Barford St Michael is a village on the south bank of the River Swere in Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, about 5 miles (8 km) south of Banbury

Banbury

Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...

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History

The village is part of the civil parish of Barford St. John and St. Michael. Barford St Michael has sometimes been called Great Barford as it is much larger than the village of Barford St. John on the opposite bank of the Swere.

The bell tower

Bell tower

A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...

 and north doorway of Church of England parish church

Church of England parish church

A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...

 of St Michael

Michael (archangel)

Michael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...

 are Norman

Norman architecture

About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...

. Much of the rest of the church was rebuilt in the 13th century in the Early English Gothic style.

The village has one public house

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

, the George Inn, a former Hunt Edmunds

Hunt Edmunds

-History:The brewery was founded by John Hunt in 1840, but it was Thomas Hunt who went into partnership with William Edmunds in 1850. Edmunds' son, Charles Fletcher Edmunds became a partner in 1886, and succeeded his father in 1896. His son Maurice Edmunds was a later chairman...

 tied house

Tied house

In the UK a tied house is a public house that is required to buy at least some of its beer from a particular brewery. This is in contrast to a free house, which is able to choose the beers it stocks freely.- Definition of "tied" :...

. There is also a farm shop. The village is the home of the Woodworm Records Recording Studio

Woodworm Records

Woodworm Records was a record label created in 1979 to enable the British folk-rock band Fairport Convention to release their album Farewell Farewell. The album was a recording of performances taken from the band's 1979 farewell tour...

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