Burford is a little middle ages town on the River Windrush, in the Cotswold hills, in the West Oxfordshire area of Oxfordshire, England. It is commonly referred to as the 'portal' to the Cotswolds. Burford is located 18 miles (29 km) west of Oxford and 22 miles (35 kilometres) southeast of Cheltenham, regarding 2 miles (3 km) from the Gloucestershire boundary. The toponym stems from the Old English words burh meaning prepared town or hilltown and ford, the going across of a river. The 2011 Census recorded the population of Burford parish as 1,410 and 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 Quality I listed building. Defined by David Verey as "a complicated structure which has actually created in an interested method from the Norman", it is understood for its vendors' 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 made use of as a prison throughout the Civil War, when the New Model Army Banbury mutineers were held there. Some of the 340 detainees left makings and also graffiti, which still survive in the church. The town centre additionally has some 15th-century residences as well as the baroque design condominium that is currently Burford Methodist Church. In between the 14th and also 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 currently a museum.