Banbury, mun. bor. and par. with ry. sta., Oxfordshire, on river Cherwell, 21 miles N. of Oxford and 78 miles NW. of London by rail -- par., 3408 ac., pop. 9660; local government dist., 4682 ac., pop. 12,072; mun. bor., 81 ac., pop. 3600; 5 Banks, 3 newspapers. Market-day, Thursday. It has foundries and breweries; also mfrs. of cheese and the familiar Banbury cakes. The battle of Banbury was fought (1469) on the neighbouring plain of Danesmoor. The bor. returned 1 member to Parliament until 1885.

(John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887))