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The Cotswolds town of Banbury has been a busy market town for centuries
and is now also an important industrial centre and grown considerably
in size over the last half of the 20th century. Despite much redevelopment
it still has a few old alleys and quiet corners to enjoy. Two of Banbury's
famous inns remain. The Reindeer in Parsons Street and the large 17th
century Whateley Hall Hotel in the Horsefair which used to be called
the Three Tuns. Many famous people have stayed here including Johnathan
Swift, who is reputed to have taken the name Gulliver from a tombstone
in the nearby churchyard.
The famous Banbury Cross (picture below) is situated at a cross-roads on the broad
Horsefair, is a mid-19th century replacement, erected to commemorate a royal wedding
in 1858. The original medieval cross was destroyed by the Puritans in the early 17th
century. The well-known nursery rhyme refers to the cross - ' Ride a cock horse
to Banbury Cross to see a finer lady on a white horse'. It is thought this rhyme
referred to a visit by Queen Elizabeth I.
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| There is a fine sports centre, Spiceball Park, and by
the old canal wharf nearby is Tooley's Boatyard, with its working forge, operational
dry-dock and collection of antique equipment for repairing wooden narrow boats. This
wharf is busy with colourful narrowboats throughout the summer months. |
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The High Street of Banbury is bustling with a wide variety of shopping
and cafes. The pedestrianisation of parts of the town makes it a pleasant place to linger.
Europe's largest cattle market is situated on the outskirts of the town.
Banbury is also famous for its special Banbury Cakes which are elliptical in shape and
made of light pastry lined with currants and have a lemon fragrance. They have been
produced for at least 300 years. |
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The original medieval Norman church (the largest in the County), was blown up with
gunpowder on the grounds that it was unsafe in 1790. The church was replaced by an
elegant building in 1820 designed by S.P Cockerell, the architect of Sezincote, with
Indian features including a dome. It was built of local ironstone which has proved
vulnerable to weathering.
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Places of Interest around and about
Banbury Museum, Horsefair - A museum devoted to the history of the
town with exhibitions of work by local artists. Open April to September - tel 01295
259855.
The Village of Aynho - Very attractive village with many of the
south facing wall of the cottages having ancient apricot trees clinging to them. In
bygone days the Lord of the Manor used to claim the fruit as part of the rent.
Aynhoe House and Park, facing the main road at centre of the village
- The grand Elizabethan mansion over the centuries has been transformed into the imposing
Georgian House we see to day. Part of the house is open to the public and the park
is open May to September, Wednesdays and Thursdays, tel 01869 810636.
Broughton Castle and Church, 3 miles south west of Banbury - Of
great interest, owned by the Fiennes family since 1451. The castle was modified in
the 16th century with most of the battlements being removed and has remained unchanged
since that time to the present day. The castle is surrounded by a wide moat and is
one of the most romantically situated castles in the country.
Upton House, 7 miles north west of Banbury - A fine William and
Mary mansion built of local Hornton stone and stands at the end of a long grass-bordered
driveway, off the A422, Stratford-upon-Avon to Banbury road. National Trust property.
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Towns
and Villages
to Visit in the Cotswolds
Cotswolds
Tourist Information - Towns and Villages in the English
Counties of Oxfordshire Gloucestershire Warwickshire
Wiltshire Worcestershire and Somerset making up the
Cotswolds region:- Places
to Visit Home
Ablington, Amberley,
Armscote,
Banbury,
Bath,
Batsford, Bladon,
Bibury,
Bisley, Blockley,
Bledington, Bourton-on-the-Water,
Broadway,
Broadwell, Broad
Campden, Buckland,
Burford, Castle
Combe, Charlbury,
Cheltenham, Chipping
Campden, Chipping
Sodbury, Cirencester,
Duntisbourne
Leer, Eastleach
Martin, Evesham, Fairford, Gloucester, Great
Tew, Greenfield
Village,
Guiting
Power, Hidcote
Bartrim, Laverton,
Lechlade,
Little
Barrington,
Little
Faringdon,
Longborough, Long
Compton, Lower
Slaughter,
Mickleton, Minster
Lovell, Moreton
in Marsh,
Minchinhampton, Nailsworth,
Naunton, North
Cerney, Northleach,
Oxford, Painswick,
Shipston
on Stour,
Snowshill, Shipton
under Wychwood,
Stanton, Stow
on the Wold,
Stratford upon Avon,
Stroud, Tetbury,
Tewkesbury,
Upper
Quinton,
Upper Slaughter, Upper
Swell, Willersey,Winchcombe,
Windrush, Woodstock,
Worcester,
Wotton under Edge, Wyck
Rissington
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Places
to Stay in the Cotswolds
Places
to Stay Hotels Bed and Breakfast (B&B's) Guest Houses
Inns Pubs Self-Catering Cottages in the Cotswolds:- Places
to Stay Home
Armscote, Banbury, Barringtons, Bath,
Bibury, Bledington,
Blockley, Bourton
on the Water,
Broadway, Burford,
Cheltenham, Chipping
Campden, Chipping
Norton, Cirencester, Darlingscott,
Evesham, Fairford, Gloucester,
Guiting Power, Mickleton,
Moreton in
Marsh, Minchinhampton,
Oxford, Nailsworth,
Northleach, Painswick,
Shipston on Stour, Snowshill,
Stow on the Wold, Stratford
upon Avon, Stroud,
Tetbury, Tewkesbury,
Willersey, Winchcombe, Witney,
Woodstock, Worcester, Wotton
under Edge.
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Explore Banbury and nearbyNearby: Chipping Norton (12 miles), Shipston-on-Stour (12 miles), Bicester (14 miles), Charlbury (14 miles), Ilmington (15 miles), Woodstock (15 miles) |