Between 1950 and 1954 Anthony Burgess – or John Burgess Wilson, as he was then known – taught at Banbury Grammar School and lived in Adderbury, Oxfordshire with his first wife, Lynne. Here are some pictures of Adderbury and Banbury as they are today.

The Bell Inn, Adderbury. Conveniently situated near John Burgess Wilson’s cottage at 4 Water Lane.

Another view of the Bell, looking up the hill towards Adderbury village green and the Red Lion.

The White Lion in Banbury, frequented by John Burgess Wilson and his first wife in the early 1950s and (according to back numbers of the Banbury Guardian from the same period) notorious for Teddy Boy ultra-violence. The famous white lion is visible on the roof.

Another view of The White Lion, Banbury.

Adderbury village hall, where John Burgess Wilson directed plays for the local amateur drama group. The piano in the hall today is said to be the same one played by JBW in the early 1950s.

The Red Lion at Adderbury: an old coaching inn of the kind later described by Burgess in his non-fiction book, Coaching Days of England. He drank here between 1950 and 1954, leaving occasionally to teach at Banbury Grammar School, and to write his first stage play, two novels and occasional pieces of music for the school orchestra and other local musicians.

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