location

A Fairford welcome

Fairford is a prosperous market town in Gloucestershire. It is located in the Cotswolds on banks of the River Coln and it is famous for St Mary’s Church with the most complete set of medieval stained glass windows in the world.

RAF Fairford is located near the town and this brings many visitors. Each year, RAF Fairford hosts the world’s largest military air show, the Royal International Air Tattoo. The event brings a large boost to economy of the town and surrounding areas. 

• With Saxon origins, the first written evidence of Fairford comes from 850AD when the town was mentioned in the transferring of land to the Abbess of the Church of Gloucester. Like most other Cotswold towns, Fairford’s prosperity came from the medieval wool trade. The wealth of the town declined with the wool trade in the late medieval years but prosperity grew in the 18th century when much of the High Street was rebuilt to service the increasing stage coach and wagons trade on the main coaching routes of which Fairford stood.
• In recent times, Fairford was associated with Concorde – it made its maiden flight at the RAF base which had the longest runway in Europe.   RAF Fairford was also the European landing site for the space shuttle programme.

Facts 

• Population – 3,219 (2001)
• Local Authority – Cotswold District Council
• Major Industries – Defence (Royal Air Force Station – RAF Fairford)
• Post Town – FAIRFORD
• Postcode District – GL7
• Dialling Code – 01285
• Police – Gloucestershire Constabulary
• Fire – Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service
• Ambulance – Great Western Ambulance Service

Discover Fairford – useful links to town guides, what’s on and places to see

• http://www.cotswolds.info/places/fairford.shtml
• http://www.fairford.org
• http://www.fairfordtowncouncil.gov.uk
• http://www.fairfordhistory.org.uk/index.html.
• http://www.stmaryschurchfairford.org.uk/
• http://www.airtattoo.com/airshow
• http://www.waterpark.org/
• http://www.british-towns.net/en/level_4_display.asp?GetL3=2763
• http://www.visit-gloucestershire.co.uk/
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/england/gloucestershire/

The Old Mill, Fairford