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 often described as the 'gateway' to the Cotswolds. Burford is located 18 miles (29 km) west of Oxford as well as 22 miles (35 kilometres) southeast of Cheltenham, concerning 2 miles (3 kilometres) from the Gloucestershire boundary. The toponym derives from the Old English words burh meaning fortified town or hilltown and also ford, the going across of a river. The 2011 Census recorded the population of Burford parish as 1,410 and also Burford Ward as 1,847. The town centre's most significant structure is the Church of St John the Baptist, a Church of England parish church, which is a Quality I detailed structure. Explained by David Verey as "a challenging structure which has actually developed in a curious way from the Norman", it is recognized for its merchants' guild church, memorial to Henry VIII's barber-surgeon, Edmund Harman, including South American Indians as well as Kempe tarnished glass. In 1649 the church was used as a jail throughout the Civil War, when the New Model Army Banbury mutineers were held there. Some of the 340 detainees left makings and graffiti, which still endure in the church. The community centre additionally has some 15th-century homes and also the baroque style townhouse that is currently Burford Methodist Church. In between the 14th as well as 17th centuries Burford was necessary for its wool profession. The Tolsey, midway along Burford's High Street, which was once the centerpiece for trade, is now a gallery.
