📍 Chipping Campden
Court Barn Museum
Independent museum in a seventeenth-century barn in Chipping Campden, telling the story of the Arts and Crafts movement and the craftspeople who came to the North Cotswolds.
✦ We visited
A beautifully presented small museum that rewards the entry price through quality rather than scale. The craftsmanship on show is exceptional, and the story of the Guild of Handicraft is told with real care. Best for families with children who enjoy making things or have an interest in design.
Court Barn Museum stands in a seventeenth-century barn just off Chipping Campden's High Street and tells the story of one of the most important moments in British craft history. In 1902 the designer and social reformer C R Ashbee brought the Guild of Handicraft from London's East End to this market town, bringing silversmiths, jewellers, metalworkers and woodworkers with him. The objects they made, and the lives they led, are the heart of the museum.
The displays have real depth without feeling dense. An interactive map charts the significant historic buildings of Chipping Campden, and digital interactives bring individual makers to life through their objects and stories. Older children with an interest in making things, design or local history are likely to find more here than in a conventional heritage gallery. An interactive quiz runs through the building and gives younger visitors a clear way to engage.
A ticket to Court Barn comes with a buy-one-get-one-free offer at the Gordon Russell Design Museum in Broadway, which continues the thread of Cotswold craft and design into the twentieth century and makes the two a good pair if you are spending a couple of days in the North Cotswolds. Allow a leisurely hour or two, and combine with a walk along Chipping Campden's remarkable High Street and medieval church.
Good for: arts, history, rainy-day. Ages: 5–7, 8–11, 12+.
Good to know
What is Court Barn Museum about?
It celebrates the Arts and Crafts movement in the North Cotswolds, particularly the work of the Guild of Handicraft that moved from London to Chipping Campden in 1902 under the designer C R Ashbee.
Is Court Barn Museum good for children?
It suits children from around eight upwards with an interest in art, craft or history. An interactive quiz is available for younger visitors.
Is there a link between Court Barn and the Gordon Russell Design Museum?
Yes, a ticket to Court Barn gives buy-one-get-one-free entry to the Gordon Russell Design Museum in Broadway, which continues the story of Cotswold design into the twentieth century.
