Present Day

Written by Stefan Day

There is a small, modern industrial estate on the outskirts of town which houses various service companies, a cheese maker, and the world renowned Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association (with which few, if any, who indulge in the hobby of home beer- or wine-making would instantly make the connection with Campden tablets, an indispensible aid to the sterilisation process) and another at Northwick Park that is longer established and occupied by companies involved in the main in light industry, but in essence Campden is a tourist destination.

It has numerous upmarket shops selling clothes, shoes, jewellery, glassware, books and items for the home, together with galleries offering paintings, sculptures and photographs.  For a small town (population approximately 2,000) it has a surprising number of good restaurants - French, Italian, Greek, Oriental, English and Modern European - which may explain why the High Street is often crowded in the evenings, even on a wet night in winter, and especially on Fridays and Saturdays.

And then there is the town itself, quiet, unhurried, with eloquent reminders of times past in the form of the buildings and its connections with the Arts and Crafts Movement ; an interesting Town Trail for those with an hour or so to spare ; the Ernest Wilson Memorial Garden for a moment of tranquility ; and of course numerous walks in the surrounding countryside.  Little wonder that John Masefield wrote the following lines in his poem 'On Campden' :

On Campden Wold the skylark sings,
In Campden Town the traveller finds
The inward peace which beauty brings
To bless and heal tormented minds