley Castle (11 miles)
Tudor Gloucester Cathedral (21 miles)
For more information on places to visit in the county and how to get there, my podcast Gloucestershire Travel Essentials may be helpful. My travel itinerary following Henry VII and Elizabeth of York’s 1502 Progress also covers Tudor places to visit in the county.
Visitor Information
For more details on the accommodation, check out The Wheatsheaf Inn’s website.
Contact Details: email bookings.wheatsheafinn@youngs.co.uk or call +441451 539889.
Address: The Wheatsheaf Inn, West End, Northleach, Gloucestershire, GL54 3EZ.
