Heritage and Rural Skills Centre
Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire & BerkshireA centre to champion skills from the past, fit for the future, for everyone for ever.
Heritage & Rural Skills Centre, Buscot and Coleshill Estate, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN6 7PT
Book a visit
M T W T F S S Open
Closed
Opening times for 25 May 2026
Asset Opening time Exhibition Closed Book a visitPlease see 'Things to Do' page for events, courses and opening of the Heritage & Rural Skills Centre
- Available for functions
- Bookshop
- Café
- Car park
- Dogs allowed
- Guided tour
- Toilet
- Accessible toilet
- Designated parking
- Ramped access/slopes
- Steps/uneven terrain
- By road
- Coleshill village on B4019 between Faringdon and Highworth.Parking: at Buscot village; Coleshill estate office
- By train
- Swindon 10 miles
Heritage & Rural Skills Centre, Buscot and Coleshill Estate, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN6 7PT
Venue hire
Venue hire at the Heritage and Rural Skills Centre
Find out more about hosting your workshop, lecture or meetings at the Heritage and Rural Skills Centre, or rent a studio space.
Highlights
Courses
We offer a range of heritage and rural craft courses for professionals, beginners and hobbyists. Head to Things to See and Do for our full list of courses.
Exhibitions
Explore Coleshill's creative legacy and why heritage and rural skills are so important, through permanent and pop up exhibitions at the centre.
Room Hire
Use one of our spaces to host your own course, email buscotandcoleshill@nationaltrust.org.uk for more information.
Visitor Centre
Enjoy refreshments at Blake's Kitchen in Carpenter's Yard, peruse the Wheelwright's Second Hand Book Shop and learn more about this creative estate and the wider Buscot & Coleshill Estate.
Things to see and do
Visiting the Heritage and Rural Skills Centre
Drop in for refreshments at Blake's Kitchen and browse the Wheelwright’s second-hand bookshop. Book on to one of our courses to learn or develop heritage and rural skills. And on selected days, you can join a tour to visit parts of the Centre and enjoy exhibitions which explore the creative legacy of the Coleshill estate.
Eating and shopping
Eating and shopping at the Buscot and Coleshill Estates
The two estates and their villages offer convenient spots for refreshments, lunch or cream teas, a cosy country pub and a smattering of local shops.
Places to stay
If you’re travelling for a course and would like to make use of nearby National Trust accommodation, try one of the estate cottages.
Lock Cottage
A charming and cosy Thames-side cottage with a pretty garden close to the Thames Path.
Old Slaughter House
A charming cottage that’s perfect for a simple country break.
Upcoming events
Guided Tours: Secrets of Coleshill
Monthly from March to October: find out more about some of the lesser-known chapters of the estate’s history and look behind the scenes of the Heritage and Rural Skills Centre.
Gardening Course: The Cutting Garden
28 March and 30 May. In this course we will show you how to grow flowers from seed, how to harden them off so they are ready to embrace the change in temperature and give you a fabulous show all summer long.
2 Day Stained Glass Course (Leaded Method)
Complete a small stained glass panel to take home in this full weekend course.
Landscape Oil Painting for Beginners
12 June and 4 July: work on your own landscape oil painting with expert guidance.
Sold Out: Make a Round Willow Shopper Basket
Sorry, this event is now sold out. 12 June: this course will teach you all the fundamental stages of making a traditional basket.
Sold Out: Knife making
Sorry, this event is now sold out. 19 June: learn how to forge a blade and make a simple ‘Viking’ style knife.
Introduction to Blacksmithing: Forge Your Own Garden Tools
20th June and 17th July. Spend a day learning key blacksmithing skills and forging your own set of garden tools.
About Heritage and Rural Skills Centre
The Heritage and Rural Skills Centre is developing a programme for conservation, rooted on a working estate, where skilled craftspeople share their passion and expertise with professionals and amateurs alike.
Our work
We share and develop heritage conservation skills via beginners’ courses, space for local groups and rental units for professional craftspeople seeking a community environment.
Our work at the Heritage and Rural Skills Centre
We share and develop heritage conservation skills via beginners’ courses, space for local groups, and rental units for professional craftspeople seeking a creative community environment.
