Gateway to the Cotswolds: A Burford Tour from Tolsey Museum to Reavley Chemist

(13 reviews)

Cotswolds audio tour: Gateway to the Cotswolds: A Burford Tour from Tolsey Museum to Reavley Chemist

This is a 0.9mi walking tour

It takes an average of 75 mins to complete.

Cotswolds

The United Kingdom

$14.99

Access all 27 locations offline with the VoiceMap app

Buy for a Group

Reviews

About the Tour

Nestled in the heart of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the enchanting market town of Burford beckons you to wander its ancient streets. It‘s a destination where every cobblestone has a story to tell. Hear those tales of by-gone centuries on this walking tour along streets lined with honey-coloured cottages, quaint shops and cozy pubs.

Starting outside Tolsey Museum, you‘ll learn about its role in law enforcement during the Middle Ages. You‘ll then head down Sheep Street and find the aptly named Lamb Inn which has housed both a weaver‘s cottage and brewery. Outside Burford Priory, you‘ll learn about its resident ghosts who, legend has it, curse anyone who catches sight of them. Along the way to Reavley Chemist where your walk ends, you‘ll discover buildings that date from the 1400s to the 1800s including the Great House, one of the town‘s largest mansions, and the imposing St John the Baptist Church. You‘ll also find out about both the famous and infamous people who‘ve lived in Burford, whose stories have contributed to the fascinating history of this stunning town.

Along the way, you‘ll hear about:

Burford’s history, which dates back to the Domesday Book, Britain‘s earliest public record
Lord and Lady Tanfield, the original inhabitants of current-day Bay Tree Hotel, and why they were the most hated residents of Burford
The Royal Oak, a historical pub, and how it’s linked to the English Civil War
How the townsfolk punished a local resident for selling his wife
Burford Brewery, once run by a member of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church
Lucius Carey, the important Burford man whose statue is now in the Houses of Parliament
The bungling crimes of notorious highwaymen Tom, Dick, and Harry
Reavley Chemist, the oldest pharmacy in England
The vicar whose behaviour was far from acceptable for a man of the cloth

Join me on this leisurely 75-minute stroll through this timecapsule of British heritage, where tradition meets tranquility, and where you‘ll find warm welcomes and stories around every corner.

Tour Producer

Talk the Walk

11 tours

I’m Ian Grover and for many years it’s been my pleasure to guide visitors around London and throughout the British Isles. As well as the iconic sights, I delight in showing the hidden gems that many people miss.

My background was centred around the automotive industry when in 1980 I started work as a trainee car salesman with Renault UK Ltd. Over the coming years I progressed to sales management with Mercedes-Benz and finally ended up with the splendidly sounding title of Personal Liaison Manager, responsible for UK sales of their two flagship models. These were the ultra-luxurious Maybach, and a 300 km/h supercar called the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. When these two programmes came to an end I decided to take a different path in life and do something that I had always had a passion for and I became a tour guide.

I went to the University of Westminster in London where, after comprehensive training, I qualified with distinction as a City of Westminster Tour Guide, Since then, over the past years I have delivered both walking tours of London and driving tours throughout the British Isles and this is something that I still enjoy immensely.

In addition to my physical tours, through my Talk the Walk profile on VoiceMap, I'm now focussed on producing engaging audio tours so that travellers can explore with me in their own time and at their own pace.

Preview Location

Location 12

Symon Wysdom's House 2

This is number 1 High Street, but it's better known as Symon Wysdom's House. This was originally three cottages, or almshouses but is now one single house. Like most of the properties in Burford this is a listed building, and records show that it was remodelled in 1576, which ... This is number 1 High Street, but it's better known as Symon Wysdom's House. This was originally three cottages, or almshouses but is now one single house. Like most of the properties in Burford this is a listed building, and records show that it was remodelled in 1576, which suggests that it actually dates back much earlier than that. It was most recently restored and remodelled in the late 19th, and mid 20th centuries.

Symon Wysdom was a prominent local merchant during the 16th century and became the town’s wealthiest and most influential man. He had extensive business and farming interests, he owned numerous properties and plots of land around the town, and he also played a major part in the town’s civic activities of the time. Symon Wysdom was also a great benefactor. Look to the left of the front door of the house as you look at it and there's a stone plaque. This states that the building was given by him to the local Grammar School, which was founded in 1571 by the townsmen of Burford, led by Wysdom. It's purpose was to provide education to the sons of the ordinary men of Burford, and it charged four pence to enrol, and a further eight pence per school year. Wysdom also used the rents received from his many properties to provide a generous endowment to maintain the school.

Moving forward to the 19th century, number 1 High Street was associated with a rather less respectable activity that was quite common at the time, the business of wife selling.

Wife selling in England probably began in the late 17th century when getting a divorce was pretty well impossible for all but the very wealthiest. The husband would parade his wife to market, usually with a halter around her neck or arm, and publicly auction her to the highest bidder. This practice carried on through the 18th and 19th centuries, and there's even a reported case in 1913 when a woman claimed in court that her husband had sold her for £1 to one of his workmates.

In 1855, an unnamed man living here at 1 High Street, took his wife to Chipping Norton market where he sold her for the handsome sum of £25. When he returned back here though, the townsfolk reacted furiously to what they considered a disgraceful act. For three nights they gathered outside this house and subjected the man to a punishment known as rough music. This was improvised noise created by banging saucepans, scrap metal and other objects as a way for communities to express outrage or displeasure at someone's behaviour.

Things came to a head, when one night the townsfolk brought a straw effigy of the man and burned it outside his house. He came running outside carrying a pitchfork which he used to scoop up the effigy and throw it into the nearby River Windrush. He clearly couldn't take any more of this though because he returned to Chipping Norton and purchased his wife back from the man he'd sold her to. He was clearly a shrewd businessman though as he bought her back for just £15, thereby making a profit of £10 on the overall transaction. Read More

View locations and route

How VoiceMap Works

Focus on your surroundings, not the screen

The VoiceMap app uses GPS to play audio automatically, at the right time and place, so you can focus on your surroundings, not the screen.

Follow a route with turn-by-turn-directions

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a fixed starting point. That lets us give turn-by-turn directions and use context to tell a better story.

Resume playback to go at your own pace

If you'd like to stop for a drink or go into a museum, end your tour then use the Resume feature to pick up exactly where you left off.

Listen as many times as you like

You can listen to your tours as often as you like using both the VoiceMap app and website.

Take virtual tours anywhere, like a podcast

Select Virtual mode in the VoiceMap app to listen to tours like a podcast - at home or in transit.

Buy for less on voicemap.me and sync

Once you've purchased a tour, it's added to your VoiceMap library. To access it in the app, just sign in using the same account.

Do tours without paying for data

Tours work offline, so you don't have to pay roaming fees. Just download them over WiFi before you get started.

Major Landmarks

Burford Tolsey Museum
Sheep Street
The Bay Tree Hotel
The Brewery Burford
The Lamb Inn
Burford Priory
Falkland Hall
Symon wysdom's house
St John the Baptist Church
warwick almshouses burford
The Great House
The Royal Oak
Burford House
Burford Methodist Church
Antiques At The George
Reavley Chemist

View all

Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
152-126 A361, Burford OX18 4QU, UK
Total distance

1km
Final location
124 High St, Burford OX18 4QR, UK
Distance back to start location

36.17m

Directions to Starting Point

Our tour begins outside Burford Tolsey which is where the Burford local museum is situated. This is approximately half way down the steep hill that leads to the town centre and is at the corner of High Street and Sheep Street. If you are travelling by car there is limited on-street parking in both Sheep Street and High Street. Alternatively there is a free car park at the end of Church Lane which is well signposted.

There is a very convenient bench seat nearby which if vacant you can use to relax and listen to the introduction to our tour.

Show Directions

Gift vouchers

Buy tours for friends and family who delight in discovery

Buy Now

Buy for a group

Get 15% to 50% off when you buy for a group

Buy Now

License this tour

Adapt this tour to use your brand and suit your guests

Find out more

Tips

Places to stop along the way

Burford has a great selection of places to eat and drink. Choose from any of the pubs in and around the High Street and you'll find good quality traditional pub fayre. If a civilised high tea is your preference then I can highly recommend Huffkyns on the High Street. They have been serving Burford folk since 1890 so they must be doing something right. If you have a car then I would suggest a visit to the Swan at Swinbrook which is a ten minute drive from here. This beautiful riverside pub was once owned by the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire and is renowned for its excellent food and its idyllic setting

Best time of day

This tour can be taken at any time of day throughout the year.

Precautions

Burford is a very pleasant and safe town to walk around. The High Street can get very busy with traffic though so take care when you are crossing the road. My best advice is to use the light controlled pedestrian crossing wherever possible.

Get The App

Download tours to use them offline

Listen hands-free with GPS playback

Get turn-by-turn directions

Scan the QR Code

“This app has become my go-to app for audio tours. I pretty much use it for every trip and it works wonderfully. I highly recommend VoiceMap for travelers to truly experience cities.”

App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”

Google Play Store

Questions and Reviews

4.9 / 5

13 Ratings

Display:

Sort by:

Relevant

Recent

Loading…

Loading...

Gateway to the Cotswolds: A Burford Tour from Tolsey Museum to Reavley Chemist

About the Tour

Tour Producer

Talk the Walk

Preview Location

Location 12

Symon Wysdom's House 2

How VoiceMap Works

Major Landmarks

Burford Tolsey Museum

Sheep Street

The Bay Tree Hotel

The Brewery Burford

The Lamb Inn

Burford Priory

Falkland Hall

Symon wysdom's house

St John the Baptist Church

warwick almshouses burford

The Great House

The Royal Oak

Burford House

Burford Methodist Church

Antiques At The George

Reavley Chemist