Broadway
The Village
Broadway offers property buyers a perfect gateway to the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Recoco property finders will happily help you locate residential gems in its green and golden streets of mellow Cotswold stone cottages, mingled with Tudor, Stuart and Georgian houses.
Your Recoco property finder may well use one of Broadway’s charming nicknames, ‘Jewel of the Cotswolds’ or ‘Show Village of England’. The attractive High Street is one of the longest in Britain.
Transport
The village is just off the main A44, and your Recoco buying agents can confirm it’s around 2 hours from central London by road. The nearest railway stations are Evesham, Honeybourne, and Moreton-in-Marsh, all between 6 and 10 miles away. Birmingham International and Bristol are the nearest public airports.
History
Tucked in at the foot of Fish Hill, Broadway takes its name from the wide street through the village. The eighteenth century Broadway Tower, a 65-foot folly overlooking the village, is sometimes referred to as Fish Inn Tower or Beacon Tower.
In the 17th century, over 30 Broadway coaching inns catered to the busy trade on the main London to Worcester route. Property buyers might also be surprised to learn of Worcestershire’s importance during the English Civil War. Ask your Recoco property finder to point you towards the Lygon Arms Hotel on the High Street, where Oliver Cromwell spent the night before the Battle of Worcester; it had also been used by Charles I.
Archaeologists have found Anglo-Saxon jewellery and weapons in a nearby cemetery; the Romans also left evidence of their presence.
Leisure and Events
Typical events include charity runs, country fairs, food festivals, and dog shows, with a biennial arts festival. If you’d like an occasional blues and jazz soundtrack to accompany your property search, head to the Crown and Trumpet Inn. The town is an ideal place to find eclectic antique shops, clothing boutiques, and tearooms.
If you’re a property buyer Interested in design, let your Recoco buying agent know; they can point out Gordon Russell’s original workshop, now a Grade II listed Museum, which works in partnership with the Ashmolean in Oxford. Other options include taking time out to explore the Cold War Experience, just north of Broadway Tower, or step back in time at St Eadburgha’s Church, named for the grand-daughter of Alfred the Great.
If gardens form an important aspect of your property search, you’re spoiled for choice. Bourton House, Hidcote Manor, Kiftsgate Court, Snowshill Manor, and Batsford Arboretum are all around 15 minutes’ drive away.
Other activities nearby include bowling, horse riding; cycling; and exceptionally pretty hiking trails. The Activity Centre offers options for children of all ages, including an all-weather surface for basketball, football, and netball; a grass pitch for football or rounders; a stone climbing wall, space net, and zip wire. The village has a GP surgery on the High Street.
Broadway is also home to the North Cotswolds Hunt.
Education
There are two publicly funded primary schools in Broadway: St Mary's Catholic primary school and Broadway first school. There are well-regarded state secondary schools in Bourton-on-the-Water, Winchcombe, Chipping Campden and Evesham, while independent schools are well catered for locally in Cheltenham, Stratford-upon Avon, Malvern, Kingham and Worcester.
Celebrity Connections
One of the main claims to fame of the village is the Broadway Artists’ Colony. Originally based in Farnham House, overlooking the village green, the Broadway Group of Artists moved to the larger Russell House in 1886.
Members included writer and artist William Morris, artist John Singer Sargent, author J.M. Barrie, and furniture designer Gordon Russell. Artist Francis Millet died when the Titanic sank on 15 April 1912; the lych-gate at the entrance to the church pays tribute to him.
Writer Oscar Wilde, artist Claude Monet, and composers Edward Elgar and Vaughan Williams also spent time here, as did American writer Henry James.
Foodies’ Corner
There are several tea shops and a couple of brasseries; Russell’s excellent fish and chip restaurant and takeaway; and two hotels with restaurants serving seasonal fare. Should you feel like indulging in afternoon tea, the Buckland Manor Hotel will allow you to take a pit stop from your property search. Or buy delectable local delights at the Broadway Deli, which also grows many of the vegetables for sale.
Fun Facts
From the top of Broadway Tower on a clear day, Recoco buying agents will confirm that you can see up to 16 English counties, the Malvern Hills, and the Black Mountains of Wales.