The Tolsey

The Tolsey is a town hall and market house dating from the 16th century, with its first documentation recorded in 1561. It features a rendered timber frame raised on stone piers and has a Cotswold stone roof. The building is L-shaped with an open front on the ground floor. The two-storey front has a gabled design and coved eaves. On the first floor, there are two 20th-century angled bays with a 1:4:1 light arrangement. The ground floor is open with a 4 x 2-bay layout supported by octagonal stone piers, and there is a Tudor arch niche at the rear. The right-hand front gable has a pair of projecting beams, with a late 19th-century circular clock and a bell situated below. The side elevation angles towards Sheep Street. At the rear, there is a two-storey extension featuring a pair of glazing-bar sash windows on the north side and an ashlar chimney.

Inside, the front two-bay chamber has a central post with arched braces supporting the flanking trusses, while the rear section includes stepped corbels to the truss. A lock-up with a studded door remains, likely located at the rear on the ground floor. The front of the building was used to house a fire engine until the early 20th century and is now a museum dedicated to Burford.