Banbury was a market town on the move. This was due in no small measure to the coming of the railways at the outset of the 1850s.

In a Banbury Guardian issue of 1851 the paper noted that their advantages were "universally felt and admired". This was especially exemplified by Bridge Street, which Edward Cobb, of the famous banking family, reckoned had replaced Oxford Road as the chief entrance into the town (Barrie Trinder, 'Victorian Banbury').

The arrival of the Great Western and London and North Western Railways also had a part to play in the emergence of a thriving society based on a strong retail economy and a proliferation of inns. Market Place, combined with Bridge Street, was a heartland of taverns in mid-19th century Banbury.

Significant evidence for this exists in the form of small advertisements placed in the Guardian and Advertiser newspapers by licensees who moved from one public house to another. John Bazeley thanked 'the inhabitants of Banbury and its vicinity for their very liberal support' whilst he was landlord of the Bear. After moving to the Leathern Bottle in Bridge Street he was looking forward to the same sort of patronage.

Bazeley's successor at the Bear also went public with his expression of hope for 'the same patronage that has been bestowed upon his predecessor'.

Prior to 1850 the influence of village carriers in forging contacts with the town's rural surrounds had been paramount. Not long after, their numbers dropped significantly and many carriers made fewer visits to Banbury. By contrast, the railways enabled the town's traders to become less parochial in their attitudes and encouraged local people to explore way beyond their doorsteps.

J Claridge, who had a cake shop at 18 Parsons Street, provides an interesting example of how a businessman was able to tap a wider market. By the middle of the 1850s he was baking sufficient Banbury cakes to supply the refreshment room at Oxford station as well as satisfying local demand. Each day a consignment of cakes was put on to the 8.30am train that arrived in Oxford at 9.30am.

Within two hours of their coming out of the oven these were waiting for customers of JH Gibbins, the proprietor of the refreshment room who was keen to promote the sale of Banbury cakes.

Another way in which some of Banbury's retailers were expanding their activities was by having a shop in more than one town.
Typically boot marts benefited from widening horizons – Baxters, who were at 4 Market Place, Banbury, were also at 19 Cornmarket in the centre of Oxford.

Local coal merchants discovered that the coming of the railways meant lower prices for coal as they could buy from a larger range of collieries.

At the end of the 18th century the Oxford Canal had opened up the Warwickshire coalfield and enabled Banbury to benefit from coal mined at the likes of Newdigate Colliery near Bedworth.

Rail-borne coal did not oust such supplies but by the 1850s these had to compete with fuel from other and more distant coalfields and, more importantly, at cheaper prices. In an advertisement posted in local newspapers BR Bartram, who was based in Merton Street, promised best Leicestershire coal at 15s 6d per ton (77.5p) and Derbyshire Bright and Hard coals at 16s (80p) for an equivalent amount.

Weekly advertisements by the railway companies exhorted people in Banbury and district to explore beyond their immediate surrounds and to go to events in cities such as Birmingham. Most of these were replicated in Banbury.

On Friday, September 26, 1856, an excursion train left at 8.45am with the express purpose of encouraging passengers to visit the Birmingham Onion Fair. Unlike today, there were intermediate stops between Banbury and Leamington Spa so you could join the train at Cropredy, Fenny Compton and Southam Road.

With a return time of 7.30pm patrons could make the most of their stay in the West Midlands. Other excursion trains took people to St Giles Fair in Oxford (300 tickets were issued at Banbury in September 1856), and conveyed substantial numbers of people to the Birmingham Cattle and Poultry Show as well as to London for the Smithfield Cattle Show.

An interesting effect of the increased vibrancy of Banbury was the added incentive to local builders to carry out construction work that today would be viewed as speculative development.

In late October 1856, R Claridge, who was based at 40 High Street announced the construction of two houses in Calthorpe Road that was itself an important extension of the Victorian town. The work was carried out bearing in mind 'every convenience for a family wishing to retire in the vicinity of a first class business town'.

A fitting comment on the development of the 1850s appeared in a poem about Banbury by Elizabeth Hemus quoted by Barrie Trinder in his 'Victorian Banbury'.

"Here such facilities combine
To augment the means of gain;
Conveyance quick, intelligence
By telegraph and train."

RAIL LIFE: The Leathern Bottle pub, above, behind the bus, was a popular haunt and many early excursions were from the GWR station, left

FUEL: Bartram's coal business was close to Merton Street Station. This picture is courtesy of Banbury Museum