Our Village

The northernmost settlement in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the village of Mickleton derives its name from the Saxon word “Mycclantune” or “large village”.  If the source of our name is accurate then it is perhaps surprising that there are only two Mickletons in the UK - the other one being in County Durham.

In 1005 AD the Church and parish belonged to the Abbey of Eynsham near Oxford and the village had strong links with Evesham Abbey.  By 1494 the lease of the Manor of Mickleton was held by the Porter family who established a charity in 1513 to support the church and school, generously endowing it with 29 acres of land (to this day the Richard Porter Charity provides grants for local schoolchildren). 

In 1591 the lease was surrendered to the Crown and sold to Sir Edward Fisher in 1600. Facing financial difficulties, in 1654 the Fisher family sold the Manor to Richard Graves, a Yorkshire born solicitor who had amassed a fortune providing legal services during the English civil wars and the interregnum.  Between 1654 and 1656 he purchased the manors of Aston and Weston Sub Edge, the Kiftsgate Hundred and the Manor of Mickleton. 

The Graves family and their descendants, the Graves Hamiltons, were to hold the tenure of Mickleton Manor until it was sold by Mary Graves Hamilton in 1977.  The Manor is now divided into four private dwellings.

More information about the history of Mickleton can be found in the Mickleton Community Archive website at www.mickletoncommunityarchive.org.uk.  This is a local project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund to collect and digitise memories and images of Mickleton. 

Mickleton is now a thriving settlement with a population of around 2,000, two churches, a small supermarket, a village hall, two public houses, butcher's shop, garden centre and a celebrated hotel, the Three Ways House, which for over thirty years has been  the home of the Pudding Club.

It's position on the B4632 from Stratford upon Avon to Broadway, Winchcombe and Cheltenham and just three miles from Chipping Campden ensures a regular flow of visitors which helps village businesses to thrive.  The proximity of two world famous gardens at Hidcote Manor Gardens and Kiftsgate Court, also brings a steady stream of visitors and offers a healthy one mile (but steep) walk from the Parish Church across the fields and up the Cotswold escarpment, where both gardens can be found.

As well as the usual village institutions, Mickleton has a host of clubs, societies and activities, plus several historic charities which support the village and its residents.  We hope you will enjoy your time in Mickleton.