A Very Warm Welcome to Our Wonderful Town
 Chipping Norton is a 'Bustling, Buzzing Cotswold Market Town'. It's a great place to live, with a superb range of shops, schools and facilities.
'Chippy' is at the 'Gateway to the Cotswolds' between Oxford and Banbury so we're easy to reach by road or rail.
It's a great place to visit, with lovely pubs, tea rooms and restaurants surrounded by stunningly beautiful countryside. Use us as a base for local walks and for exploring nearby tourist attractions such as Stratford-upon-Avon, Blenheim Palace at Woodstock, Stow-on-the-Wold, The Rollright Stones and of course The Cotswolds. Why not stay at The Crown & Cushion Hotel, The Fox Hotel, at one of the many B&Bs or in a fantastically luxurious log cabin (with its own spa) at Bluewood Park? We really are the town with a 101 Days Out on our doorstep.
The town has a fascinating history and was, during the 70s, 80s and 90s, home to world reknowned recording studios where many groups recorded their albums. Artists such as The Proclaimers, Status Quo, Beverley Craven, Radiohead, Kula Shaker, Duran Duran, The Boo Radleys, Fairground Attraction all visited the town.
It's a practical and attractive place to set up and grow a business. Many local businesses are expanding and offering jobs - see our Job Vacancies section (now incorporating feeds from The Oxford Mail and others).
We have a Local News page showing the latest news from Oxfordshire County Council, West Oxfordshire District Council and the BBC.
Thanks to niccodeamus for his wonderful picture "Blackthorn"
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| TWINNING VISIT - CHIPPY PLAYS HOST TO MAGNY-EN-VEXIN
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Keith Clandfied, Chair of The Twinning Association reports:
That's another amicale /twinning event over, and what a weekend it was! Our guests from our twin town Magny-en-Vexin
arrived on Thursday 1 May celebrated in France as May Day (a bank holiday there, so they didn't lose a day's pay!) Of course it was election day here so we had
the civic reception in the lower town hall where the Mayor welcomed the visitors on behalf of the Town. Chipping Norton Silver Band played for us and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it and clapped along.
The evening
was spent in the company of the hosts and Friday was a free day - many parts of the
Cotswolds were visited. On Friday evening we had our social meal at Wychwood Golf
Club and both Presidents made their speaches and exchanged gifts. The meal was appreciated by all, and the
Chairman praised and thanked the young staff for their expertise during
the evening.
On Saturday we visited Hampton Court Palace and gardens - our guests were mightily impressed and come Sunday when we had
to bid them farewell they did'nt want it to end.
I've already received many e-mails
of thanks - all in all it was a
fantastic weekend - and everyone's looking forward to the return trip when we visit them in 2009. So, anyone wanting to join up please get in touch with me, or John Graves (who took the photos here) and we look forward to welcoming you along.
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| COUNTDOWN TO ARTWEEKS IN CHIPPING NORTON
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Artists from all over the Chipping Norton area will be exhibiting their work as part of Oxfordshire Artweeks from 10 – 18 May, every day from 12:00 noon to 6:00pm. Look out for the ‘trail map’ showing all the artists’ sites and where to find them, which will be available from Jaffé & Neale, Bookshop & Café and the Town Hall. Starting on 3 May there’ll be a taster exhibit in the upstairs gallery at Jaffé & Neale of photographs of the artists at work. You can find out more from the fantastic Artweeks website - just click the logo below - and see the map of the local Artweeks trail and read more on our Arts & Culture pages.
In nearby Hook Norton there will be three separate exhibitions in the village this year.
David McGill David Turner RitaWheatley
David McGill – has an exhibition of photographs and greetings cards at Sunnybank Farmhouse, Scotland End.
David Turner – will be showing a variety of sculptured ironwork pieces at Priory Cottage, Netting Street.
Rita Wheatley – will be exhibiting her paintings and drawings at Little Granary, 1 Beanacre.
All exhibitions will be open from 12:00pm until 6:00pm with late night opening on Thursday 15 May until 8:00pm.
For more of the Hook Norton Artists' work work click on their names above to see their own sites.
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FREE OVER 60s SWIMMING AT CHIPPING NORTON LIDO
Older people will continue to benefit from free open air swimming at Chipping Norton Lido thanks to support from retirement home builders, McCarthy & Stone. The free Over 60s session runs every Wednesday from 10:30am – 12:30pm throughout the school term time and is open to anyone to wishes to swim, socialise and enjoy a cup of coffee at The Lido’s café.
 Suzanne Ellison, marketing manager at McCarthy & Stone who have two retirement home sites in Chipping Norton, commented, “The Lido’s warm water and lovely surroundings make it the perfect place to take some gentle exercise and to meet friends, or make new ones. We’re delighted to be supporting this community venture and to be able to offer the benefits of swimming to retired people in the town.”
Claire Jarvis, trustee of Chipping Norton Lido, added, “We’re extremely grateful to McCarthy & Stone for their continued support which has enabled us to maintain our services to this section of the community. Keeping active as one gets older is really important and this session has already been welcomed by many health practitioners in the area.”
Get ready to for the annual "Auction of Promises" hosted, as veer, by Jeremy Clarkson, which this year will be on Friday 13 June. See the Lido's dedicated auction site for details.
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| OLD CLOSED PUB REOPENS AFTER FACELIFT -THE SWAN AT ASCOTT
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There have been many reports in the news about the number of pubs that are closing down. It's great then to report on a pub that has re-opened in nearby Ascott-under-Wychwood. The Swan, once owned by Morrells, was in a bit of a sorry state but has been given a new lease of life by new owner Richard Lait, and now blends country character with a contemporary touch.
A major refurbishment has transformed the once "sorry-sight" into a "sight-for-sore-eyes". It looks brilliant and is quickly attracting visitors from further afield. But the transformation hasn't stopped at the two cosy bars - the restaurant is turning out fantastic food by award winning chef Ben Sparrow; decent pies, home-cooked casseroles and calorific puddings will conspire to tempt locals and visitors alike. The hitherto unused gardens have been given a makeover and three of the upstairs rooms have been transformed into stylish and well appointed ensuite bedrooms where you can stay in comfort from £75 per room including breakfast. For details of these see our B&B listing.
With friendly hosts Eli and Natalie en-situ the transformation is extraordinary and, given my last visit in its former life, very welcome indeed.
For more information or to reserve a table or room, please call 01993 832332 or visit www.swanatascott.com
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The Town Council has written to WODC Planning Department to object to theproposed development on the Burgage Plots.
See the letter on the Town Council website
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| Sign Up for your FREE Monthly Update
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Ken Norman is Marketing Manager for the Town. If you'd like to share your marketing ideas, he'll be delighted to hear from you.
Ken can be reached on 07790 670 234 or ken@cnuk.info
To find out more click here!
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LOVE CHIPPY? PROUD OF YOUR TOWN?
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Why not contribute to our "Pride of Place Page" ? You could win a PRIZE!
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| Visitor & Community Information Desk
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The Town Council’s “Visitor & Community Information Desk” will open for business on 5 April and every Saturday morning thereafter from 10:00am till 1:00 pm in the lower entrance to Town Hall.
Two volunteers will be on hand each session using brochures, leaflets and the internet to provide visitors and local people with details of B&Bs, walks, cycle routes, hotels, shops, bus & train times and the like.
Councillor Gina Burrows pictured above centre, is looking for more people with some time to help run the point. So, if you enjoy meeting the public and could spare a couple of weekends to help out then contact Gina at gmburrows@hotmail.com she’ll be delighted to hear from you.
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40 years on and the Lido lottery is back. You can subscribe to the lottery for £3 a month - the prize fund = 50% of the total raised. For further information and an entry form call in at Jaffé & Neale or print off the form here.
April prize winners:
First prize: George Clary £101.25
Second prize: Rolie Clarke £60.75
Third prize: Frances Morton £40.50
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Involved in running or setting up a voluntary or community group? Need help with funding, finding volunteers or identifying the right policies and procedures? Then visit Chippy’s new Information Point at The ACE Children’s Centre to find support and guidance!
Just book an appointment between 10:00am and 1:00pm on the first Friday of each month. email: chippy.info@gmail.com or call 01608 644440
Chris Deeney from Oxfordshire Community & Voluntary Action (OCVA) says, ‘This project is a fantastic opportunity for community groups to have access to information at a local level that will help support and develop their activities’.
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| For the community; residents, business and tourists
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This website was funded by the Chipping Norton Town Partnership and is being developed as a community resource by members of the community for the benefit of the community. This is your opportunity to promote your business or organisation. If you represent a club, shop, church or other community body, and would like a page on the site, just tell us!
We are happy to carry information about local businesses and organisations, but their presence on this site does not imply that the Chipping Norton Town Partnership endorses them or accepts any responsibility for their products or services.
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