Banbury, Oxfordshire
Banbury Cross, Oxfordshire. This one was erected in 1859, one hundred years after the famous nursery rhyme (below) was first known.
Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross,
To see a Fyne lady ride on a white horse.
With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes,
She shall have music wherever she goes.
The delightful Oxfordshire Market Town of Banbury is in an area that has been inhabited for well over 2,000 years. In 2002 Iron Age workings dating back to 200BC were discovered but the town was not really developed until the 5th century when the Saxons developed the town. Then, in 913AD, the Vikings ravaged north Oxfordshire, but they were traders and they established a number of market towns and Banbury actually benefited from the Viking 'input'.
Today, it is one of a large number of English towns that are full of history, which is best shown through it's range of buildings. The Tudor property shown above is in superb condition and now houses a modern retail shop. Below, I have shown a Victorian-built public library, which is a typical example of minor public buildings of that era.
posted by Bazza at 10:06 pm
15 Comments:
Interesting that the rhyme appeared before the cross....I wonder if Oxford will one day have a statue of Inspector Morse!
I have played the piano in
Banbury Town hall incidentally...just to one or two people mind you.
Sorry Rob, I didn't make it clear that the first cross appeared 250 years before the rhyme.
Have you ever played before a large audience?
So lovely to read these posts. I am enchanted. The architecture, the history.
Oh it makes me wish for a trip there. Thank you for taking me there now in my mind through these images and your words, and in my imagination as I see myself walking the streets there and enjoying such a splendid place.
Blessings of peace, joy and Love rippling to you this glorious Sunday.
Great read Bazza
I was thinking of your posts about these nice bldgs in UK while watching telly few weeks ago.
Did you happen to see that program in which the lottery money was used to restore one of the old and needy buildings across great britian and there was online voting between various buildings from different parts...it was a great series...but I just can't remember the name
I have played to about thirty people.
I get very claustrophobic in crowds.
Lovely post. Pretty pix, informative. It's always a pleasure to stop in, bazza. In the states, we can't fathom what it might be like to live in towns dating back 2,000 years. Simply beyond our comprehension. We are mere babies.
Bazza, You brought back childhood memories with that nursery rhyme. My Dad used to sing or recite it to me. I want to visit now. - Great post.
How wonderful to know that so many historic sites there are in great condition. Great Britain is one of the European areas I want to visit someday, because of its plethora of historic treasures!
The pictures and your commentaries always ensure that I learn something new from your blog (which I ♥).
Thanks for the link. :-)
Wonderful looking town, I would love to walk around there, sleep there, eat there, and have a few beers there while talking to the town folk, this I could do for days on end. I really like the Victorian bldg, it is plain but rugged and with just enough lace to it for class. Its' ruggedness, like the crossbars in the windows, intrique me, give me a feel of strength. The cross is intricate, would bear closer investigation, much to look at.
Thanks for the tour Bazza, always a pleasure.
Someday I'll make it to GB... Always wanted to visit.
Thanks for the visit and comment at my place, Bazza!
Hello Rob. Now we have 'Rob with the hat' (yourself) and 'Rob with the specs', (see above). Thanks for visiting, I like your blog. I hope you realise that I feature the nicest bits of England - it's not all like that!
Do you know, I think I've been there? It was the summer in between my sophomore and junior year in high school, and I was part of a travelling theater troupe that toured the British Isles. I believe we did a show at a school in Oxfordshire. This would have been a few *coughnineteencough* years ago.
Ian
Beautiful architecture. It has always struck me as odd how the Viking's contributions to British culture are so casually mentioned considering the manner in which they contributed.
Is that famous Oxford university is
situated here?
@Deepak-Hindu priest need not be an astrologer.Some practice it for additional income.
I JUST NOTICED THAT A HUGE AND, PROBABLY BRILLIANT, RESPONSE TO LOTS OF THE ABOVE COMMENTS HAS NOT APPEARED SO I AM RE-POSTING THE COMMENTS HERE!
serenity: I would like to see someone doing similar posts for various other parts of the world. They probably already do, somewhere but I don't know of any. Thank's for visiting, both in cyber space and in your mind!
dumbdodi: Hi. I did see some of those programs. I think the series was called 'Restoration Village' or was that something else? I would guess that there is enough Lottery money to rebuild the whole country.
rob: I didn't realise that crowds were a source of claustrophobia, always imagining lifts and similar very confined spaces to be the problem.
gem: I think few people in England are aware of the great historical value of their heritage. It takes American and other interested visitors to help us realise what's here (or was!).
nuggy's mum: Hello, I hope you and the dog/s are well! Thanks for sharing that memory.
lizza: Thanks for those kind words. If you like historic places Great Britain and Italy are the best European destinations. Italy has an embarrassment of riches in Roman and Rennaisance architecture. If you like rude people try Paris!
jim: I am pleased that you like the Victorian building. For some reason the photo doesn't do it justice; it looked much more impressive 'live'.
ian: Wow, that must have been a tremendous thing to do at that age. You would probably appreciate it more these days though.
slaghammer: I think they forcefully donated their DNA into the Saxon genepool!
deepak: That famous University is in the City of Oxford, not many miles from Banbury. The whole county is rather beautiful.
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