The thumbnails below are linked to larger pictures
Bilbury Village main claim to fame is for being described by William
Morris as the most beautiful village
in England. The village is a conservation area, and two parts are owned and
managed by the National Trust these are Arlington Row and the Rack
Isle.Arlington Row is a row of cottages built of local stone, with steeply pitched Cotswold stone roofs. With the exception of the cottages at either end, the row began as a monastic sheep house or wool store, dating from around 1380. In the seventeenth century, the dwellings were converted into cottages for weavers, who supplied the cloth for fulling (degreasin) at Arlington mill. The row is now a grade I listed building. The present Arlington mill dates from the 17th century, when the corn mill was also used as a cloth mill, it is now a museum.
The Rack Isle is a meadow next to the river Colne, which is bounded on three sides by water and which is seasonally flooded. this meadow provides a good habitat for water loving plants and birds. The island is associated with Arlington Mill, as it was used to hang out the cloth on racks to dry, hence the name Rack Isle.
Other places to visit are the Bibury trout farm and the outstanding Saxon Church.
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