Banbury

“ Many of our readers have heard of Banbury Cross and Banbury cakes, and other famous juvenile associations, as the lady with bells on her toes, but it was also connected with the production of books for juvenile readers. A great portion of the blocks in this volume are Banbury blocks used for illustrating the toy books, children’s histories, etc., for which this quaint old Oxfordshire town was famous. ”

“ His relations with his parishioners were not happy, and although he retained the living of Banbury for upwards of thirty-three years, he resided in Oxford about half that time. In 1849 the new bishop of Oxford, Samuel Wilberforce, induced him to exchange Banbury for the rectory of Over Worton, a small village near Woodstock. He did not find the new living more congenial than the old, and continued to reside in Oxford, where he frequented the Bodleian Library, and was respected for his learning. ”

“ There seemed no more time for brooding even over Eve’s fascinating little pictures of life in the big country house, or Miriam’s stories and legends of Germany—she said very little about Banbury Park fearing the amazement and disgust of the trio if anything of the reality of North London should reach them through her talk and guessing the impossibility of their realising the Pernes—or Gerald’s rich memories of the opulence of his early home life, an atmosphere of spending and operas and banquets and receptions and distinguished people. ”

“ On June 3, 1710, the High Church champion made a triumphal entry into Banbury, which is ridiculed in a pamphlet called The Banb..y Apes, or the Monkeys chattering to the Magpye; in a Letter to a Friend in London. On the back of the title is large woodcut, representing the procession which accompanied the doctor; among the personages of which the Mayor of Banbury (as a wolf) , and the aldermen (as apes) , are conspicuous figures. Dr. Sacheverell himself appears on horseback, followed by a crowd of persons bearing crosses and rosaries, or strewing branches. ”

“ Nothing seemed to ruffle Bob after that. He simply laughed at the snubs and jeers of the Banbury crowd. He seemed to lose his old-time unsociability, and went right in with the jolly crowd that composed the stanch following of Dean Ritchie.
It was just after the nine o'clock bell had rung that evening when Bob so mysteriously disclosed his suspicions of the Initiation plots of the occupants of the adjoining room.
"They're all Banbury's crowd," he explained to Frank. "Get into bed and take in the fun. They're waiting for us to quiet down. Don't speak above a whisper. ”

“ The cakes have made this town more celebrated than even its political engagements. The castle of Banbury was founded in the year 1153, by Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, and continued an episcopal residence till the reign of Henry VI. During the contentions between the houses of York and Lancaster, when civil discord was a familiar incident in this neighbourhood, Banbury suffered much ”

“ Barnaby," said Michael. "Release him when and how you like. For ourselves, we ride to Oxford."
"Nay, you walk," said Barnaby, with great solemnity. "Oh, I know your breed! You're all for going to the tavern for your horses. It will not do, gentles. The town is thick with Roundheads."
"How can we walk twenty miles, with our errand a day or two old already?" said Kit.
"Beggars must foot it, when need asks. Do you want to sing 'Christmas Pie' again all down Banbury street, and have your errand spoiled? Listen, sirs. This town does not suit my health just now; it does not suit yours. ”

“ The great feature of the inn is, however, the noble oak-panelled chamber known, for whatever inscrutable reason, as the “Globe Room.” Exterior and interior views of it are the merest commonplaces in Banbury. There are, in fact, three things absolutely necessary, nay, almost sacramental, for the stranger to do in Banbury, without having performed the which he is a scorn and a derision. The first of these indispensable performances is the eating, or, at any rate, the buying of Banbury cakes. ”

“ As Frank and his crowd reached the scene of the conflict and joined the ring about the combatants Banbury struck out with a blow that sent Gill Mace reeling to the ground with a bloody nose.
"Take that, you sneak!" shouted Banbury furiously.
"Hello!" exclaimed Bob Upton. "He knows his right name at last."
"I'll fix you," blubbered Gill, "you great big coward!"
"You shut up, or I'll give you worse," threatened Banbury. "A nice fellow you are! Went and peached on me about that haystack." ”

“ The old castle, after standing several desperate sieges, was demolished by the Puritans, and nothing now remains excepting the moat and a small remnant of wall on which a cottage has been built. The Banbury cakes are mentioned as early as 1686, and they are still in high repute, being sent to all parts of the world. The Banbury cheese of which Shakespeare wrote is no longer made. The Banbury cross has been immortalized in nursery-rhymes, but it was taken down by the Puritans. The rhyme tells the little folk. ”

“ In November 1642, after the king's return to Oxford, he gave Banbury and that part of the country to the Earl of Northampton, who was commanded to raise a regiment of horse, which was given to the Lord Compton, his eldest son, and Sir Charles, his second son, was made lieutenant-colonel of it; to Sir William Compton, his third son, was given the castle of Banbury (ib. 93) . On 22 Dec. the parliament forces from Northampton occupied the town, and assaulted the castle, but Rupert's approach the next day relieved the earl from danger (Twyne, Musterings, apud Hearne, Dunstable, 760) . ”

“ BANBURY, a market-town and municipal borough in the Banbury parliamentary division of Oxfordshire, England, on the river Cherwell and the Oxford canal, 86 m. N.W. of London by the northern line of the Great Western railway. Pop. (1901) 12,968. The canal communicates northward with the Grand Junction and Warwick canals, and there are branch lines of the Great Central railway to the main line at Woodford, and of the London & North-Western railway to Bletchley. The town is the centre of a rich agricultural district, and there is a large manufacture of agricultural implements ”

“ I wonder if that officer has given us the right direction? It seems to me that we should be bearing further south for Oxford. But perhaps the road takes a turn presently.”
“The road is right for the way we are going. We pass through Banbury, which is not much longer than the direct route. I intend to leave Old John at Banbury, and with him this permit, which will be a danger to carry until we turn north again. Banbury is on the straight road to Scotland, which I suppose will be the way you go on your return.” ”

“ HANWELL.—Altitudes: 476-416; population, 176; 3 miles north-west of Banbury. The [Pg 80] village winds in one long street down-hill. It rests on the ferruginous red rock of the Middle Lias. Midway in the village an old oak tree covered the village stocks and the outflow of an aquaduct, probably the Saint Ann’s Well of past time. Pleasant footways follow the hill side on the north to Shotteswell and on the south to Banbury. When King Charles took the Castle after the battle of Edge Hill it would seem that it was not without a fight. ”

“ As a devoted royalist be rendered himself during the civil war obnoxious to the supporters of the parliament in his neighbourhood, and, fearful of their threats, he concealed himself for a time in Banbury. In 1645 he met by arrangement his wife and a son, when on a journey either to Winchester or Oxford, and resolved to ride a part of the way with them. ”

“ We are trusted with the law. We are to be protected, not arraigned, and are not to give reasons for our judgment; therefore I desire to be excused giving any." Mr. Justice Eyre maintained the same dignified tone, and at length the House of Lords abandoned its fruitless struggle with the common-law Judges. The petition of Lord Banbury was subsequently laid before the Privy Council, when the sudden death of Queen Anne once more put an end to the proceedings.
When the Hanoverian princes came to the throne, Lord Banbury again tempted fate by a new petition to the Crown. ”

“ The King’s forces seem to have been quartered about the country between Wormleighton and Cropredy, Prince Rupert with his cavalry near Wormleighton, the King himself staying at Edgcot House, whilst the main body of the army occupied the slopes and high lands on the Northamptonshire side of the Cherwell vale near by. Thus the three roads North of Banbury were dominated by the Royalist troops, and the fourth, the old London road, was within striking distance. ”

“ Nothing remains of the Cross once standing on the green, and of Sir Thos. Cobb’s [Pg 79] famous house there remain but the gateways and kitchen. The village during the time of the Great Rebellion was held as a Royalist outpost in the Banbury area. Mr. Wilmot, afterwards Lord Rochester, with his local troops of horse fought on the left wing of the Royalists’ Army at Edge Hill. A cavalry fight took place during the war near Bodicot, on the Banbury road, when Fiennes had some success. ”

“ I was always a day behind the fair. They loathe all words that are connected with the Mass."
"We have learned as much," said Michael. "For your part, Mr. Barnaby, how came you here?"
"Oh, a trifle of ale-drinking! My heart was warm, you understand, and I roved down Banbury street with some song of glory coming for King Charles. I'm not warm now, but the cool o' the horse-pond has brought me an astonishing sobriety."
"Then tell us how to be quit of these four walls," snapped Kit, thinking ever of York and the need the city had of Prince Rupert. ”

“ I am no more lenient than you; but one must be sorry for Mascha. I have not found the right words to describe it to you, or else----"
"You misunderstand me," says Lady Banbury, very earnestly. "My severity is not for the child. I am older than you. I know how easily, with such neglect as the poor daughter of my friend Natalie experienced, the like can occur. One has such a crowd of theories--that innocence is the best protection, etc. One lets girls of the best families run about the streets alone, and at the same time they are not permitted to read a modern novel. ”

“ In the end the sermons gained the day, and it would be hard to find in the Midlands—save Banbury—a more staunchly Puritan town than Coventry under the Stuarts.
In the sixteenth century the corporation appear to have become disquieted at the reckless lives and illicit amusements of those over whom they ruled. A new era was about to dawn, wherein mediæval barriers would be broken down; and it seems as if the discreet and worthy burghers were afraid of the lawlessness and unrest which had entered into the spirit of society, and which in itself was the sign of coming change. ”

“ The village is within the Warwickshire border, 51⁄2 miles to the north of Banbury, and is built on the slopes of a continuation of the Edge Hill escarpment. From the south side it is hidden from view by the woods of Deddington Hill. The church stands on a bold mass of Lias rock jutting into the roadway, and with the old homesteads surrounding the green and pool and the high banks clothed with wood and orchard, have given Warmington a high reputation for beauty even amongst the many beautiful villages near it. ”

“ You snarl just exactly like some of the curs he keeps there."
"Banbury, cranberry, bow, wow, wow!" derided Ritchie. "Good for you,
Upton—you hit the nail on the head that time."
"Upton—Robert Upton!" bellowed the old janitor, Scroggins, appearing on the campus just then.
"That's me," acknowledged Bob.
"President Elliott wishes to see you in the library," said Scroggins.
"Aha!" snorted Banbury. "Called down already! Look out, Bob-up, you're in for a quake in the shoes."
"No; the president is going to consult him on how to raise squashes," sneered a crony of Banbury. ”

“ They afterwards walked into the Colleges, round Christ Church College Meadow, and indeed saw all the curiosities about Oxford.
(The Banbury Cake) .
We give a Bibliographical List, as perfect as is possible to date, of the “Halfpenny Series” of little History and Story Books issued at Rusher’s Banbury Press, some even with the same titles as the “Penny Series,” yet totally different in arrangement and woodcuts, used, as comparison in the Bodleian Library will readily show: Mother Hubbard and her Dog; Nursery Rymmes from the Royal Collections; Poetic Trifles for young Gentlemen and Ladies ”

“ The country ’twixt Banbury and the little village of Warmington, which lies in a hollow—and that hollow is a forest of fine trees—is beautiful. The soil in many of the fields a rich rusty red. There is what may well be called a terrible hill to descend before you reach the road that leads to Warmington. Once here, we found ourselves on a spacious green, with ample room for a hundred caravans. The village is primitive in the extreme—primitive and pretty. ”

“ Field ways from Banbury run from the end of West Bar, and by a less direct but pretty route across the farm field on the Oxford Road. The buildings of All Saint’s School, founded about half a century since, are at the entrance of the village. The school has earned good place by the excellence of its tuition. The brook cutting through the town from west to east and the many side streets and jetways add a pleasant appearance to the many good homesteads and gardens.
Bloxham Church (St. Mary’s) is one of the most perfect specimens of Gothic architecture in the county of Oxford. ”