Town famous as home of the toilet now Cotswolds 'hippest and cheapest place'

Shipston-on-Stour successful Warwickshire is the birthplace of the modern toilet and is present the hippest spot successful the Cotswolds arsenic property agents study a spot boom

Residents of Shipston-on-Stour, a municipality successful Warwickshire known arsenic the birthplace of the modern toilet, are basking successful the glory of having the astir desirable postcode successful the Cotswolds.

The town, nestled wrong the coveted CV36 postcode, is conscionable 10 miles northbound of the upscale Chipping Norton, location to celebs similar Jeremy Clarkson and David and Victoria Beckham.

Estate agents person noted a spot roar successful CV36, with prices soaring 40 per cent higher than neighbouring areas. The mean household location costs astir £350,000, inactive cheaper than akin properties successful adjacent Cirencester and Moreton-on-Marsh wherever four-bedroom houses typically spell for £500,000.

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Despite the terms hike, request for properties successful Shipston-on-Stour is skyrocketing arsenic radical spot it arsenic a much affordable mode to unrecorded successful the Cotswolds. Amy Nicholson, an property cause astatine Sheldon Bosley Knight, said that the displacement to distant moving has fixed buyers much flexibility successful choosing wherever to live. She said: "We're lone a fewer minutes from the main Cotswold towns but our houses are cheaper."

With immoderate of the adjacent villages person seen prices sprout up successful caller years, truthful radical are looking for much affordable options wrong the CV36 area. "Covid and the stamp work brought a batch radical here. Shipston-on-Stour isn't arsenic engaged oregon arsenic touristy arsenic Moreton-in-Marsh, but we are getting much popular," Amy continued.

She concluded by saying that the municipality is little bustling than different Cotswold towns and offers a pleasant gait of life. "People are present decently remotely moving and tin unrecorded wherever they want. They tin unrecorded present and person a bully manner here."

Astute locals who person resided successful the municipality for galore years are besides anxious to profit, with immoderate houses selling "in 2 minutes". Anne Wagstaff, 73, has witnessed the worth of her location skyrocket by much than £120,000 since she purchased it 9 years ago. The grandmother-of-eight stated: "We're conscionable putting it up connected the market. I privation to determination a small northbound of Stratford truthful I'm adjacent my children

"In my roadworthy we've had 2 caller radical but we lone person 8 houses. We had 1 household determination successful from London. Most radical travel and enactment and emotion the place. I was rather amazed with the valuation of my location erstwhile they gave it us.

"We've got a three-bed detached and it's up for offers implicit £400,000. We bought it for £280,000 9 years agone and I ne'er imagined it would spell up truthful acold successful that time. The property agents said the marketplace was picking up."

Anne, who volunteers astatine a section foundation shop, believes the municipality is appealing to families portion offering bully transport links to London. She added: "You tin get the bid adjacent consecutive to London and the municipality itself has everything you need. It's got small bits of everything here. Cafes, butchers, I deliberation it's charismatic for young families from each over. We emotion a thrust down to the Cotswolds, it's beauteous astir here. You can't bushed that."

Homeowner Andrew Godding, 45, who settled into his £300,000 detached location 8 years ago, has nary volition of moving retired immoderate clip soon. He remarked: "Shipston is small known different than being the location of Thomas Crapper and the archetypal flushing toilet truthful astir apt gets overlooked arsenic a spot to unrecorded and rise a family.

"I bash ever deliberation we're surviving a Cotswold manner without paying silly Cotswold prices."

Nestled betwixt the M5 and M40 motorways, residents similar Andrew find commuting to London or Oxford a breeze, whether they opt for hybrid oregon full-time bureau work. The closest bid station, located six miles distant successful Moreton-in-Marsh, offers a swift two-hour travel to London for commuters.

The tiny marketplace municipality is perfect for radical who privation to sojourn either the North Cotswolds oregon Stratford-upon-Avon (eight miles away). The town's sanction primitively derives from the past times erstwhile it was known arsenic 'Sheep-wash-Town'. As its sanction suggests, the municipality was an important sheep marketplace municipality and adjacent aft the request for section wool lessened, the municipality continued to flourish.

With aggregate pockets of history, it has go a favoured spot for tourists arsenic it has a large prime of accommodation, pubs and shops too.

The celebrated Sheldon Tapestries are successful the neighbouring farming hamlet of Barcheston. Many attractions are successful adjacent proximity to the municipality including Warwick Castle — a 25-minute thrust distant — and the gardens of Hidcote Manor and Kiftsgate.

Local concern proprietor Andrew Bastock, who has been astatine the helm of A Touch of Dust antiques store for astir 3 decades, besides chimed successful connected the town's appeal. He said: "People find the municipality charming, we're inactive a 1930s municipality astatine heart. We speech to each different and it has that feel.

"The beauteous happening astir the municipality is each the autarkic shops. We're not inundated with Costas and Starbucks."

Shipston-on-Stour's astir celebrated lad was arguably Thomas Crapper who was credited with transforming modern toilets. Crapper did not invent the flushing toilet, but helium did marque them, and was the archetypal to grounds his loos successful a showroom successful 1870.

In 1861, Crapper was commissioned by Prince Edward, who became Edward VII, to physique lavatories successful Royal palaces. Crapper besides patented the floating ballcock and the U-bend. Until recently, a depository showcasing implicit 1,200 of Crapper's loos, washbasins and baths were connected show successful the town. Residents present anticipation their caller recovered "fame" volition assistance their area's sanction retired of the gutter.