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 28 April 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
Gardening Course: Practical Garden Design
3 May. Learn the skills to design your own Garden space or consider a career in Garden Design
2 Day Stained Glass Course (Leaded Method)
Complete a small stained glass panel to take home in this full weekend course.
Sold Out: Make a Willow Trug
Sorry, these events are now sold out. 9 May and 3 October: this course will teach you how to make a square-based basket known as a willow trug.
Introduction to Blacksmithing: Make a bottle opener
15th May and 17th July. Spend a day learning key blacksmithing skills, making a bottle opener to take home with you.
Sold Out: Weaving Course: Weave a Scene
Sorry, this event is now sold out. 17 May: weave your own small landscape or seascape from wool using a rigid heddle loom.
Traditional Decorative Paint Techniques: Fundamentals, Preparation and Application
22nd May. This one-day introductory foundation course is designed for new-comers to the world of traditional and heritage decorative paint effect techniques like faux marbling, wood graining & broken colour work
Sold Out: Suminagashi Ink Marbling on Paper and Silk
Sorry, this event is now sold out. 22nd May: Spend a day exploring the origins of marbling, by learning the art of Suminagashi ink marbling, creating unique patterns on paper and silk.
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.
