Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / United Kingdom / Lechlade / Thyme
Thyme
Lechlade, United Kingdom · Independent · Accessible Luxury
Thyme's Cotswold estate appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, with 17th-century stone barns, farmhouse, and cottages restored in the village of Southrop near Lechlade. Founder Caryn Hibbert's family launched a cookery school here in 2007 before expanding into a 31-room hotel in 2014 with the Ox Barn restaurant, Meadow Spa, and Baa bar in a converted tithe barn, now holding MICHELIN Two Keys for 2025.
- 31 rooms
- Opened 2014
- Neighborhood: Southrop
- Interiors: Caryn Hibbert
About Thyme
- The Thyme estate is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, with its current 17th-century stone barns, farmhouse and cottages preserved in the village of Southrop.
- The 31-room hotel includes the Ox Barn restaurant, the Meadow Spa, and the Baa bar set inside a converted tithe barn.
- The hotel holds MICHELIN Two Keys for 2025, recognition for its converted Cotswolds farmstead setting and restaurant.
- 4 miles from Whelford Pool Nature Reserve.
History
Thyme is a country hotel and cookery school set within a cluster of 17th-century Cotswold buildings in the village of Southrop, near Lechlade. The estate's history reaches back centuries - the manor is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 - and its stone barns, farmhouse and cottages have been restored around a working village.
Founded by Caryn Hibbert, whose family bought the estate, Thyme began as a cookery school in 2007 and expanded into a full hotel in 2014, now offering 31 rooms and suites, the Ox Barn restaurant, the Meadow Spa and the Baa bar in a converted tithe barn.
The setting
2 miles from St Michael. 3 miles from exhibits at the Swinford Museum.
Restaurants and bars
- Baa Bar — Bar
- Ox Barn — Restaurant · Seasonal British, produce from own garden and farm · Chef Charlie Hibbert
- The Swan — Bar · Pub food
Experiences
- Instinctive Cook — Walk to the Kitchen Garden to harvest, then cook a main, dessert and cordial in the Cookery School, 10am-2pm, with a chef teacher.
- Cookery School — Interactive cookery classes, including bread making and fermentation, on the estate.
- Floristry class — Floristry classes using flowers and foraged ingredients from the cutting gardens.
- Garden and estate walks — Gardens, orchards and wild spaces across the 150-acre estate.
Amenities
- The Piggery shop selling handmade ceramics, linens and vintage antiques
- Bertioli by Thyme linen
- Cookery school
- Florist classes
- Cocktail and botanical cordials
- Kitchen Garden
Awards
- MICHELIN Two Keys (2026)
Open Thyme in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.