Burford is a tiny middle ages community on the River Windrush, in the Cotswold hillsides, in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is frequently referred to as the 'gateway' to the Cotswolds. Burford is located 18 miles (29 km) west of Oxford as well as 22 miles (35 km) southeast of Cheltenham, regarding 2 miles (3 km) from the Gloucestershire boundary. The toponym originates from the Old English words burh suggesting fortified town or hilltown as well as ford, the crossing 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 remarkable building is the Church of St John the Baptist, a Church of England parish church, which is a Grade I listed building. Described by David Verey as "a complex building which has established in a curious method 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 stained 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 prisoners left carvings and also graffiti, which still make it through in the church. The community centre also has some 15th-century residences 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 trade. The Tolsey, midway along Burford's High Street, which was when the focal point for trade, is currently a gallery.