Banbury
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Banbury. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a town of Oxfordshire, England. It is situated on the Cherwell, twenty-two miles north of Oxford. It is a town of about 13,000 people. Banbury of Merrie England was a noted market town. Banbury ale and cakes were famous. Banbury cheeses were so thin that they were "all paring." Shakespeare alludes to persons as thin as a Banbury cheese. The town appears to have been a Puritan stronghold, at least the expression "Banbury saint" and "Banbury man" were used to denote a Puritan. The customary cross that stood in the old open air market of Banbury is famous in nursery rhyme. It was taken down sometime during the reign of Elizabeth, but it is still celebrated in the nursery rhyme: Ride a cock horse To Banbury Cross, To see an old woman Upon a grey horse, With rings on her fingers And bells on her toes, She shall make music Wherever she goes. Ride a cock horse To Banbury Cross, To see what Tommy can buy A white penny loaf, A white penny cake, And a twopenny apple pie.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a small town of Oxford- Cherwell, 23 miles N. of Oxford, and 78 N. W. of London by rail. Its strong castle, built about 1125, was demolished during the Great Rebellion, when Banbury was noted for Puritanical zeal. In 1469 the Yorkists were defeated in the vicinity. The town is still famous for its cakes and ale, as it was in Ben Jonson's day; and it manufactures webbing and agricultural implements. Pop. about 14,000.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Both entries describe a market town of 13,000 to 14,000 people making webbing and agricultural implements; Banbury today has roughly 50,000 residents, having grown sharply from the 1960s as a planned overspill town for London, with the M40 running past it since 1991. The old trades have gone — the cattle market that was once among the largest in Europe closed in 1998, and the aluminium works that dominated 20th-century employment shut in 2009 — while the town's best-known factory now roasts coffee. Aiton's says the cross of the nursery rhyme "was taken down sometime during the reign of Elizabeth"; the cross visitors photograph today is a Gothic replacement erected in 1859. Banbury cakes, the spiced currant pastries both entries note, are still made, though the medieval shop that sold them was demolished in 1968.
Written for this edition, 2026.