Banburyshire

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Banburyshire is an informal area of England that is centred on the market town of Banbury in Oxfordshire, England. The area is claimed to include parts of Northamptonshire and Warwickshire as well as north Oxfordshire. Use of the term dates from the early to mid 19th century.

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 (such as Adderbury, Deddington, Wroxton, Great Bourton and Bloxham) plus parts of the neighbouring counties of Northamptonshire and Warwickshire.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

From the former, the villages of King's Sutton and Middleton Cheney, and possibly also Aynho, Fenny Compton, Charlton and Croughton could be considered part of Banburyshire, and from the latter Upper and Lower Brailes also fall within Banbury's sphere of influence. Both the settlements of Bicester, Hinton-in-the-Hedges, Chipping Norton and Hook Norton are also on the border of Banburyshire's area.^[2]

The area in Oxfordshire is effectively encompassed by the former Banbury Rural District, Woodstock Rural District, Municipal Borough of Banbury, Southam Rural District, Brackley Rural District, Middleton Cheney Rural District and the north west of Ploughley Rural District (the part that was not in either Bicester Rural District or Headington Rural District before 1931) local government areas, which were abolished between 1935 and 1974.^{[citation needed]}

The Banburyshire Community Transport Association Ltd charity provides special transport services for disabled in and around the town of Banbury.^[6]

It was common in the 19th century for market towns in England to describe their hinterland by tacking "shire" onto the town's name.^[7] "Stones Map of Banburyshire" held by the Centre of Banbury Studies was published in the 1870s or 1880s^[8] and it asserted that the term originated in the 1830s^[9] but no source is given for that assertion. In the 1850s magazine articles used "Banburyshire" or the hyphenated term "Banbury-shire".^[10] The Banburyshire Natural History Society was formed in 1881.^[11] In the 20th century a number of books used the term "Banburyshire" in their titles, dating from the early 1960s.^{[12][13][14][15]}

• History of Banbury, Oxfordshire

• The Banbury Community Website
• Maps that show the proximity of Banbury to the other counties mentioned
• A Banburyshire genealogical resource
• Historical maps of Banbury & Banburyshire
• Banburyshire Community Transport Association