If you were able to travel back in time to Banbury in Tudor times, you would find the town was quite different from the Banbury of today.

The first thing you would see was that the town was centred around a great castle. This castle was already three hundred years old when Henry VII took the English throne in 1485. It stood roughly where the Castle Shopping Centre stands today, and survived until the end of the Civil War. This map made in the 1800s shows where Banbury Castle used to be. If the Castle was still here today, it might look something like this:

You would also find that the roads into Banbury had a number of 'bargates'. These were stone archways through which visitors and travellers had to pass to come into the town, which marked the town boundaries and where taxes or tolls were probably collected.

There was a bargate to the south of the town, called St John's Bar, and another to the north called North Bar. To the west on what is now West Bar was a bargate called Sugarford Bar, and to the east was the Bridge Bar, near the river. There was another bargate on the road which went into Banbury Castle, called Cole Bar (on what is now Broad Street).

As well as the five bargates, Banbury also had several crosses. The Banbury Cross we know today did not exist as this was not built until Victorian times in the 1800s. The main cross, or High Cross, in Tudor times, was in the Market Place, outside the entrance to the Castle Shopping Centre. There was another cross called the White Cross at the juntion of West Bar and Beargarden Road, and another called the Bread Cross where the High Street meets Butchers Row. All of these crosses were destroyed at the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign by Puritans.

Banbury's High Cross may have looked something like this market cross from Stow-on-the-Wold, below. We can imagine how this would have stood outside the present-day shopping centre.

Banbury's main church was also different in Tudor times. Instead of the St Mary's Church we see today, which was built in 1797, there was an older St Mary's Church which had been built in the 1100s. This church was built in the same place as the present St Mary's, but had a completely different design, as you can see.

In 1554 Banbury was given a Royal Charter from Queen Mary, because the people of Banbury had supported her rather than Lady Jane Grey after Edward VI died. This meant that Banbury could have its own council and make its own local laws. This council governed the area of the town which fell within the bargates, and at that time this area had a population of around 1000. The council also had its own motto, which was 'Dominus Nobis Sol et Scutum', which is Latin for 'The Lord is a sun and a shield'.

In the years 1535 to 1543, during the last years of King Henry VIII's reign, a man called Leland wrote about Banbury, and his account tells us a lot about what Banbury was like at that time. Leland tells us that there were five bargates and three crosses in the town, and he also says that most of the roads were in a very poor condition, full of ruts and very dirty. However, the Cuttle Brook, which was a stream which ran down into the Market Place, was kept clean and no-one was allowed to let geese or ducks swim in it.

Banbury was famous for its market in Tudor times, just as it is today, but the market wasn't just stalls selling clothes and household items, it also sold sheep, cows, horses and pigs as well. In fact, very few people within the town were making a living from farming by Tudor times. The following table shows how the people of Banbury made their money:

Leatherworking 34%
Suppliers of food and drink 26%
Cloth Trade 16%
Wood Working 9%
Metal working 8%
Building Trades 3%

Most of the leatherworkers made shoes, but they also produced items such as purses and gloves. Banbury was famous for its cakes, made at a shop in Parsons St, and also for its beer. Inns sprang up to offer food, drink and a place to stay to people coming to the market.

So are there any buildings in Banbury today which were around in Tudor times? Well, there are several:

The Reindeer Inn, Parsons St

Opened in 1570 during the reign of Elizabeth I. You can see this date on the door (right).

The Old Wine House, High St

The date on this building is 1537.

Cargo Homeshop

On the corner of Butcher's Row and the Market Place.

Outside Banbury itself of course is Broughton Castle, built in about 1300. You can learn more about Broughton Castle here.