Banburyshire
Encyclopedia
Location
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
that is centred on the market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
of Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
. The county of Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
has two main commercial centres, the city of Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
itself that serves most of the south of the county, and Banbury that serves the north (such as Adderbury
Adderbury
Adderbury is a large village and civil parish in northern Oxfordshire, England. It is about south of Banbury and from Junction 10 of the M40 motorway. The village is divided in two by the Sor Brook. The village consists of two neighbourhoods: West Adderbury and East Adderbury...
, Deddington
Deddington
Deddington is a civil parish in Oxfordshire about south of Banbury. In scale Deddington is a village, but it has a town centre with a market place and the local football team is called Deddington Town FC.-History:...
, Wroxton
Wroxton
Wroxton is a village and civil parish in the north of Oxfordshire about west of Banbury.-History:Wroxton is recorded as having a church in 1217, but the present Church of England parish church of All Saints is early 14th century. A Perpendicular Gothic clerestory and porch were added early in the...
, Great Bourton
Great Bourton
Great Bourton is a village about north of Banbury in Oxfordshire, England. It is the largest settlement in the civil parish of Bourton.-History:...
and Bloxham
Bloxham
Bloxham is a village and civil parish in northern Oxfordshire on the edge of the Cotswolds, southwest of Banbury.-Early settlement:Under Roman rule between the 1st and 5th centuries there were several farms and a burial site in the Bloxham area....
) plus parts of the neighbouring counties of Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
and Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
.
From the former, the villages of King's Sutton
King's Sutton
King's Sutton is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, England in the valley of the River Cherwell. The village is about south-east of Banbury, Oxfordshire...
and Middleton Cheney
Middleton Cheney
Middleton Cheney is a civil parish and the largest village in South Northamptonshire, England. It is situated between Banbury and Brackley. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 3,753.-Local amenities:...
, and possibly also Aynho
Aynho
Aynho is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, England, on the edge of the Cherwell valley about southeast of the north Oxfordshire town of Banbury and southwest of Brackley...
, Fenny Compton
Fenny Compton
Fenny Compton is a village and parish in Warwickshire, England, about eight miles north of Banbury. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 797. Its church of St. Peter and St. Clare was built in the 14th century...
, Charlton
Charlton, Northamptonshire
Charlton is a village in the parish of Newbottle, Northamptonshire, England in between Brackley and Kings Sutton, lying close to a small tributary of the River Cherwell. It is a small village with a population about 200....
and Croughton
Croughton, Northamptonshire
Croughton is a small village in the South Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England. It is close to the border with Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire and is six kilometres southwest of the town of Brackley...
could be considered part of Banburyshire, and from the latter Upper and Lower Brailes also fall within Banbury's sphere of influence. Both the settlements of Bicester
Bicester
Bicester is a town and civil parish in the Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in England.This historic market centre is one of the fastest growing towns in Oxfordshire Development has been favoured by its proximity to junction 9 of the M40 motorway linking it to London, Birmingham and...
, Hinton-in-the-Hedges
Hinton-in-the-Hedges
Hinton-in-the-Hedges is a small village and civil parish in South, Northamptonshire, England, due west of the town of Brackley. West of the village is Hinton-in-the-Hedges Airfield. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 179 people. In 2010 it had increased to approximately...
, Chipping Norton
Chipping Norton
Chipping Norton is a market town in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about southwest of Banbury.-History until the 17th century:...
and Hook Norton
Hook Norton
Hook Norton is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in Oxfordshire, England. It is northeast of Chipping Norton.-Toponym and early history:...
are also on the border of Banburyshire's area.
It is effectively encompassed by the former Banbury Rural District
Banbury Rural District
Banbury was a rural district in Oxfordshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 from the bulk of the Banbury rural sanitary district, which had been divided between three counties...
, Woodstock Rural District, Municipal Borough of Banbury, Southam Rural District
Southam Rural District
Southam Rural District was a rural district in the county of Warwickshire, England. It was created in 1894 and consisted of 26 parishes, a further six parishes were added in 1932, when the Farnborough Rural District was disbanded...
, Brackley Rural District, Middleton Cheney Rural District
Middleton Cheney Rural District
Middleton Cheney was a rural district in Northamptonshire, England from 1894 to 1935.It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 from that part of the Banbury rural sanitary district which was in Northamptonshire...
and the north west of Ploughley Rural District
Ploughley Rural District
Ploughley was a rural district in Oxfordshire, England, from 1932 to 1974. It entirely surrounded Bicester but did not include it.It was created in 1932 from parts of the abolished Bicester Rural District, Headington Rural District and Woodstock Rural District, along with a couple of non-urban...
(the part that was not in either Bicester Rural District or Headington Rural District
Headington Rural District
Headington was a rural district in Oxfordshire, England from 1894 to 1932, based on the Headington rural sanitary district. It covered an area to the east of the city of Oxford. The parish of Headington was split out as a separate urban district in 1927....
before 1931) local government areas, which were abolished between 1935 and 1974.
Roman finds
During excavations for the construction of an office building in Hennef Way in 2002, the remains of a British Iron AgeBritish Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
settlement with circular buildings dating back to 200 BC were found. The site contained around 150 pieces of pottery and stone. Later there was a Roman villa
Roman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
at nearby Wykham Park. Remains of a substantial Roman villa
Roman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
were been found just west of the B4100 main road, near Hanwell, Oxfordshire
Hanwell, Oxfordshire
Hanwell is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, northwest of Banbury.-Early history:Remains of a substantial Roman villa have been found just west of the B4100 main road....
. A Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
town once stood at Blacklands
Blacklands
- Places : * Blackland, New Brunswick, Canada* Blackland, Prentiss County, Mississippi* Texas Blackland Prairies-Music:* Blacklands , the second and final album from Music for Pleasure and was released in 1985- See also :* Black earth...
, 0.5 miles (804.7 m) north of the village of King Sutton and coins from the 4th century AD have been alo been found there.
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon ChronicleAnglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
recorded that Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
s raided the village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
of Hook Norton
Hook Norton
Hook Norton is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in Oxfordshire, England. It is northeast of Chipping Norton.-Toponym and early history:...
in AD 913. Banburyshire
Banburyshire
-Location:Banburyshire is an informal area of England that is centred on the market town of Banbury. The county of Oxfordshire has two main commercial centres, the city of Oxford itself that serves most of the south of the county, and Banbury that serves the north plus parts of the...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
and Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
were on the Front line
Front line
A front line is the farthest-most forward position of an armed force's personnel and equipment - generally in respect of maritime or land forces. Forward Line of Own Troops , or Forward Edge of Battle Area are technical terms used by all branches of the armed services...
of the Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
/Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
conflict of that time. and a parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
was built there by AD 922. The Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
records that in 1086 Hook Norton
Hook Norton
Hook Norton is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in Oxfordshire, England. It is northeast of Chipping Norton.-Toponym and early history:...
had 76 villagers and two mills
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
.
Transport
The Banburyshire Community Transport Association Ltd charity provides special transport services for disabled in and around the town of Banbury.Sport
Cherwell Edge in ChacombeChacombe
Chacombe is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, about northeast of Banbury in neighbouring Oxfordshire. It has sometimes been spelt Chalcombe...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
(52°6′N 1°17′W) is near the River Cherwell, north-west of Banbury.
The Spiceball Centre is Banbury's recently upgraded sports centre, which includes a swimming pool, courts, café and gym facilities. It is also regarded as Banburyshire's leading facility of its kind.
Banbury United F.C.
Banbury United F.C.
Banbury United is a football club based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, who play in the Southern League Premier Division. They are nicknamed The Puritans and they play their home matches at the Spencer Stadium...
was first formed as Spencer Villa in 1931 and their home matches played at Middleton Road. At this time it was essentially a works club. In 1934, they changed their name to Banbury Spencer and moved to the Spencer Stadium. They had a lot of early success, winning most of the leagues which they played in.