Britain – September 2019

BRITAIN (^81)
RURAL BRITAIN
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industry begun by the Romans. By the Middle Ages,
high-quality limestone from the Windrush Valley,
particularly Taynton, was in national demand, with cargoes
shipped to London from Newbridge. Sir Christopher Wren
sought supplies for building his churches and St Paul’s
Cathedral following the Great Fire of London in 1666,
and Sir John Vanbrugh put Cotswold stone to good use
at his Baroque masterpiece, Blenheim Palace.
Today, quarrying continues only on a modest scale, at
places such as Naunton, but local vernacular architecture
provides ubiquitous testament to the mellow beauty of
Cotswold stone and the skills of erstwhile masons. Take
a look for example at the magnicent Norman stone
doorway of the Church of St Peter, Windrush, with its
double row of beakheads (bird-like carvings) and the
wonderful collection of 15th-century sculptured heads
in St John the Evangelist, Taynton.
Now, more than halfway downriver, you come to
Burford whose St John the Baptist Church (c1125–1485) is
one of the Cotswolds’ nest ‘wool churches’ that ourished
thanks to the benevolence of wealthy medieval wool
merchants. Among its monuments is the imposing tomb of
Lord of the Manor, Sir Lawrence and Lady Taneld, who
became bywords for greed in the 17th century as they rode
roughshod over town administration. According to legend,
should the River Windrush fall so low that the third arch
of Burford’s bridge becomes dry, the ‘Terrible Tanelds’
will return in a ery chariot – a threat as yet not realised.
A former coaching town and renowned as Oxfordshire’s
‘Gateway to the Cotswolds’, Burford has a High Street
view down to the river that may well set you waxing lyrical
like Compton Mackenzie: a higgledy-piggledy tumble
of cottages, the Tudor Tolsey market building (now a
museum) and idiosyncratic shops (such as England’s oldest
pharmacy, founded 1734).
Walking the town trail (leaets from the Visitor
Information Centre on the High Street), you can discover
lots of stories, too: how Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick
reputedly gained his nickname ‘the Kingmaker’ here in
the 15th century; racy assignations between Charles II
and his mistress, Nell Gwyn (not for nothing was their
child created Earl of Burford).
Meandering on, the Windrush passes pretty Swinbrook,
family stomping ground (and burial place for four) of
the six glamorous aristocratic Mitford sisters, who from
the 1930s fascinated and scandalised society with their
PHOTO:political and literary antics. For physical memorials,
©
ANDREW ROLAND
/ALAMY
The charming village
of Little Barrington
is renowned for its
beautiful cottages
Local vernacular architecture
provides ubiquitous testament
to the mellow beauty
of Cotswold stone