Burford
Encyclopedia
Burford icon is a small town on the River Windrush
in the Cotswold
hills in west Oxfordshire
, England
, about 18 miles (29 km) west of Oxford
, 22 miles (35.4 km) southeast of Cheltenham
and only 2 miles (3.2 km) from the Gloucestershire
boundary. The toponym
derives from the Old English words burh meaning fortified town or hilltown and ford meaning ford (crossing)
.
is a country house
that stands on the site of a 13th century Augustinian hospital. In the 1580s an Elizabethan house
was built incorporating remnants of the priory hospital. In the 17th century it was remodelled in Jacobean style
, probably after 1637 when the estate had been bought by William Lenthall
, Speaker of the House of Commons
in the Long Parliament
. The house and later the chapel
were restored for the philanthropist
Emslie John Horniman, M.P., after 1912 by the architect Walter Godfrey
.
From 1949, Burford Priory housed the Society of the Salutation of Our Lady
, a community of Church of England
nun
s. In the 1980s, its numbers dwindled so in 1987 it became a mixed community including Church of England Benedictine
monk
s. In 2008, the community sold the property and it has now returned to being a private house.
Burford is home to the Blue Cross
National Animal Welfare Charity. 'The Cotswold Wildlife Park
' is also located near Burford, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) south down the A361 towards Lechlade
.
Burford County Primary School is the town's primary school and is located in Priory Lane, and Burford School
, a mixed comprehensive school
/secondary school
, is also found in the town. The primary school fete
, held every summer, includes a procession (including a dragon) down High Street to the school, where there are stalls and games.
Burford was recently twinned
with Potenza Picena
, a small town in the Marche
, on the Adriatic coast of Italy
. Links are growing with many groups in the town including the school, football team and church.
In April 2009 Burford was ranked sixth in US business magazine Forbes magazine's list of "Europe's Most Idyllic Places To Live".
with the founding of a village near the site of the modern priory building. This settlement continued in use until just after the Norman conquest when the new town of Burford was built. On the site of the old village a hospital was founded which remained open until the Dissolution of the Monasteries
by King Henry VIII
. The modern priory building was constructed some 40 years later around 1580.
In 1649, the church was used as a prison (during the Civil War
), when the New Model Army
Banbury mutineers
were held there. Some of the 340 prisoners left carvings and graffiti
, which can still be found in the church.
Between the 14th century and the 17th century Burford was important for its wool
. The Tolsey, midway along Burford's High Street, was once the centre of the local wool trade, and is now a museum.
The town centre features some houses from the 15th century. Its most notable building, however, is the Anglican parish church
of Saint John the Baptist
, which is known for its merchant
s' guild
chapel, memorial to Henry VIII's barber-surgeon, Edmund Harman
, featuring South America
n Indians and Kempe
stained glass. The parish church is located at Ordnance Survey
six-figure grid reference SP253124.
Burford has twice had a bell-foundry
: one run by the Neale family in the 17th century and the other run by the Bond family in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Henry Neale was a bell-founder between 1627 and 1641 and also had a foundry at Somerford Keynes
in Gloucestershire
. Edward Neale had joined him as a bell-founder at Burford by 1635 and continued the business until 1685. Numerous Neale bells remain in use, including at St Britius, Brize Norton, St Mary's, Buscot, St James the Great, Fulbrook and SS Peter and Paul, Steeple Aston. A few Neale bells that are no longer rung are displayed in Burford parish church.
Henry Bond had a bell-foundry at Westcot
from 1851 to 1861. He then moved it to Burford where he continued until 1905. He was then succeeded by Thomas Bond, who continued bell-founding at Burford until 1947. Bond bells still in use include four of the ring of six at St John the Evangelist, Taynton, one and a Sanctus
bell at St Nicholas, Chadlington
and one at St Peter's, Whatcote in Warwickshire
.
For many years before the 7th century a strife had raged between the ancient British Church and the Roman Catholic Church
respecting the question "When should Easter Day be kept?" The Britons adhered to the rule laid at the Council of Arles
, AD 314, that Easter Day should be the 14th day of the Paschal moon
, even if it were on a Sunday. The Roman Church had decided that when the 14th day of the Paschal moon was a Sunday, Easter Day should be the Sunday after; Computus
. Various Synod
s were held in different parts of the kingdom with the object of settling this controversy, and one was held for this object at Burford in AD 685. We may deduce from the fact of the Synod being held at Burford, that the Britons in some numbers had settled in the town and neighbourhood. This Synod was attended by Æthelred, King of Mercia
, and his nephew Berthwald (who had been granted the southern part of his uncle's kingdom); Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury
; Borel, Bishop of Worcester
; Sexwulph, Bishop of Lichfield
; Aldhelm, Abbot of Malmsbury; and many others.
Aldhelm was ordered at this conference to write a book against the error of the Britons in the observance of Easter. At this Synod Berthwald gave 40 cassates of land to Aldhelm who afterwards became Bishop of Shereborne. According to Spelman, the notes of the Synod were published in AD 705.
battle-axe and the spiked mace played their terrible part in the conflict. The slaughter was enormous and in the end Æthelhum the mighty standard-bearer who carried the flag with the golden dragon
emblazoned upon it was killed by the lance of his Saxon rival. As noted in the Anglo Saxon Chronicles "A.D 752. This year Cuthred
, king of the West Saxons, in the 12th year of his reign, fought at Burford, against Æthelbald king of the Mercia
ns, and put him to flight." Camden
thus tells the tale, "Isis
now and then overflowing, the lower grounds receives its first addition from the Windrush
, which, flowing out of the Cotteswold, salutes Burford standing on the banks of it, in Saxon Beorgford, where Cuthred, king of the West Saxons, then tributary to the Mercians, not being able to endure any longer the cruelty and base exactions of King Æthelbald, met him in the open field with an army and beat him, taking his standard, which was a portraiture of a golden dragon." The origin of the golden dragon standard is most likely that of Uther Pendragon
, the father of King Arthur
of which Geoffrey of Monmouth
says "Mindful of the explanation given by Merlin of the star about which I have told you, he ordered two dragons to be fashioned in gold, in the likeness of the one which he had seen in the ray which shone from that star. As soon as the Dragons had been completed this with the most marvellous craftsmanship - he made a present of one of them to the congregation of the cathedral church of the see of Winchester
. The second one he kept for himself, so that he could carry it around to his wars."
It would appear that the anniversary of this battle was annually celebrated by the good folk of Burford, to keep alive wholesome remembrance of the glorious tradition of the golden dragon of the Britons, for William Camden
, in describing other festivals, says, "There has been a custom in the town of making a great dragon yearly, and carrying it up and down the streets in great jollity on midsummer eve". In addition to the dragon they also carried a giant
. The field of engagement is called Battle Edge
to this day.
On 21 November, 1814, a large freestone
sarcophagus
was discovered near to Battle Edge 3 foot (0.9144 m) below the surface, weighing 16 cwt
(800 kg) with the feet pointing almost due south. The cavity is 6 feet (1.8 m) in length and 2 in 2 in (0.6604 m) in breadth. On examination it was found to contain the remains of a human body, possibly the mighty Æthelhum, and portions of a leathern cuirass
studded with metal nails. The skeleton was found in near perfect state due to the exclusion of air from the sarcophagus. The coffin is now preserved in Burford churchyard, near the west gate.
"Whose fame is in that dark green tomb? Four stones with their heads of moss stand there. They mark the narrow house of death. Some chief of fame is here! Raise the songs of old! Awake their memory in the tomb." Ossian
's historical novel The Woolpack
(1951). Set at the end of the Fifteenth Century, the novel is for readers of eleven years and above.
River Windrush
The River Windrush is a river in the English Cotswolds, forming part of the River Thames catchment.The Windrush starts in the Cotswold Hills in Gloucestershire northeast of Taddington, which is north of Guiting Power, Temple Guiting, Ford and Cutsdean...
in the Cotswold
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
hills in west Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, England
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...
, about 18 miles (29 km) west 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...
, 22 miles (35.4 km) southeast of Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
and only 2 miles (3.2 km) from the Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
boundary. The toponym
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
derives from the Old English words burh meaning fortified town or hilltown and ford meaning ford (crossing)
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
.
Community
Burford PrioryBurford Priory
Burford Priory is a country house and former priory at Burford in the English county of Oxfordshire.The house stands on the site of a 13th century Augustinian hospital. In the 1580s an Elizabethan house was built incorporating remnants of the priory hospital...
is a country house
English country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
that stands on the site of a 13th century Augustinian hospital. In the 1580s an Elizabethan house
Elizabethan architecture
Elizabethan architecture is the term given to early Renaissance architecture in England, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Historically, the period corresponds to the Cinquecento in Italy, the Early Renaissance in France, and the Plateresque style in Spain...
was built incorporating remnants of the priory hospital. In the 17th century it was remodelled in Jacobean style
Jacobean architecture
The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated.-Characteristics:...
, probably after 1637 when the estate had been bought by William Lenthall
William Lenthall
William Lenthall was an English politician of the Civil War period. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons.-Early life:...
, Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
in the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
. The house and later the chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
were restored for the philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
Emslie John Horniman, M.P., after 1912 by the architect Walter Godfrey
Walter Godfrey
Walter Hindes Godfrey CBE, FSA, FRIBA , was an English architect, antiquary, and architectural and topographical historian. He was also a landscape architect and designer, and an accomplished draftsman and illustrator...
.
From 1949, Burford Priory housed the Society of the Salutation of Our Lady
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
, a community of Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s. In the 1980s, its numbers dwindled so in 1987 it became a mixed community including Church of England Benedictine
Order of St. Benedict (Anglican)
There are a number of Benedictine Anglican religious orders, some of them using the name Order of St. Benedict . Just like their Roman Catholic counterparts, each abbey / priory / convent is independent of each other...
monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s. In 2008, the community sold the property and it has now returned to being a private house.
The Blue Cross
The Blue Cross is a registered animal welfare charity in the United Kingdom, founded in 1897 as Our Dumb Friends League. The charity provides support for pet owners who cannot afford private veterinary treatment, helps to find homes for unwanted animals, and educates the public in the...
National Animal Welfare Charity. 'The Cotswold Wildlife Park
Cotswold Wildlife Park
The Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens exhibits mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates from all around the world. The Park is set in of landscaped parkland and gardens in Oxfordshire, England. Around 350,000 people visited the park in 2005....
' is also located near Burford, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) south down the A361 towards Lechlade
Lechlade
Lechlade, or Lechlade-on-Thames, is a town at the southern edge of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. It is the highest point at which the River Thames is navigable. The town is named after the River Leach that joins the Thames near here....
.
Burford County Primary School is the town's primary school and is located in Priory Lane, and Burford School
Burford School
Burford School is a mixed secondary comprehensive school in Burford, Oxfordshire England. The school was founded in 1571.-Introduction:The school is located at the southern end of Burford. Given that Burford sits at near equal distances from the towns of Witney and Carterton, and close to villages...
, a mixed comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
/secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
, is also found in the town. The primary school fete
Fête
Fête is a French word meaning festival, celebration or party, which has passed into English as a label that may be given to certain events.-Description:It is widely used in England and Australia in the context of a village fête,...
, held every summer, includes a procession (including a dragon) down High Street to the school, where there are stalls and games.
Burford was recently twinned
Twin cities
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
with Potenza Picena
Potenza Picena
Potenza Picena is a comune in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region of Marche, located about 30 km southeast of Ancona and about 15 km northeast of Macerata.-External links:*...
, a small town in the Marche
Marche
The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...
, on the Adriatic coast of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Links are growing with many groups in the town including the school, football team and church.
In April 2009 Burford was ranked sixth in US business magazine Forbes magazine's list of "Europe's Most Idyllic Places To Live".
History
The history of the town began in the middle Saxon periodHistory of Anglo-Saxon England
Anglo-Saxon England refers to the period of the history of that part of Britain, that became known as England, lasting from the end of Roman occupation and establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the 5th century until the Norman conquest of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror...
with the founding of a village near the site of the modern priory building. This settlement continued in use until just after the Norman conquest when the new town of Burford was built. On the site of the old village a hospital was founded which remained open until the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
by King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. The modern priory building was constructed some 40 years later around 1580.
In 1649, the church was used as a prison (during the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
), when the New Model Army
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
Banbury mutineers
Banbury mutiny
The Banbury mutiny was a mutiny by soldiers in the English New Model Army. The mutineers did not achieve all of their aims and some of the leaders were executed shortly afterwards on 17 May 1649.The mutiny was over pay and political demands...
were held there. Some of the 340 prisoners left carvings and graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
, which can still be found in the church.
Between the 14th century and the 17th century Burford was important for its wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
. The Tolsey, midway along Burford's High Street, was once the centre of the local wool trade, and is now a museum.
The town centre features some houses from the 15th century. Its most notable building, however, is the Anglican parish church
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
of Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
, which is known for its merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
s' guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
chapel, memorial to Henry VIII's barber-surgeon, Edmund Harman
Edmund Harman
Edmund Harman , was the barber-surgeon of Henry VIII of England and a member of his Privy Chamber. He served alongside Thomas Wendy and George Owen....
, featuring South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n Indians and Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe was a well-known Victorian stained glass designer. After attending Twyford School, he studied for the priesthood at Pembroke College, Oxford, but it became clear that his severe stammer would be an impediment to preaching...
stained glass. The parish church is located at Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
six-figure grid reference SP253124.
Burford has twice had a bell-foundry
Bellfounding
Bellfounding is the casting of bells in a foundry for use in churches, clocks, and public buildings. A practitioner of the craft is called a bellmaker or bellfounder. The process in Europe dates to the 4th or 5th century. In early times, when a town produced a bell it was a momentous occasion in...
: one run by the Neale family in the 17th century and the other run by the Bond family in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Henry Neale was a bell-founder between 1627 and 1641 and also had a foundry at Somerford Keynes
Somerford Keynes
Somerford Keynes is a small village in Gloucestershire, close to the River Thames and Thames Path a couple of miles from its source and close to the Cotswold Water Park...
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
. Edward Neale had joined him as a bell-founder at Burford by 1635 and continued the business until 1685. Numerous Neale bells remain in use, including at St Britius, Brize Norton, St Mary's, Buscot, St James the Great, Fulbrook and SS Peter and Paul, Steeple Aston. A few Neale bells that are no longer rung are displayed in Burford parish church.
Henry Bond had a bell-foundry at Westcot
Westcot
Westcot is a hamlet in the civil parish of Sparsholt about west of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse, England.-External links:*...
from 1851 to 1861. He then moved it to Burford where he continued until 1905. He was then succeeded by Thomas Bond, who continued bell-founding at Burford until 1947. Bond bells still in use include four of the ring of six at St John the Evangelist, Taynton, one and a Sanctus
Sanctus
The Sanctus is a hymn from Christian liturgy, forming part of the Order of Mass. In Western Christianity, the Sanctus is sung as the final words of the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer, the prayer of consecration of the bread and wine...
bell at St Nicholas, Chadlington
Chadlington
Chadlington is a village and civil parish in the Evenlode Valley about south of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England. The village comprises five "ends" - almost individual hamlets in their own right - called Greenend, Brookend, Westend, Millend, and Eastend....
and one at St Peter's, Whatcote in 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...
.
The Easter Synod
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
respecting the question "When should Easter Day be kept?" The Britons adhered to the rule laid at the Council of Arles
Arles
Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....
, AD 314, that Easter Day should be the 14th day of the Paschal moon
Paschal Full Moon
Notionally, the paschal full moon refers to the ecclesiastical full moon of the northern spring used in the determination of the date of Easter. The name "paschal" is derived from "Pascha", a transliteration of the Greek word, which is itself a transliteration of the Hebrew pesach, both words...
, even if it were on a Sunday. The Roman Church had decided that when the 14th day of the Paschal moon was a Sunday, Easter Day should be the Sunday after; Computus
Computus
Computus is the calculation of the date of Easter in the Christian calendar. The name has been used for this procedure since the early Middle Ages, as it was one of the most important computations of the age....
. Various Synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
s were held in different parts of the kingdom with the object of settling this controversy, and one was held for this object at Burford in AD 685. We may deduce from the fact of the Synod being held at Burford, that the Britons in some numbers had settled in the town and neighbourhood. This Synod was attended by Æthelred, King of Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
, and his nephew Berthwald (who had been granted the southern part of his uncle's kingdom); Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
; Borel, Bishop of Worcester
Bishop of Worcester
The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. He is the head of the Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury...
; Sexwulph, Bishop of Lichfield
Bishop of Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 4,516 km² of the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed...
; Aldhelm, Abbot of Malmsbury; and many others.
Aldhelm was ordered at this conference to write a book against the error of the Britons in the observance of Easter. At this Synod Berthwald gave 40 cassates of land to Aldhelm who afterwards became Bishop of Shereborne. According to Spelman, the notes of the Synod were published in AD 705.
The Golden Dragon
Malmesbury and other chroniclers give accounts of a battle fought in Burford in 752 AD . The battle waged long and bloody. All day the arrows strewed the ground with wounded and dying men, while the SaxonSaxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
battle-axe and the spiked mace played their terrible part in the conflict. The slaughter was enormous and in the end Æthelhum the mighty standard-bearer who carried the flag with the golden dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
emblazoned upon it was killed by the lance of his Saxon rival. As noted in the Anglo Saxon Chronicles "A.D 752. This year Cuthred
Cuthred of Wessex
Cuthred or Cuþræd was the King of Wessex from 740 until 756. He succeeded Æthelheard, his relative and possibly his brother....
, king of the West Saxons, in the 12th year of his reign, fought at Burford, against Æthelbald king of the Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
ns, and put him to flight." Camden
William Camden
William Camden was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and officer of arms. He wrote the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and the first detailed historical account of the reign of Elizabeth I of England.- Early years :Camden was born in London...
thus tells the tale, "Isis
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
now and then overflowing, the lower grounds receives its first addition from the Windrush
River Windrush
The River Windrush is a river in the English Cotswolds, forming part of the River Thames catchment.The Windrush starts in the Cotswold Hills in Gloucestershire northeast of Taddington, which is north of Guiting Power, Temple Guiting, Ford and Cutsdean...
, which, flowing out of the Cotteswold, salutes Burford standing on the banks of it, in Saxon Beorgford, where Cuthred, king of the West Saxons, then tributary to the Mercians, not being able to endure any longer the cruelty and base exactions of King Æthelbald, met him in the open field with an army and beat him, taking his standard, which was a portraiture of a golden dragon." The origin of the golden dragon standard is most likely that of Uther Pendragon
Uther Pendragon
Uther Pendragon is a legendary king of sub-Roman Britain and the father of King Arthur.A few minor references to Uther appear in Old Welsh poems, but his biography was first written down by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae , and Geoffrey's account of the character was used in...
, the father of King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
of which Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth was a cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...
says "Mindful of the explanation given by Merlin of the star about which I have told you, he ordered two dragons to be fashioned in gold, in the likeness of the one which he had seen in the ray which shone from that star. As soon as the Dragons had been completed this with the most marvellous craftsmanship - he made a present of one of them to the congregation of the cathedral church of the see of Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
. The second one he kept for himself, so that he could carry it around to his wars."
It would appear that the anniversary of this battle was annually celebrated by the good folk of Burford, to keep alive wholesome remembrance of the glorious tradition of the golden dragon of the Britons, for William Camden
William Camden
William Camden was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and officer of arms. He wrote the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and the first detailed historical account of the reign of Elizabeth I of England.- Early years :Camden was born in London...
, in describing other festivals, says, "There has been a custom in the town of making a great dragon yearly, and carrying it up and down the streets in great jollity on midsummer eve". In addition to the dragon they also carried a giant
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
. The field of engagement is called Battle Edge
Battle Edge
Battle-Edge is a former field, located beside Sheep Street and Tanners Lane, in Burford in Oxfordshire, England where King Ethelbald of Mercia was defeated by King Cuthred of the West Saxons in 752 AD....
to this day.
On 21 November, 1814, a large freestone
Freestone
A freestone is a stone used in masonry for molding, tracery and other replication work required to be worked with the chisel. The freestone must be fine-grained, uniform and soft enough to be cut easily without shattering or splitting. Some sources say that the stone has no grain, but this is...
sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
was discovered near to Battle Edge 3 foot (0.9144 m) below the surface, weighing 16 cwt
Hundredweight
The hundredweight or centum weight is a unit of mass defined in terms of the pound . The definition used in Britain differs from that used in North America. The two are distinguished by the terms long hundredweight and short hundredweight:* The long hundredweight is defined as 112 lb, which...
(800 kg) with the feet pointing almost due south. The cavity is 6 feet (1.8 m) in length and 2 in 2 in (0.6604 m) in breadth. On examination it was found to contain the remains of a human body, possibly the mighty Æthelhum, and portions of a leathern cuirass
Cuirass
A cuirass is a piece of armour, formed of a single or multiple pieces of metal or other rigid material, which covers the front of the torso...
studded with metal nails. The skeleton was found in near perfect state due to the exclusion of air from the sarcophagus. The coffin is now preserved in Burford churchyard, near the west gate.
"Whose fame is in that dark green tomb? Four stones with their heads of moss stand there. They mark the narrow house of death. Some chief of fame is here! Raise the songs of old! Awake their memory in the tomb." Ossian
Ossian
Ossian is the narrator and supposed author of a cycle of poems which the Scottish poet James Macpherson claimed to have translated from ancient sources in the Scots Gaelic. He is based on Oisín, son of Finn or Fionn mac Cumhaill, anglicised to Finn McCool, a character from Irish mythology...
Literature
Burford is the principal setting for Cynthia HarnettCynthia Harnett
Cynthia Harnett was a highly acclaimed English writer of children's historical fiction.Known for her exceptional attention to detail and meticulous background research, combined with ingenious and engrossing plots, Harnett wrote only seven novels. The Wool-Pack won the Carnegie Medal in 1951...
's historical novel The Woolpack
The Woolpack
This article is about the soap opera. Click the link for the Cumulus cloud formation synonym.The Woolpack is a fictional public house on the popular ITV soap opera Emmerdale. Its sign is a wool bale, a popular symbol in sheep-rearing country. It has played host to many of the soap's storylines and...
(1951). Set at the end of the Fifteenth Century, the novel is for readers of eleven years and above.