The World of the Tavern
Field Trip to Burford
University of Warwick
24th February 2007
Burford Parish Church
Church History
• Claims to date back to around
1175, as the centre Burford which
was known for its prosperous wool
trade.
• Renovated and enlarged for over
three centuries, largely funded by
the wealthy wool merchants.
• Church has several notable
features, including the memorials
of Sir Lawrence Tanfield,
Edmund Harman, and a plaque to
three Levellers killed by
Cromwell’s Parliamentarian
Troops.
Sir Lawrence Tanfield
• Tanfield – Lord of the Manor in
Burford and Chief Baron of the
Exchequer to Elizabeth I
• Not well-liked by 16th century
Burford residences, who criticised
him for ‘high-handed interference
in local affairs’ and for ‘greed and
corrupt practices’.
• The elaborate and very ornate
memorial in which he and his wife
Elizabeth are buried in the church
was only built due to his wife’s
persistence.
• Travel guides to Oxford note that
effigies of Tanfield were burnt
annually for the two centuries
following his death.
Memorial of Edmund Harman
• Lived circa 1509-1577.
• Famous for being a barber in the
court of King Henry VIII.
• Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography explains that ‘from
1533 to the King’s Death Harman
was a member of a small and
intimate privy chamber.’
• In his will he described himself as
‘of Burford’.
• His memorial is notable for its
apparent carvings of American
Indians down one side.
The Three Levellers
• Burford’s Parish Church was
site to a confrontation
between the ‘Levellers’
(members of a radical group)
and Cromwell’s
Parliamentarian troops.
• Hundreds of these Levellers
were said to have been
incarcerated in the church.
• The front of the church
features a plaque
commemorating the
execution and burial of three
Levellers in the churchyard.
Burford High Street
An Exploration of Public Houses
Past and Present
• A great deal of work and research
on Burford’s public houses was
conducted by local resident
Raymond Moody in his work The
Inns of Burford (1996).
• He points out that so many
establishments on the High street
have, at some point or another,
been a public house.
• Many buildings in Burford feature
archways (such as that on the
bottom right) which indicate the
prominence of the stage coach
industry, as well as the possibility
than an inn once stood there.
The Bear
• Constructed in the 17th century.
• Featuring an archway indicating
use for stage coaches.
• Moody attributes it to the
Matthews family, who were
prominent and influential in
Burford following the Civil War.
• Was ultimately a less successful
premises than the Bull or the
George.
• The building now houses shops
and features a well-kept courtyard.
Discussion of Private Spaces
• In the Bear’s Courtyard the issue
of private space was discussed as
we examined the possible layout of
rooms in the Inn.
• Developments in want of privacy,
locks on doors, individual rooms,
and the limitations of such an Inn
in accommodating such needs.
• In particular, while looking at the
design of the building, we noted
difficulties of the inn layout for the
creation of easily-accessible private
rooms (and how this was solved by
adding galleries).
• However, this was while noting
that early inns prominently
featured shared rooms.
The Cotswold Arms
• Formerly known as the Mermaid,
according to Moody.
• Was one of several Mermaid Inns
on the High Street, but neither the
first nor the last.
• Changed to the Cotswold Arms
after a change of owner –
Bartholomew Collingwood Fisher.
The Golden Pheasant
• Previously known as the Golden
Ball.
• Changed to The Golden Pheasant
in the early 1980s.
• Front was ‘redressed’ in the 1970s,
which Moody describes as ‘due to
a near catastrophe’ in which vital
supports were removed from the
front wall and it all but collapsed.
The George
• Moody calls it one of the oldest
inns in Burford, before it was
converted and no longer an inn.
• Named after St. George.
• ‘First mentioned in 1485… but
probably much older.’
• Detailed inventories of the inn’s
17th century contents ‘serve as an
example of inn comfort.’
• Features another gateway, like that
seen at the Bear.
The Crown
• Dates back to at least 1423.
• Owned by the Spicer family, who
willed it to their children and
grandchildren, or the parish
church if no one else was to inherit
it.
• Son of the Spicers gave it as a gift
to the church in 1464.
• The name ‘The Crown’ dates back
to 1507.
• Famous for having a
Parliamentarian soldier slain there
in 1649.
• Today houses a pharmacy.
Off Burford’s High Street
The Lamb
• On Sheep Street, off the High Street.
• Note the unusual window in the
picture above (which came from the
nearby Priory). Did this change the
atmosphere and use of the same
space?
An alehouse?
• Dr. Kümin points out that
evidence of alehouses is
notoriously hard to find.
• This building is suspected to have
been an alehouse at some point,
but this has not been confirmed.
The Bull
• The eventual destination of the
field trip.
• Also features an archway, like the
Bear and the George.
• Has the only brick front on the
High Street
• Moody explains that it is difficult
to known how old The Bull is, but
‘it may be as old as the George.’
• Originally occupied the building a
few doors up the street, moving to
its current site in 1610.
Insight
• A discussion with the current
landlady reveals some of the
challenges of owning an early
modern public houses.
• Structural challenges, such as
issues with roofing, pose ongoing
difficulties with maintenance (see
right).
• Pressures from local residences
regarding renovations and changes
to the structure and/or façade can
cause further challenges.
Field Discussion
What can we learn from visiting and exploring these
spaces?
• Illustration of their central
locations in villages, such as along
the High Street.
• Apart from the church, an inn
could be amongst the most
conspicuous buildings in the
village.
• Visible based on their architecture,
such as the archways seen.
• Prominence of signs.
Theoretical Reflections
How important is space to the studying of public houses?
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Space can be used a point of reference for
historians, helping us with issues like
capacity and functional differentiation.
Possibly illustrative of the division between
public and private space. Spaces occupied
by public houses are arguably more flexible;
divisions between public and private and
between different uses less defined.
Theoretical literature emphasizes that space
is created and negotiated rather than simply
given.
Still there are methodological problems:
• Historians must remember to consider
changes in atmosphere, without
changes to the space.
• We can only speculate about actual
social exchange on the premises.
Even so, these spaces create the context in
which we can place the activities and
developments we associate with public
houses.
Sources
Moody, Raymond, The Inns of Burford (Burford, 1996).
Murray, G., ‘Harman, Edmund (c.1509–1577)’, Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/61063].
Levellers Day website, ‘History’ at [http://www.levellers.org.uk/levellers-history.htm.]
Oxfordshire Cotswolds website, ‘The Town of Burford’, at
[http://www.oxfordshirecotswolds.org/placdesdetails.asp?place=Burford].
St. John the Baptist Church website, Burford, ‘Church History’ at
[http://www.burfordchurch.org] (Burford, 2004).
… theoretical literature like Gieryn, T. F., ‘A space for place in sociology’, in: Annual
Review of Sociology 26 (2000), 463-96
… and of course Dr. Beat Kümin’s commentary in the field.