Window Shutters in Burford

Burford

Burford is a small medieval community on the River Windrush, in the Cotswold hillsides, in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is typically referred to as the 'entrance' to the Cotswolds. Burford lies 18 miles (29 kilometres) west of Oxford and also 22 miles (35 km) southeast of Cheltenham, regarding 2 miles (3 km) from the Gloucestershire boundary. The toponym derives from the Old English words burh suggesting fortified town or hilltown and also ford, the crossing of a river. The 2011 Census recorded the population of Burford parish as 1,410 and also Burford Ward as 1,847. The community centre's most notable building is the Church of St John the Baptist, a Church of England parish church, which is a Grade I noted structure. Defined by David Verey as "a challenging structure which has created in an interested means from the Norman", it is recognized for its vendors' guild chapel, memorial to Henry VIII's barber-surgeon, Edmund Harman, featuring South American Indians and also Kempe discolored glass. In 1649 the church was used as a prison throughout the Civil War, when the New Model Army Banbury mutineers were held there. A few of the 340 prisoners left makings and also graffiti, which still survive in the church. The town centre additionally has some 15th-century houses and the baroque design condominium that is now Burford Methodist Church. Between the 14th and also 17th centuries Burford was very important for its wool trade. The Tolsey, midway along Burford's High Street, which was when the prime focus for trade, is currently a gallery.