GREAT TEW AND LITTLE TEW

Perhaps the best known of these two villages is the little picture postcard village of Great Tew which is full of attractive honey-coloured ironstone cottages, most of them thatched, in a landscaped setting and is well worth a visit. The village belongs to the Great Tew Estate which in the last 50 years or so has rescued it from dereliction and decay so that now it's a delight to see.

Just outside the centre of Great Tew is the parish church, the Church of St. Michael and All Angels. Originally Norman, the church was rebuilt and enlarged between the 13th and 14th centuries, and then again in the 19th century. Several 14th century wall paintings have been discovered and it is thought that others have yet to be uncovered. For the history and full information about St. Michael's Church click here.

Various events are held at Great Tew Park including the well-known Cornbury Music Festival which is held early in July.

Nearby Little Tew (so named because, unlike Great Tew which was then named Church Tew, it had no church) is an attractive village of traditional Cotswold stone cottages and others built in the local honey coloured ironstone.

The first church to be built in Little Tew was a Baptist chapel which was built in 1845. In 1853 the parish church of St. John the Evangelist was built in early 14th century style. Initially it was a chapel of ease of the parish of Great Tew, until 1857 when Little Tew was made a separate ecclesiastical parish. For the history and full information about St. John's Church click here.

The villages of Great and Little Tew are 4 to 5 miles north-east of Chipping Norton.