32 Facts About Banbury

Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England.

Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire and southern parts of Warwickshire and Northamptonshire which are predominantly rural.

Banbury is home to the world's largest coffee-processing facility, built in 1964.

Banbury is located 64 miles north-west of London, 37 miles south-east of Birmingham, 27 miles south-east of Coventry and 22 miles north-west of Oxford.

Banbury developed in the Anglo-Saxon period under Danish influence, starting in the late 6th century.

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Banbury stands at the junction of two ancient roads: Salt Way, its primary use being transport of salt; and Banbury Lane, which began near Northampton and is closely followed by the modern 22-mile-long road.

Banbury Castle was built from 1135 by Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, and survived into the Civil War, when it was besieged.

Banbury played an important part in the English Civil War as a base of operations for Oliver Cromwell, who is reputed to have planned the Battle of Edge Hill in the back room of a local inn, the Reindeer Inn as it was then known .

The county of Oxfordshire has two main commercial centres, the city of Oxford itself that serves most of the south of the county, and Banbury that serves the north plus parts of the neighbouring counties of Northamptonshire and Warwickshire.

Banbury was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Reform Act 1835.

Banbury is in the Cherwell Valley with many hills in and around the town.

Apart from the town centre, much of Banbury is on a slope and each entry into the town is downhill.

Banbury is located at the bank of the River Cherwell which sweeps through the town, going just east of the town centre with Grimsbury being the only estate east of the river.

Banbury is at the northern extreme of the UK's South East England region, less than two miles from the boundary with the East Midlands, and three miles from that with the West Midlands.

In 1998 and 2007, Banbury was subject to heavy flooding due to its location by the River Cherwell.

Banbury has one of the UK's lowest unemployment rates, as of April 2016 it stood at 0.

Once Poland joined the European Union in 2004, a number of Banbury-based employment agencies began advertising for staff in major Polish newspapers.

Jacobs Douwe Egberts, in the Ruscote ward of Banbury, is a large food and coffee producing factory.

Banbury was once home to Western Europe's largest cattle market, on Merton Street in Grimsbury.

Banbury station is served by Chiltern Railways services to Warwick and Birmingham, both running to London Marylebone via the Chiltern Main Line.

Banbury has Stagecoach in Oxfordshire bus services both within the town and linking it with Brackley, Chipping Norton, Oxford and places further afield including Daventry, Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Banbury Guardian is published weekly on Thursdays by Johnston Press, is priced for sale and is a tabloid.

The Banbury Cake was formerly a free newspaper but is online only.

Regional TV news, Banbury is served by BBC South Today and ITV Meridian News, although some parts of the town are better served by BBC Midlands Today and ITV Central News.

At one time Banbury had many crosses, but these were destroyed by Puritans in 1600.

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Banbury remained without a cross for more than 250 years until the current Banbury Cross was erected in 1859 at the centre of the town to commemorate the marriage of Victoria, Princess Royal to Prince Frederick of Prussia.

The current Banbury Cross is a stone, spire-shaped monument decorated in Gothic form.

Banbury has a museum in the town centre near Spiceball Park, replacing the old museum near Banbury Cross.

The town has four secondary schools – North Oxfordshire Academy, Wykham Park Academy, Space Studio Banbury and Blessed George Napier Roman Catholic School – and a number of primary schools.

Banbury has several sporting clubs, most notably Banbury United football club.

Banbury United F C was first formed as Spencer Villa in 1931 and their home matches played at Middleton Road.

Twinning in Banbury began on 26 October 1978, at a public meeting held at the Post-Graduate Education Centre, and called on the initiative of the late Councillor Ron Smith, the then Town Mayor of Banbury.