Midsummer Music
Banbury
About Banbury where our live musicians perform
String Quartets, Ceilidh and Barn Dance Bands, Jazz Bands, Party Bands and more…
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Towns, cities and regions, such as Banbury have an influence on the style of music, whether it is the 'English Countryside' feel of Vaughan Williams, the strength of Elgar's Victorian Malvern, or the skirl of Northumbrian Pipe tune.
About Banbury
Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross, To see a Fyne lady ride on a white horse. With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, She shall have music wherever she goes. The town of Banbury in Oxfordshire dates back much further than the nursery rhyme dedicated to it. In fact, the first signs of habitation in the area go back to a Roman villa at Wykham Park from the period around 250AD. However, it was the Saxons in the latter half of the 5th century who first developed Banbury by building to the west of the River Cherwell. On the opposite bank they built Grimsbury, later incorporated into Banbury. Banbury stands at the junction of two ancient roads: Salt Way, still used as a bridle path to the west and south of the town, led from Droitwich, Worcestershire to London and the south east of England, its primary use being the transportation of salt; and Banbury Lane, which began near Northampton and fairly closely followed the modern 22-mile-long road before running through Banbury's High Street and on towards the Fosse Way at Stow-on-the-Wold. In the year 913AD a band of Danes, who had settled in Northampton, travelled along Banbury Lane and ravaged north Oxfordshire. The Danes were known to be great traders who established market towns. The outcome of their attacks is likely to have benefitted Banbury by aiding the development of the town centre. This is reflected in Banbury's Market Place, its triangular shape being typical of the Danes. Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, built Banbury Castle in the year 1135AD. The castle stood on the north side of the Market Place, the site now occupied largely by the Castle Quay shopping precinct. Over the centuries the castle was extended and rebuilt. The English Civil War, however, saw the end of Banbury Castle, a Royalist stronghold. It survived a siege during the winter of 1644-45 surprisingly well, considering the walls were not particularly thick or deeply founded. Earth banks gave it some protection, and the moat and a canal basin thwarted underground entry. The castle was repaired and refortified but more serious damage was sustained the following winter. The second siege began on January 23rd 1646 and lasted until April 27th when surrender on generous terms was negotiated.
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