The Towns Of The Cotswolds

Lechlade

The Town

Halfpenny Bridge, Lechlade Lechlade or more correctly Lechlade-on-Thames is at the upper reaches of the navigatable River Thames for craft from London & the Home Counties. The town is dominated by the tall spire of the parish church of St.Lawrence rising high above the river just a short distance away from its banks

The town built on the confluence of the Rivers Leach, Coln & Thames straddles the three counties of Oxfordshire, Wiltshire & Gloucestershire. Lechlade has been a much favoured place to live since Neolithic man & there have been several Neolithic sites discovered in the area. The Romans also chose to settle around the town & two villas have been excavated. Old Father Thames, St Johns Lock, Lechlade The most exciting & important archeological discoveries was the Saxon cemetery found close to the sports field & many of the artifacts found, show that the cemetery was in use into the early 7th century.

St. Lawrence Church was built in 1476 but there is evidence that a church stood on this site much earlier. The building is of a perpendicular style & there are many carved figures adorning the outside of the building. Inside there are good brasses commemorating local dignitaries & benefactors from the 15th & 16th centuries, a carved figure of St Agatha, a 3rd century martyr in the north aisle.

Market Square & St Lawrence, Lechlade The town is bubbly with a steady influx of visitors browsing the small number of unique shops including the "Christmas Shop" & leisure facilities with the River Thames being a major draw.

Outside the church is Shelley's Walk and a plaque commemorating the poet Percy Shelley who stayed in the town and during his stay wrote "Stanza in Lechlade Churchyard", A Summer Evening Churchyard.

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Getting Here

The town is on the A433 just 13 miles from Cirencester, 11 miles from Swindon, 25 miles from Oxford. Click here for a map courtesy of Multimap.
Bus services connecting to Lechlade are:

64 Swindon-Carterton Stagecoach Oxford
74 Swindon-Fairford Stagecoach Swindon & District
Cirencester-Lechlade Adrians Coaches

The nearest rail station is at Swindon & is served by First Great Western.

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Parking

There is limited time parking in the Market Square & High Street. There is further free parking at New Memorial Hall approx 350 yards from the centre. During the summer months there is free parking at the Riverside carpark on the opposite side of the river.

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