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
Opening times for 5 November 2025
Asset Opening time Exhibition Closed Book a visitThe Heritage and Rural Skills Centre is open for tours, courses and exhibitions. Please click the 'Things to see and do' tab for more information.
MTWTFSS2728293031123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930OpenPartially openClosed- 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
Make a Silver Christmas Gift in a Day with the Bishopsland Educational Trust
15 November: design and make a silver Christmas gift of your choice, employing specialist techniques.
Make a Silver Christmas Decoration with the Bishopsland Educational Trust
29 November: design and make a silver Christmas decoration employing specialist techniques.
Make a Silver Ring in a Day with the Bishopsland Educational Trust
31st January: explore the insightful process of making a silver ring which you will design, make and take home.
Make a Valentines Gift in a Day with the Bishopsland Educational Trust
14th February: create a silver Valentine’s gift for someone special, using expert techniques to bring your idea to life.
Introduction to Blacksmithing: Make a candlestick
7th March and 3rd September. Spend a day learning key blacksmithing skills, making a candlestick to take home with you.
Make a Large Willow Bird Feeder
7th of March and 24th of July. Enjoy a short course learning about the traditional craft of willow weaving. Make a bird feeder to take home.
Make a Willow Obelisk
21st March and 10 April: make a willow obelisk for your garden, ready for growing peas and beans in the summer.
Introduction to Weaving on a Rigid Heddle Loom
29 March: explore the art of weaving on a rigid heddle loom.
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.
