Escape To The Country

A Memory of Chipping Norton.

I travelled to Chipping Norton to start a new life.  When I stepped off the coach on the high street and looked across the road I saw a very grand looking building and a sign saying The White Hart Hotel.  My next thought was I am going to work in that hotel, which I did!  I was also able to live-in, as other staff also did.  The White Hart at that time was a privately run hotel with a friendly informal atmosphere, especially in the public bar which was very popular with local residents.  The hotel was originally a coaching inn, and was one of the last, if not the last, to be used as such. The White Hart was also said to be haunted especially the oak room which had an original oak four poster bed, the walls original oak panelling throughout with a hidden door in the walls that led to an ensuite.  Chipping Norton or "chippy" as its known is a lively place and I found the people warm and welcoming, there's alot that goes on in this little town.  There was a recording studio and a few of us were invited one evening for a tour.  A few doors down from The White Hart was a shop owned by Ronnie Barker who popped in from time to time. There were alot of interesting people in "chippy" and I remember it with extreme fondness, alas things were to change and the owners of the White Hart sold to a large chain and it was never the same, all but a couple of staff left as did I with much sadness. It was time to move on and what better place to start than Chipping Norton "Gateway To The Cotswolds".