Burford is a little medieval community on the River Windrush, in the Cotswold hills, in the West Oxfordshire area of Oxfordshire, England. It is frequently referred to as the 'portal' to the Cotswolds. Burford lies 18 miles (29 km) west of Oxford and 22 miles (35 km) southeast of Cheltenham, concerning 2 miles (3 kilometres) from the Gloucestershire boundary. The toponym originates from the Old English words burh meaning prepared community or hilltown as well as ford, the crossing of a river. The 2011 Census recorded the population of Burford parish as 1,410 as well as Burford Ward as 1,847. The town centre's most significant building is the Church of St John the Baptist, a Church of England parish church, which is a Grade I detailed structure. Defined by David Verey as "a complex structure which has actually developed in an interested way from the Norman", it is understood 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 during the Civil War, when the New Model Army Banbury mutineers were held there. Some of the 340 detainees left carvings and graffiti, which still make it through in the church. The community centre additionally has some 15th-century homes as well as the baroque style townhouse that is currently Burford Methodist Church. In between the 14th as well as 17th centuries Burford was important for its wool profession. The Tolsey, midway along Burford's High Street, which was once the centerpiece for trade, is now a gallery.