Nostalgia

The Bedford branch of HSBC, one of the oldest in the bank’s branch network, is celebrating its 125th anniversary.

On May 22, 1851, the Banbury Guardian published a list of local exhibitors responsible for trades and industries represented at the Great Exhibition held at the Crystal Palace that same year.

ZSL Whipsnade Zoo has finished restoration work on the Whipsnade White Lion, a famous chalk image that has overlooked the Dunstable Downs in Bedfordshire since 1933.

In 1996 and 1997 the Birmingham University Field Archaeology Unit was invited to appraise buildings in Bridge Street and Mill Lane prior to Banbury town centre redevelopment which resulted in Castle Quay shopping centre.

Anyone who was a regular reader of the Banbury Guardian in 1963 must surely have been intrigued by an article bearing the name of John Betjeman. This well-known poet was also an authority on Victorian buildings.

Last week residents of Bodicote’s Fairholme House finished a two year collaboration with Banbury Museum which took them on personalised journey down memory lane.

The recent publication of Leanda de Lisle’s book White King is both an opportunity to reassess the reign of Charles I and a time to recall a Civil War battle.

There will be a range of events during 2018 to mark 100 years since the final actions and then the end of the First World War.

In 1909 members of the Leicestershire Architectural and Archaeological Society visited Broughton Castle and Banbury during the course of their annual excursion.

Back in the early 1940s a survey by the Agricultural Economics Unit of Oxford University revealed a serious lack of public meeting places in the parishes between Banbury and Chipping Norton.

Any music fan will be aware of how vinyl records have become strangely fashionable again, with the retro format enjoying a resurgence as an alternative mp3 downloads and streaming.

In his popular nostalgia column, Banbury Guardian’s resident historian Brian Little takes a fascinating look at Calthorpe Manor through the ages.

It is highly likely that Victorian Banbury will best be remembered for a substantial legacy of terraced housing.

In October and November, 1939, an interesting aspect of World War II was the impact it had on every facet of life in Banbury right from the commencement of hostilities.

The month of October has been notable for including National Libraries Week. Today’s article celebrates this fact but also provides an opportunity to explain the diversity of functions performed by our libraries in Banbury.

A never to be neglected source of information about Banbury’s past is Alfred Beesley’s History, which was published early in the 19 th century. In particular his footnotes deserve special attention.

On March 5, 1947 the Banbury Advertiser, the Guardian’s main rival newspaper, ran a fascinating article on market day licence exemptions. It revealed the importance of these to a large proportion of Banbury’s many public houses but also opened up discussion about anomalies caused by a particular interpretation of market catchment.

In these days of the internet, child safety is more of a concern for parents everywhere.

These astonishing never-seen-before photos snapped a year after VE Day show the apocalyptic devastation across post-war Germany.