River Cherwell - Banbury

Banbury

After a few miles the River Cherwell passes under the M40 motorway and enters the industrial hinterland of Banbury, passing the site of another water mill. From here, a main line railway runs alongside on the west side. This line was built by the Great Western Railway and links London and Oxford with Birmingham and the north. South of this point, the railway closely follows the Cherwell valley.

The town of Banbury grew up alongside the River Cherwell. A Roman villa at nearby Wykham Park dates from around the year 250 but it was the Saxons who built the first settlement west of the River Cherwell. On the opposite bank is the Saxon settlement of Grimsbury, now absorbed into Banbury.

Banbury Castle was built in 1135 on the west bank of the Cherwell commanding the river. The castle was extended and rebuilt many times. In the English civil war the castle became a Royalist stronghold and was besieged during the winter of 1644–1645. A second siege began in January 1646 and lasted until April when a surrender was negotiated. Following a petition to the House of Commons in 1648, the castle was demolished.

There was a substantial water mill on the River Cherwell near the castle. The brick-built mill building and the miller's cottage have been modernised and extended to serve Banbury as a theatre and arts centre.