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In earlier times Burford was a flourishing market town dependent on the sheep of
the Cotswolds, the local industries being fulling, tannery, saddlery, glove
making, and two bell foundries at different times; all that was necessary could
be purchased locally.
In 1990 Burford celebrated the 900th anniversary of its first charter. It may
seem strange that a community of barely 1,200 people should have a Mayor and
Town Council (the population is probably smaller now than in the 18th century at
the height of the coaching era, and much the same as at the end of the Middle
Ages). The present arrangement only dates from the reorganisation of local
government in 1974, but is a reflection of Burford's earlier history when it was
ruled by an Alderman and Burgesses, elected from the Guild Merchants. The
Burgesses’ roll is to be seen in the local museum at the Tolsey, the 15th
century building where the tolls were collected from the traders. It is also
still used for the Town Council meetings.
Burford has grown very little because of stringent planning restrictions which
ban any expansion outwards, and insist on any new building being done in local
materials. This means that the cost of housing in the town is exceptionally
high, so that there is very little chance for first time buyers to obtain
property.
The two ‘big houses’ were the Great House, an imposing castellated edifice built
in 1685 right on what was once the main road through the town; and the Priory,
originally a monastic hospice, which came into private ownership after the
Dissolution of the Monasteries, changed ownership several times and has now come
back to housing a religious order of nuns. Another striking building is the
Methodist chapel, originally built as a private house in the 18th century.
The grammar school was founded by local men of property in 1571 and stayed at
the lower end of the town until 1957, when the new comprehensive school was
built on the main road above the town. The old buildings have been retained as
boarding houses.
When the school celebrated its quarter centenary in 1971, an ancient custom was
reintroduced. This is the dragon procession on Midsummer’s Eve, said to
commemorate the victory of the West Saxons over the Mercians about AD 750. The
dragon is a large tent-like structure with an impressive head, carried by some
20 children, whose legs are the only part of the human form to be seen. It goes
from the top of the hill to the bottom accompanied by Morris dancers and
finishing with dancing on the green in front of the church.
There was another small school run by a couple called Huntley at the top of the
hill. Mrs Huntley, as well as her school duties, made biscuits and sold them to
coach travellers; eventually one of her sons moved to Reading, went into
partnership with a Mr Palmer, and this is the origin of the famous biscuit
manufacturers.
The oldest inhabitant recalls the horse omnibus, run by her father, which met
every train at Shipton-under-Wychwood and Witney. ‘He never missed one’. Between
the wars there were frequent buses from Burford to Oxford, Cheltenham, Banbury
and Swindon, but now public transport is minimal. Before the Second World War,
Burford had three butchers (now one), five grocers (now two), five milkmen
delivering (now one), and two baker’s shops as well as two who came with vans
(now two). There were countless other small shops, and it is only recently that
a drapery and the ironmonger have disappeared.
In the distant past Wychwood Forest was only a mile away, and there was a royal
hunting lodge on the outskirts. The men of Burford were allowed one deer per
annum, but the story goes that this did not satisfy them, and a lot of poaching
went on; the carcases would be hidden in one of the ‘bale’ tombs in the
churchyard, and woe betide you if you were found to have one in your larder!
The first private owner of the Priory was Edmond Harman, barber surgeon to Henry
VIII. His successor was Sir Lawrence Tanfield who upset the local people by
removing (quite legitimately) all the rights and privileges of the Guild
Merchants. His wife was even more unpopular and after their demise, they were
said to haunt the town, riding in a coach and four over the rooftops. Eventually
seven clerics were called upon to exorcise them, which they did by shutting up
the spirits in a bottle and dropping it into the river. Rumour had it that if
the level of the river dropped below a certain point, they would escape; so,
until the 19th century, in time of drought the older inhabitants used to pour
water over the bridge to keep the level up!
During the Civil War, a group of soldiers rebelled against Cromwell and were
rounded up in Burford. Three hundred were imprisoned in the church as the only
building large enough; after three days the three ringleaders were taken out and
shot. In the mid 1970s a tablet was erected to them outside the church, and each
year since then a great meeting has been held on the church green, followed by a
procession round the town.
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