Monday, 11 August 2025

A Birthday Trip to Broadway

On Tuesday morning I woke up with a 59 year old man beside me, how the hell did that happen?! 

Yes, it was Jon's birthday last week and we decided to continue with our Cotswold odyssey and visit the village of Broadway. Just down the road from Tewkesbury, Broadway is postcard perfect and known as the Jewel of the Cotswolds. The "broad way" is the wide grass-fringed main street, centred on the Green, lined with chestnut trees and honey-coloured Cotswold limestone buildings, many dating from the 16th century. 


An ancient settlement daing back to Mestholithic times, it was settled by the Romans and by the Tudor era the village had grown rich with the Cotswold wool and cloth trade. By the 16th Century Broadway had become a busy stagecoach stop, breaking up the journey between Worcester and London, with the village providing all that was needed by the weary traveller, grooms, places of refreshment and extra horses but, following the introduction of the railways and the opening of a station at nearby Evesham in 1852, the once thriving village became a backwater, a haven of peace and tranquilty with Victorian artists and writers drawn to Broadway with the Arts and Crafts Movement eventually making its home in the area. 


Known as the Colony of Creativity, the group started with William Morris and included Edwin Austin Abbey, Francis D Millet, Alfred Parsons, Henry James, Edmund Gosse, Frederick Barnard, JM Barrie and John Singer Sargent. Russell House (above) built in 1791, on the outskirts of the village, became an integral part of the scene with several of the American artists lodging here and the extensive gardens immortalised in many of the artworks they produced includung Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose (1885- 6) by John Singer Sargent (below).


Just over an hour's drive away from home, it really does feel like another world, even on a dull day like last Tuesday, that buttery yellow Cotswold stone gives the impression that the village is bathed in sunshine and the majority of visitors were Italian and American with not a Midlands accent to be heard!




No regimented municipal planting schemes here, the chaos of the cottage garden reigns supreme. 


This ancient stone post was deliberately defaced during World War 2 in case it revealed valuable information to invading German paratroopers.




The War Memorial was erected in 1920 and designed by FL Griggs in the English Modern style. 




As usual, we played the Which house would you live in if money was no object? game....we were spoilt for choice. Its hardly surprising that rock stars and celebs like Kate Moss and The Beckhams move to The Cotswolds, if we were millionaires we'd join them! 












Housed within a gorgeous 17th Century former coaching inn, Broadway Museum and Art Gallery has some fabulous artworks by John Singer Sargent and a wonderful cabinet of curiosities filled with everyting from 300BCE Greek busts, Egyptian goddesses and Mediaeval trinketry.



We were fascinated by this 17th century grafitti. 





















We loved the look of Broadway Deli and headed there for lunch. At £20 each, they were probably the priciest salads we'd ever eaten but they were incredible and so big we didn't need to eat again until the following day. Jon loved his traditional Polughman's and mine, with a vegetarian take on a Scotch egg (a soft boiled egg encased in a spicy chickpea batter) was the stuff dreams were made of. 




The Lygon Arms (below) dates from Medieval times and hosted the leaders of both sides of the 17th-century English Civil Wars. Its sign has been re-painted many many times. In 1377 it was named The White Hart after Richard II but following his defeat by Henry IV it became the White Swan, emblem of the house of Lancaster. During Henry V's reign it became The Hart & Swan and in the days of James I The George. The current name dates from 1841 after its owner, General Henry Beauchamp Lygon, who fought at the Battle of Waterloo.






The Gordon Russell Design Museum celebrates the design pioneer Gordon Russell and the company that bore his name. Integral to 20th-century British craft and manufacturing, Gordon Russell championed accessible, innovative, and high-quality design, evolving from Arts and Crafts through to Modernism, post WWII's Utility and Mid-Century Modern. The £8 admission fee allows unlimited access to the museum for a year and also gives ticket holders 50% off admission to Court Barn, the museum of craft and design, in nearby Chipping Camden. The gift shop is splendid.


Russell's designs are stylish, timeless and equisitely made and visitors are encouraged to touch some of the exbibits on display, to sit on the chairs, open and close the cupboards and drawers and rummage through his tool collection.






Broadway village is a short walk from William Morris's favourite hangout, Broadway Tower, which we visited HERE and also very close to the maximalist's dream National Trust property, Snowshill Manor which I've posted about HERE. Well worth a trip to the Midlands!


Broadway village is a short walk from William Morris's favourite hangout, Broadway Tower, which we visited HERE and also very close to the maximalist's dream National Trust property, Snowshill Manor which I've posted about HERE. Well worth a trip to the Midlands!


Of course, Jon's birthday wasn't all gentile tearooms and posh villages, we also celebrated with an all-dayer in Walsall's Wetherspoons and the fun continues this week ...we're off to Devon where we'll be trading at Beautiful Days and Jon, being an ex-punk, is very excited to see The Sex Pistols! 


What a line-up! 

See you next week.


26 comments:

  1. Happy belated birthday to Lord John! Have never heard of Broadway. It looks beautiful. A good line up at Beautiful Days. Saw we're supposed to ge getting a heatwave this week. Whoohoo. Louise (Mids) X x

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  2. Happy 59th Jon, you’re catching me up. I’ll be 70 on Wednesday. We visited broadway last year with friends and spent a lot of time in the Cotswolds when my sister Jill lived in Witney, Oxford xx

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  3. This is one of my dreams to live and stay in foreign country like you. I really amazed by your stunning photos of your neighbors and wonderful building and nature at the same time.

    What a charming birthday adventure

    By the way, Broadway looks like it’s straight out of a storybook, and that veggie Scotch egg sounds amazing. Loved the mix of history, art, and foodyou’ve convinced me it’s worth adding to my travel list, who knows I have a chance to visit your country one day

    Greetings from Indonesia

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  4. Happy birthday Jon. What a lovely day out. I do miss my regular visits to the Cotswolds. I used to love to stop and dip my feet in the rivers at Upper and Lower Slaughter on the way back from Bourton on the Water. If money were no object hey? I see the Mary Wallopers on that line up, I love them! Have a fabulous time xxx

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  5. What a beautiful trip to start someone's birthday. I love how you started this post. Such a rich history of the place, as well. Oh to see the Sex Pistols..we envy you. Thanks so much for the beautiful post. Here's to much happiness and a grand new year to Jon. Much happiness and Peace Everyday šŸ’›šŸ’›šŸ’›šŸ’›šŸ’›Oh, and thank you for reading and commenting 🌻🌻🌈🌈🌈🌈

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  6. Cotswold stone is beautiful isn't it, we nearly rented some land and a cottage in the Cotswolds when we were moving from Oxford, but when we went to view it the cottage was so teeny, tiny and so expensive, so that plan went straight out of the window.

    I thought a lot of your photos seemed familiar, we holidayed in a NT cottage opposite Snowshill Manor and visited Broadway, although it was a rainy day so I think we spent more time sheltering in a coffee shop. HOW ... did they get that Fiat into the shop window?

    I hope you have a brilliant few days at Beautiful Days. xx

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  7. Happy Birthday, Lord Jon! Beautiful Days looks like it'll be a hoot - yay for Frank Turner and Beans on Toast (seen 'em both).
    Your adventure in Broadway looks so fun! What a gorgeous place - that stone is amazing. Such history! Thank you for sharing, Vix!

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  8. Broadway sounds like a truly special place to celebrate a birthday. Happy Belated Birthday to Jon,

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  10. Your Cotswold odyssey to Broadway sounds like the perfect birthday treat. It does look picture postcard perfect, and both museums look well worth a visit. We've made some excursions to the Cotswolds when we were holidaying in Oxfordshire but funnily enough we never made it to Broadway!
    I'm glad to read that your day out was followed by a 'Spoons all-dayer. I would have been most disappointed if it hadn't :-)
    Have a bostin' time at Beautiful Days - I'm quite envious that Jon will get to see the Sex Pistols! xxx

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  11. Happy Birthday Jon! Can you remind me where the Lord Jon thing came from? I feel like I missed a post where that was explained! Looks like you had a superb day! I love the look of the houses in those villages r and intrigued by the veggie Egg! Xx

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  12. I loved this post today! We got married in Walsall and spent the first few days of honeymoon at the Lygon Arms. It was beautiful. You bought back many happy memories, thank you!
    JanF

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  13. Happy birthday week Jon! Yes!!! The Sex Pistols! I love them. Your day out in Broadway was full of pretty places. That honey yellow stone makes everywhere look light and cheerful. Have fun at the festival! Betty

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  14. Happy Birthday to His Eminence! Glad I'm not the only one who had expensive lunch out recently! Wanted to treat my Granddaughters to a posh lunch in Edinburgh yesterday where the streets were teeming with tourists so took them to my fave place away from the Oasis chaos and where peace and quiet reigned and everything was top notch (except the non-optional service charge which added another fiver to the bill!). Enjoy your festival. Xxx

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    1. Ps is that a wee Fiat 500 in the shop window? Just bought myself one last week. My son calls it a puddle jumper!!

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    2. Ps is that a wee Fiat 500 in the shop window? Just bought myself one last week. My son calls it a puddle jumper!!

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  15. Looks like you had a fab time, we love Broadway and have had some lovely visits there when our sons were younger. I love all things Arts & Crafts. Jon cannot be 59!!! Looks far too young. Sex Pistols now we are talking. Have a great festival with excellent trading. Regards Sue H

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  16. Those buildings are beautiful! Which one did you choose? Xx

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  17. An excellent place for a birthday visit and of course the all dayer at Weatherspoons. Your visit to Broadway brings back memories of our time there way back in 1975 . The Cotswald stone buildings are just stunning and if I remember correctly we ate at Lygon Arms.
    All the best for the festival.

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  18. Hi Vix, what an lovely and interesting way to celebrate Jon's birthday. I would certainly enjoy a visit to Broadway and the Gordon Russell furniture looks both beautuful and timeless. I think I have seen similar chairs before or perhaps they were just copies of his work. John Singer Sargent too- his pictures always bring a smile to my face. The variety of stunning properties in stone is well worth seeing and swooning over. Which one shall I choose?

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  19. Hello,
    First of all, I want to congratulate your husband on his birthday. What a lovely way to celebrate it, with an interesting trip to this village with such picturesque houses and such a British atmosphere. I loved learning about the history of the village and all the places you visited! The icing on the cake was the concert to end the day! hugs

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  20. Happy belated birthday to Jon!
    The painting "Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose" is magical. I'm in love.
    Wow, Broadway is one of a kind. :)

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  21. Isn't it amazing how sometimes you can find another world at just an hour away?
    Happy belated birthday to Jon!
    Many happy returns!
    May you be happily unmarried for many many years!
    Lovely photos, I will come back to this post.

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  22. Happy birthday Jon!

    Funny... everyone must love playing the what home would you buy if money was no object game. I do all the time. X

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  23. I'm glad you had a wonderful time! Happy birthday to Jon!

    https://embracethepandemonium.wordpress.com/

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  24. Must say I'm intrigued by that vegetarian Scotch egg idea! * And I'm charmed by your clever framing of the alleyway sporting hollyhocks and lavender -- an invitation to another land. * What better way to celebrate the birthday of an ex-punk who evolved through effort into a handsome and successful 59-year-old man than to enjoy a bit of time-travel?! Good choices, Jon, good choices!

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Lots of love, Vix