Burford's Buildings, Guildenford

Created as a medieval back lane which probably followed an early droveway, Guildenford is very much a street of two sides. On the west, which was probably built up during the Middle Ages, is a run of vernacular cottages of various dates from the 18th century onwards, with entries directly from the pavement. On the east is the last remaining garage in Burford and, behind long front gardens, the much altered Castle’s Almshouses, founded in 1726. Building materials are typical of Burford: the limestone rubble is often uncoursed, and supported by long timber lintels above small casement windows.  In 1841 the lane contained around 20 separate dwellings (some of them unoccupied), and from the 1850s to 1870s there were around 40, presumably because several cottages had been subdivided. Agricultural labourers headed many households, and craftsmen the rest: in 1851 they included slaters, carpenters, a glover, and a basket maker. From the 1880s the proportion of agricultural labourers fell, and by 1901 there were only 8.