Burford
Burford is a small medieval community on the River Windrush, in the Cotswold hills, in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is usually described as the 'entrance' to the Cotswolds. Burford lies 18 miles (29 kilometres) west of Oxford and also 22 miles (35 km) southeast of Cheltenham, concerning 2 miles (3 kilometres) from the Gloucestershire limit. The toponym derives from the Old English words burh suggesting prepared town or hilltown and ford, the going across of a river. The 2011 Census recorded the population of Burford parish as 1,410 as well as Burford Ward as 1,847. The community centre's most notable structure is the Church of St John the Baptist, a Church of England parish church, which is a Quality I noted structure. Explained by David Verey as "a difficult structure which has developed in a curious method from the Norman", it is recognized for its vendors' guild chapel, memorial to Henry VIII's barber-surgeon, Edmund Harman, including South American Indians as well as Kempe stained glass. In 1649 the church was made use of as a prison during the Civil War, when the New Model Army Banbury mutineers were held there. Some of the 340 prisoners left makings as well as graffiti, which still survive in the church. The community centre likewise has some 15th-century homes and the baroque style townhouse that is now Burford Methodist Church. In between the 14th as well as 17th centuries Burford was very important for its wool trade. The Tolsey, midway along Burford's High Street, which was as soon as the centerpiece for trade, is currently a gallery.
