Monument record 9277/1 - Banbury to Buckingham Turnpike

The Banbury to Buckingham turnpike was created in 1790. The route entered Northamptonshire immediately east of Banbury and passed through several villages before reaching Brackley to the south-east and subsequently leaving the county.

{1} The road pattern in Brackley was significantly altered with turnpiking in the later 18th century. While the Northampton to Oxford road was not significantly altered at Brackley, the construction of the Banbury to Buckingham turnpike in 1790 led to the insertion of a new road to Banbury leading from the market place and the upgrading of the Croft Lane leading from the eastern end of the High Street towards Buckingham. Previously the Buckingham road, as depicted on Eayre’s map, ran eastwards from the Old Town, close to the line of the apparent course of the Roman road. However it is clear that the Croft Lane was used in the medieval period as the main route by those travelling from Buckingham to the market place.

Prior to turnpiking when a completely new road was laid out from the south west corner of the market place, the Banbury road appears from Eayre’s map to have run out of the Hinton road, which left the town by the castle. However although in existence by 1516 this road, leading out of Whitchandys Grene, was then called Hinton Lane. There is reference in 1260 to the king’s highway to Banbury running through Brackley fields. It is therefore possible that the medieval road followed a different course than the post medieval. The most likely route would be running west north west from the Halse road immediately west of the town where a road, known in the 19th century as Steane Way, cuts straight across the township, respected by the furlong pattern.

<1> Ballinger J.; Foard G., 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Brackley, Section 3.7.1 Major Routes (Digital archive). SNN100499.

Record last edited

May 19 2026 11:40AM