A lesson off the Cut

Sunday, 10 October 2010 19:47

But including some facts about the Cut

We have thoroughly enjoyed the Banbury Folk Festival this weekend. John continued the experience today and began with a walk around Banbury with Brian Little a renowned local historian and journalist from the Banbury Guardian.

Brian Little

The walk's first "station" was at the Bus Station, canalside. This and Castle Quay Shopping Centre were built on the site of old canalside industries on the Oxford Canal.

The renowned Ironmongers (now Marks and Spencer) was owned by Hoods but any ironwork would have been done at the Blacksmith at Tooley's. Factory Street once ran close and then terminated in a bridge over the Oxford Canal. Crossing the bridge led to the area known as the Land of Nod and Factory Street is now under the Shopping Centre.

Hoods, the hardware shop closed in 2007 after 200 years of trading:

Other buildings that would have been associated with the canal trade could have been the Corn Exchanges, Lampreys corn, coal and coke merchants and even the breweries. At one time there were 100 licensed properties in Banbury. Now that would have been some pub crawl!

There were once two Corn Exchanges in Banbury on the sites of what are now HSBC bank and Castle Shopping Centre. The former became a cinema after it was closed, screening silent films. The facade of the successful Corn Exchange (1857) was transformed into Castle Quay's main entrance and the genuine Banbury Cross once stood near here (see below).

The Unicorn next to HSBC was a coaching inn in 1648. It was the leading tavern in the town during the reign of Charles ll. Talking pubs, there were at least three more on John's walk: Ye Olde Reine Deer, The Vaults and the Banbury Cross. Sadly he did not have time to sample the beer!

Ye Olde Reine Deer and old gates with date (1570) and names

Ye Olde Reine Deer in Parsons Street was the home of the Knight family in 1570 and was not an Ale House, because it also sold spirits. Inside is a Civil War wood-panelled meeting place known as the Globe Room, because it used to include a globe, and the world's problems could be put to rights by talking about them!!! In the 1640s, the Parliamentarians held kangaroo courts here and the room was restored and today still holds much of the atmosphere of those days.

Inside the Globe Room

The Wine Vaults, also in Parsons Street, still has Dickensian snugs. It was owned by Mr Bennett, who reputedly supplied the 'missing' ingredients to Mrs Brown, maker of the original Banbury Cakes.

The Vaults and the Banbury Cake shop owned by Mrs Brown (a Grade ll* building):

The Banbury Cross was originally the Wagon and Horses; in an alleyway beside it, there is a humurous mural created by one of its customers.

Finally (although there is much more to say and see in Banbury!), at mention of the Banbury Cross, the one in the town centre is not the original. Once there were three crosses - High (or market) Cross, Bread Cross and White Cross. All were destroyed in 1600 as they were seen as "the god, Dagon" by the then extremely Puritanical inhabitants. The current cross, 52 foot 6 inches, was erected in 1859 to commemorate the wedding of Queen Victoria's eldest daughter, Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa to Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia on 25th January 1858.

High (or Market Cross) plaque is outside the Corn Exchange (now entrance to Castle Quay)

I will finish with a photo of the Spandrels in Butchers Row - John is particularly proud of this photo, with the sun behind the sun! The Spandrels were erected in the late 1990s to celebrate Banbury as a Market town. The charms celebrate the agricultural and market history, the tree-like roots the towns rural character and the sun is the central motif of the towns armorial crest. Note particularly the medicinal rhubarb. The culture of this rhubarb for the sake of the root was commenced in Banbury in 1777 by an apothecary named Hayward. The plants were raised from seed sent from Russia in 1762 with such success that the Society of Arts awarded him a silver medal in 1789 and a gold one in 1794

More photos of Banbury are here - clickety click and this page of history explains more about the Banbury Crosses! - clickety click