Still in Banbury and I’m always amazed at the appearance of the Banbury cross because for some reason I always expected a large cross and not something stuck in the middle of a roundabout on a busy road . Although Banbury has had many crosses over the years the current Banbury Cross is a stone, spire-shaped monument decorated in Gothic form. Statues of Queen Victoria, Edward VII and George V were added in 1914 to commemorate the coronation of George V. The cross is 52 feet 6 inches (16 m) high, and topped by a gilt cross.
The words of the Banbury Cross nursery rhyme are often attributed to Queen Elizabeth I of England (the fine lady) who travelled to Banbury to see a huge stone cross which had just been erected. The words 'With rings on her fingers' obviously relates to the fine jewellery which would be worn by a Queen. The words 'And bells on her toes' refer to the fashion of attaching bells to the end of the pointed toes of each shoe - this fashion actually originates from the Plantagenet era of English history but was associated with the nobility for some time! Banbury was situated at the top of a steep hill and in order to help carriages up the steep incline a white cock horse (a large stallion) was made available by the town's council to help with this task. When the Queen's carriage attempted to go up the hill a wheel broke and the Queen chose to mount the cock horse and ride to the Banbury cross. The people of the town had decorated the cock horse with ribbons and bells and provided minstrels to accompany her - "she shall have music wherever she goes". The massive stone cross at Banbury was unfortunately later destroyed by anti - Catholics who opposed the notion of pilgrimages.
Next to the busy roundabout with the banbury cross is this lady on a Horse ….. Ride a cockhorse to Banbury Cross,To see a fine lady upon a white horse.
With rings on her fingers ……
and bells on her toes, She shall have music wherever she goes. That was for Curly.
After a walk around the town it was then time to catch up with friends Bob and Jan .We first met them a few years ago when we shared the Hatton flight of locks .They are also boaters but are a bit more sensible than us and live in their house in the Winter and then spend the Summer on their boat called Small Dreams. It was good to have a catch up and we have arranged to meet up again in a couple of days time. With Carolyn still hitting the fitness centre every day and sometimes even twice a day it seems like we could well be here for sometime, although I’m sure I will start to get itchy feet before long.
Happy Days
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