| Burford | |
  Burford shown within Oxfordshire |
|
| Population | 5,972 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | West Oxfordshire |
| Shire county | Oxfordshire |
| Region | South East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| European Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Witney |
| List of places: UK • England • Oxfordshire | |
Burford (pronounced /ˈbɝːfəd/) is a Cotswold town in Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom. See also Cotswold The Cotswolds is a range of Hills in west-central England, sometimes called the "Heart of England" A town is a type of settlement ranging from a few to several thousand (occasionally hundreds of thousands inhabitants although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan History See also History of Oxfordshire The county of Oxfordshire was formed in the early years of the 10th century and is broadly situated in the England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located It lies about 30 kilometres west of Oxford on the River Windrush and is a popular centre for tourists who visit the Cotswolds, with many antique shops on the main street. Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, The River Windrush is a river in the English Cotswolds, forming part of the River Thames catchment. Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel An antique shop (or antiques shop) is a retail store specializing in the selling of Antiques Antiques shops can be located either locally and with the advent The name derives from the Old English words burh meaning fortified town or hilltown and ford meaning ford (crossing). A ford is a place in a Watercourse (most commonly a stream or River) that is shallow enough to be crossed by wading on Horseback or in a wheeled
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Community
Burford Priory stands on the site of a small Augustinian hospital. The Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo (died AD 430) are several Catholic Monastic orders and congregations It is a fine example of Cotswold Jacobethan domestic architecture, formerly the home of William Lenthall, Speaker of the House of Commons in the Long Parliament, who purchased the estate in 1637. William Lenthall (1591 – 9 November 1662) was an English Politician of the Civil War period Speaker of the House The Long Parliament is the name of the English Parliament called by Charles I, on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. The house and later the chapel were restored for the philanthropist E. A chapel is a holy place or area of Worship for Christians, which may be attached to an institution such as a large church, a College, a Philanthropy is the act of donating money goods services time and/or effort to support a socially beneficial cause with a defined objective and with no financial or material J. Horniman, M. P. , after 1912 by the architect Walter Godfrey. Walter Hindes Godfrey CBE, FSA, FRIBA (1881 – 1961 was an English architect antiquary and architectural and topographical historian Today it houses The Priory of Our Lady, a community of Anglican Benedictine monks and nuns. See also Order of Saint Benedict (Orthodox for information on the Eastern Orthodox order of this name MONK is a Monte Carlo software package for simulating nuclear processes particularly for the purpose of determining the neutron multiplication factor or k-effective A Nun is a Woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life
Burford is home to the Blue Cross National Animal Welfare Charity. The Blue Cross is a registered animal welfare charity in the United Kingdom, founded in 1897 'The Cotswold Wildlife Park' is also located near Burford, approximately 2 miles South down the A361 towards Lechlade. The Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens exhibits mammals birds reptiles amphibians and invertebrates from all over the world Lechlade is a Town in Gloucestershire, England. It is located at the southern edge of the Cotswolds.
Burford County Primary School is the town's primary school and is located in Priory Lane, and Burford School, a mixed comprehensive school / secondary school, is also found in the town. See also Primary education A primary school (from French école primaire) is an institution where children receive the first stage of Compulsory Burford School is a mixed secondary Comprehensive school in Burford, Oxfordshire ( England) A comprehensive school is a Secondary school and State school for children from the age of 11 to at least 16 that does not select children on the basis of academic Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational Institution where the final stage of compulsory schooling known as Secondary education, takes
Burford was recently twinned with Potenza Picena, a small town in the Marche, on the East Adriatic coast of Italy. Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are born in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time Potenza Picena is a Comune (municipality in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about 30 km southeast The Marche (plural originally from le marche de Ancona, referring to the March of Ancona) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Links are growing with many groups in the town including the school, football team and church.
Burford has a fete every summer, involving the children from the primary school. Fête is a French word meaning Festival or Holiday, which has passed into English as a label that may be given to certain events There is a procession (including a dragon) down the high street to the school, where there are stalls and games.
Burford is the home of the duly named 'Burford Golf Club' located less than 100 yards from the Buford roundabout (on the A361 turn-off; towards Lechlade). The course itself is separated by the A361 having 9 holes on each side.
Burford has many hotels, restaurants and public houses all within walking distance of each other, they include: Burford House Hotel, Burford Lodge Hotel & Restaurant, The Cotswold Gateway, The Lamb Inn, The Bay Tree, The Highway, The Royal Oak, The Mermaid, The Angel, The Cotswold Arms, The Golden Pheasant, The Bull, The Aziz (Indian), The Dragon Inn (Chinese)
Burford Garden Company
Burford is also home to Burford Garden Company, a well-known, high quality store, its site spanning some 15 acres, stocking products for the home and garden, along with a susbstantial fresh food market and two restaurants. A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging usually on a short-term basis A restaurant is a retail establishment that serves prepared Food to Customers. The shop is independent and a favorite with many of the celebrities who live in the Cotswolds area, including Kate Moss, Liz Hurley, David Cameron, Gary Barlow and Kate Winslett and members of the critically acclaimed rock band Radiohead. Kate Moss (born January 16 1974) is an English model who has appeared on over 300 magazine covers. Elizabeth Jane Hurley (born 10 June 1965 is an English model and former actress who became known as a girlfriend of Hugh Grant in the 1990s David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966 is a British Politician and the current leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of Her Majesty's Gary Barlow (born 20 January, 1971 in Frodsham, Cheshire, England) is an English Singer, Pianist, Kate Elizabeth Winslet (born 5 October 1975 is a five-time Academy Award -nominated Golden Globe -nominated Emmy Award -nominated Radiohead
The Arts
Burford has a strong selection of retail art galleries offering a wide range of art works and is ideally placed for people travelling out from London. Of note are the Wren Gallery, Salt Gallery, Brian Sinfield Gallery & Stone Gallery and also the Vintage Arts Gallery at Burford Garden Company on the A40 road. For other uses see A40, for details of the A40 in london see A40 road (London.
History
In 1649, the church was used as a prison (during the English Civil War), when the New Model Army Banbury mutineers were held there. The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. The New Model Army was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War. The Banbury mutiny was a Mutiny by soldiers in the English New Model Army. Some of the 340 prisoners left carvings and grafitti, which can still be found in the church. Graffiti (singular graffito; the plural is used as a Mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched scrawled painted or marked in any manner on property
Between the 14th century and the 17th century Burford was important for its wool. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar Wool is the fiber derived from the specialized skin cells called follicles of animals in the Caprinae family principally sheep, but the hair of certain species The Tolsey is located in the centre of Burford's High Street; this was once the centre of the local wool trade. Today, the Tolsey is home to a museum.
The town centre features some houses dating from the 15th century. Its most notable building, however, is the parish church dedicated to St. John, which is known for its merchants' guild chapel, Red Indian memorial and Kempe glass. A parish church, in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a Parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches Merchants function as professionals who deal with Trade, dealing in commodities that they do not produce themselves in order to produce Profit. A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade The earliest guilds were formed as confraternities of workers The parish church is located at Ordnance Survey mapping six-figure grid reference SP 253124
The Easter Synod
For many years before the 7th century a strife had raged between the ancient British Church and the Roman Catholic Church respecting the question "When should Easter Day be kept?" The Britons adhered to the rule laid at the Council of Arles, A. Ordnance Survey (OS is an Executive agency of the United Kingdom government The 7th century is the period from 601 to 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. Easter ( Greek: Πάσχα Pascha or Pasxa) is the most important religious feast in the Christian Liturgical year. Arles (aʁl̥ Provençal Occitan: Arles in both classical and Mistralian norms is a City in the south of France, D. 314, that Easter Day should be the 14th day of the Paschal moon, even if it were on a Sunday. The Paschal Full Moon roughly corresponds to the first Full moon of the northern Spring. The Roman Church had decided that when the 14th day of the Paschal moon was a Sunday, Easter Day should be the Sunday after; Computus. Computus ( Latin for Computation) is the Calculation of the date of Easter in the Christian calendar. Various Synods were held in different parts of the kingdom with the object of settling this controversy, and one was held for this object at Burford in A. A synod (also known as a council) is a council of a church, usually a Christian church convened to decide an issue of doctrine administration or application D. 685. [1] We may deduce from the fact of the Synod being held at Burford, that the Britons in some numbers had settled in the town and neighbourhood. This Synod was attended by Æthelred, King of Mercia, and his nephew Berthwald (who had been granted the Southern part of his uncle's kingdom); Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury; Borel, Bishop of Worcester; Sexwulph, Bishop of Lichfield; Aldhelm, Abbot of Malmsbury; and many others. For the later earl see Earl Æthelred of Mercia. Æthelred (ˈæθəlrɛd (died after 704 was King of Mercia from 675 until Mercia (ˈmɝsiə was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the The Bishop of Worcester heads the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury in England. The Bishop of Lichfield is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. Saint Aldhelm (c 639 - 25 May 709) Abbot of Malmesbury Abbey, Bishop of Sherborne, Latin poet and Anglo-Saxon literature
Aldhelm was ordered at this conference to write a book against the error of the Britons in the observance of Easter. At this Synod Berthwald gave 40 cassates of land to Aldhelm who afterwards became Bishop of Shereborne. According to Spelman, the notes of the Synod were published in A. D. 705.
The Golden Dragon
Malmesbury and other chroniclers give accounts of a battle fought in Burford in 752 AD. The battle waged long and bloody. All day the arrows strewed the ground with wounded and dying men, while the Saxon battle-axe and the spiked mace played their terrible part in the conflict. The slaughter was enormous and in the end Æthelhum the mighty standard-bearer who carried the flag with the golden dragon emblazoned upon it was killed by the lance of his Saxon rival. The dragon is a Legendary creature of which some interpretation or depiction appears in almost every culture worldwide As noted in the Anglo Saxon Chronicles "A. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of Annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. D 752. This year Cuthred, king of the West Saxons, in the 12th year of his reign, fought at Burford, against Æthelbald king of the Mercians, and put him to flight. Cuthred of Wessex or Cuþræd (died 756 was the Monarch of Wessex from 740 (739 according to Simeon of Durham, 741 according to John of West Saxon redirects here For other meanings of Wessex or West Saxon see Wessex (disambiguation. Æthelbald (also spelled Ethelbald, or Aethelbald) (died 757 was the King of Mercia, in what is now the English Midlands " Camden thus tells the tale, "Isis now and then overflowing, the lower grounds receives its first addition from the Windrush, which, flowing out of the Cotteswold, salutes Burford standing on the banks of it, in Saxon Beorgford, where Cuthred, king of the West Saxons, then tributary to the Mercians, not being able to endure any longer the cruelty and base exactions of king Æthelbald, met him in the open field with an army and beat him, taking his standard, which was a portraiture of a golden dragon. The Thames ( is a major River flowing through southern England. The River Windrush is a river in the English Cotswolds, forming part of the River Thames catchment. " The origin of the golden dragon standard is most likely that of Uther Pendragon, the father of King Arthur of which Geoffrey of Monmouth says "Mindful of the explanation given by Merlin of the star about which I have told you, he ordered two Dragons to be fashioned in gold, in the likeness of the one which he had seen in the ray which shone from that star. King Arthur is a legendary British leader who according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against the Saxon invaders As soon as the Dragons had been completed this with the most marvellous craftsmanship - he made a present of one of them to the congregation of the cathedral church of the see of Winchester. The second one he kept for himself, so that he could carry it around to his wars. " [2]
It would appear that the anniversary of this battle was annually celebrated by the good folk of Burford, to keep alive wholesome remembrance of the glorious tradition of the golden dragon of the Britons [3], for William Camden, in describing other festivals, says, "There has been a custom in the town of making a great dragon yearly, and carrying it up and down the streets in great jollity on midsummer eve". William Camden ( 2 May 1551 &ndash 9 November 1623) was an English Antiquarian and historian In addition to the dragon they also carried a giant. The Mythology and Legends of many different Cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength The field of engagement is called Battle Edge to this day. Battle-Edge is a former field, located beside Sheep Street and Tanners Lane in Burford in Oxfordshire, England where King Ethelbald
On 21st November, 1814, a large freestone sarcophagus was discovered near to Battle Edge 3 feet below the surface, weighing 16 cwt with the feet pointing almost due South. A sarcophagus is a Funeral receptacle for a Corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone The cavity is 6 feet in length and 2 feet 2 inches in breadth. On examination it was found to contain the remains of a human body, possibly the mighty Æthelhum, and portions of a leathern cuirass studded with metal nails. Cuirass ( French cuirasse, Latin coriaceus, made of leather from corium, the original breastplate being of Leather) the The skeleton was found in near perfect state due to the exclusion of air from the sarcophagus and tomb is now preserved in Burford Church.
"Whose fame is in that dark green tomb? Four stones with their heads of moss stand there. They mark the narrow house of death. Some chief of fame is here! Raise the songs of old! Awake their memory in the tomb. " Ossian
Trivia
- The fictional GI Joe character Big Ben is from Burford. Ossian is the narrator and supposed author of a cycle of poems which the Scottish poet James Macpherson claimed to have translated from ancient sources in the GI Joe is a line of military-themed articulated "action figures" produced by the Toy company Hasbro.
References
External links
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