Burford
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 described as the 'portal' to the Cotswolds. Burford lies 18 miles (29 km) west of Oxford and also 22 miles (35 kilometres) southeast of Cheltenham, about 2 miles (3 kilometres) from the Gloucestershire boundary. The toponym stems from the Old English words burh implying prepared 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 Burford Ward as 1,847. The community centre's most remarkable structure is the Church of St John the Baptist, a Church of England parish church, which is a Quality I noted building. Explained by David Verey as "a complex building which has actually created in a curious way from the Norman", it is understood for its sellers' 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 jail throughout the Civil War, when the New Model Army Banbury mutineers were held there. Some of the 340 detainees left carvings as well as graffiti, which still endure in the church. The community centre likewise has some 15th-century homes and also the baroque style townhouse that is currently Burford Methodist Church. Between the 14th and also 17th centuries Burford was important for its woollen trade. The Tolsey, midway along Burford's High Street, which was when the centerpiece for profession, is now a gallery.
