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Tadmarton
An ironstone village on the Shipston road, 5 miles west of Banbury, with a Grade I church, a Victorian village pub and a heathland golf course on the hill above. A short stop between Broughton and Swalcliffe rather than a destination.
- Nearest station
- Banbury, about 5 miles, then the Stagecoach 75 or 75A, Monday to Saturday, or a taxi
- Parking
- We found no public car park. The Lampet Arms has parking for customers, CAMRA says; otherwise park with care off the main road
About Tadmarton
Tadmarton strings out for about a quarter of a mile along the B4035, 5 miles south-west of Banbury, with the smaller hamlet of Lower Tadmarton about a quarter of a mile away. The church, the manor house and the pub are together at the north end, and the older cottages of coursed ironstone, many thatched, mix with red-brick ones of the nineteenth century. Be clear what it is: a village to pass through slowly, look at the church and have a drink, on the way to Swalcliffe or the Sibfords.
What to see in Tadmarton
St Nicholas's is listed Grade I. The county history traces it to the twelfth century; in the thirteenth the chancel was largely rebuilt, the nave aisle rebuilt larger and the western tower added, and it was restored in 1893. The font is the piece to find, thirteenth century with a row of grotesque heads round it. We found no published opening hours.
Beside the church, the manor house is mostly early eighteenth century and now a farmhouse. Its stone and thatched barn, listed Grade II*, is, in the county history's words, certainly the oldest structure in the village. In Lower Tadmarton a large house keeps a late seventeenth-century dovecote. All are private, seen from the road.
Tadmarton Heath
Out on the heath towards Wigginton, part of the heath became Tadmarton Heath Golf Club (opens in a new tab) in the twentieth century, with Holywell Farm, dated 1783, as its clubhouse. It is a heathland course that takes visitors and societies, with green fees and booking on its own site. Close by, about a mile and a half south-west of the village and about 195m up, is Tadmarton Camp, an Iron Age earthwork. We could not confirm any public access to it beyond the rights of way.
An hour in Tadmarton
Stop at the north end, see the church and the barn, and that is most of it. Then go on a mile or so west to Swalcliffe for its barn on a summer Sunday, or back east to Broughton and its castle.
Walks from Tadmarton
We found no council or parish leaflet for a walk from Tadmarton, so we suggest no route. Use an OS Explorer map for the footpaths, and keep off the golf course except where a right of way crosses it.
Food and drink
The Lampet Arms is a large red-brick Victorian pub on Main Street, named after a nineteenth-century landowner, Captain W. L. Lampet, and built in place of an older Red Lion. CAMRA's guide, updated in February 2026 though last surveyed in 2015, lists Hook Norton's Hooky with changing ales, meals, four letting rooms and a function room. The web address CAMRA gives no longer leads to the pub and we found no website of its own, so ring before you go.
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When to come
Any day for a short stop, and a summer Sunday afternoon if you want to add Swalcliffe Barn and Broughton Castle. There are no buses on Sundays.
Last verified 11 November 2026 by our editors
Things to do in Tadmarton
Historic houses and heritage · Broughton
Broughton Castle
A moated medieval manor house near Banbury, turned into an Elizabethan mansion by the Fiennes family, tied to the opposition to Charles I and seen in Shakespeare in Love and Wolf Hall. Open on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons, April to September.
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Hook Norton Brewery
Tours and experiences · Hook Norton
A family brewery in a Victorian tower at Hook Norton, with a steam engine of 1899, Shire horses that still deliver to two village pubs, and tours at £25. The climb is over 100 open steps, and there is a gentler monthly option. Shop and kitchen open daily.
Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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Tooley's Historic Boatyard
Historic houses and heritage · Banbury
A working dry dock and forge on the Oxford Canal in Banbury, in use since 1778 and now hemmed in by Castle Quay. Small museum in the chandlery, Saturday boat trips in summer, and blacksmith courses. A scheduled monument and the start of Tom Rolt's Narrow Boat.
Car-free
Verified Nov 2026
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Banbury Museum and Gallery
Museums and galleries · Banbury
Banbury's free town museum, on the Oxford Canal with an entrance in Castle Quay: Bronze Age finds, a cannon from Banbury Castle, plush cloth and a canal gallery, with paid touring exhibitions and a canalside café.
Family-friendly · Rainy days · Car-free
Verified Nov 2026
Where to eat and drink in Tadmarton
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The Duck on the Pond, South Newington
Restaurants
A family-run farm-to-fork pub and restaurant at South Newington, on the road between Banbury and Chipping Norton, cooking from its own kitchen garden, with à la carte, set lunch and tasting menus.
Verified Nov 2026
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The Gate Hangs High, Hook Norton
Pubs · Hook Norton
A country pub on the Whichford road outside Hook Norton, with local ales, an open fire, freshly cooked food from Wednesday to Sunday, rooms and a large camping field with electric hook-ups.
Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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The Roebuck Inn, Drayton
Pubs
A Hook Norton pub in a late 17th-century listed building on the A422 at Drayton, just outside Banbury, with a south-facing courtyard, a modern British menu, a car park and dogs welcome.
Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Walks in and around Tadmarton
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North Newington and Wroxton Circular
Walk · Starts in North Newington · 2 hrs · Circular
A 3.3-mile (5.3km) circular walk from Main Street, North Newington, taking about two hours of moderate walking. It follows field paths to the Sor Brook, climbs past the Wroxton Obelisk into Wroxton and returns over the fields.
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Broughton Road to Wroxton Obelisk Circular
Walk · Starts in Broughton · 2 hrs · Circular
A 4.5-mile (7.3km) circular walk from the car park on Broughton Road, about two hours of moderate walking on field paths. It crosses the Sor Brook, climbs to the Wroxton Obelisk and returns by the other bank. It does not go through Broughton or past the castle.
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Banbury Fringe Circular Walk
Walk · Starts in Banbury · 5 hrs · Circular
A 10.6-mile (17.1km) waymarked circular walk round the edge of Banbury, moderate and about five hours: the Oxford Canal south to Bodicote, the Salt Way past Crouch Hill, field and wood paths by Giant's Cave, and an old ironstone railway back to the canal.
Sights in and around Tadmarton
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Swalcliffe Barn
Sight · Historic building
A ten-bay medieval barn of ironstone, built for New College, Oxford, in about 1401, with its medieval timber roof. Grade I and a scheduled monument, six miles west of Banbury, and open free on summer Sunday afternoons.
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St Mary's Church, Broughton
Sight · Church · Broughton
The Grade I church in the park of Broughton Castle, built about 1300, with a rare stone chancel screen and the tombs and hatchments of the castle's owners from the fourteenth century on. Best seen on a castle open day.
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Giant's Cave, Banbury
Sight · Common or park · Banbury
A patch of old rough pasture off the Broughton Road on the edge of Banbury, called Giant's Cave and said by legend to hide a tunnel to Broughton Castle. One account calls it a late medieval quarry. It is free, and a stop on Cherwell's Banbury Fringe walk.
Getting to Tadmarton
- By bus
- Stagecoach 75 and 75A, Banbury to Stratford, stop at Tadmarton and Lower Tadmarton Monday to Saturday: five journeys towards Banbury, four back, none on Sundays (data of 12 November 2026).
- By train
- Banbury station is about 5 miles away. Take the 75 or 75A from Banbury bus station, bay 8, or a taxi.
- By car
- About 5 miles from Banbury Cross, 11 minutes, on the B4035 Shipston road through Broughton.
- Parking
- No public car park that we found. Park off the main road with care.
- Access
- The village strings out along the B4035, a through road with traffic, so take care walking between the two ends.
Places near Tadmarton
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SwalcliffeAn ironstone village on the Shipston road 6 miles west of Banbury with three Grade I buildings: a fifteenth-century barn that opens free on summer Sundays, a big medieval church and a thirteenth-century rectory house. Time it for a Sunday afternoon between May and September.
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BroughtonA small village 2.5 miles from Banbury that exists in the shadow of its moated castle. Come on a castle open afternoon, walk the park on most other days, and add the Broughton Grange gardens on a Wednesday. The village pub has shut.
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BloxhamA big ironstone village on the Chipping Norton road, 3 miles from Banbury, with a 60m church spire you can see for miles, William Morris glass, a free village museum at weekends and a medieval tangle of lanes behind the High Street.
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Sibford Gower and Sibford FerrisTwo ironstone villages and the hamlet of Burdrop on either side of a steep valley, 7 miles west of Banbury. Quaker since the 1660s, with a meeting house, a Quaker school, thatched seventeenth-century houses and a two-mile heritage trail of their own.