County of England
Ceremonial county in England
Oxfordshire
(
OKS
-f?rd-sh?r, -sheer
; abbreviated
Oxon
) is a
ceremonial county
in
South East England
. The county is bordered by
Northamptonshire
and
Warwickshire
to the north,
Buckinghamshire
to the east,
Berkshire
to the south, and
Wiltshire
and
Gloucestershire
to the west. The city of
Oxford
is the largest settlement and
county town
.
The county is largely rural, with an area of 2,605 km
2
(1,006 sq mi) and a population of 691,667. After Oxford (162,100), the largest settlements are
Banbury
(54,355) and
Abingdon-on-Thames
(37,931). For local government purposes Oxfordshire is a
non-metropolitan county
with five districts. The part of the county south of the
River Thames
, largely corresponding to the
Vale of White Horse
district, was
historically
part of
Berkshire
.
The lowlands in the centre of the county are crossed by the
River Thames
and its tributaries, the valleys of which are separated by low hills. The south contains parts of the
Berkshire Downs
and
Chiltern Hills
, and the north-west includes part of the
Cotswolds
; all three regions are
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
. The county's highest point is
White Horse Hill
(261-metre (856 ft)), part of the Berkshire Downs.
[4]
History
[
edit
]
Oxfordshire was recorded as a county in the early years of the 10th century and lies between the
River Thames
to the south, the
Cotswolds
to the west, the
Chilterns
to the east and the Midlands to the north, with spurs running south to
Henley-on-Thames
and north to
Banbury
.
Although it had some significance as an area of valuable agricultural land in the centre of the country, it was largely ignored by the Romans and did not grow in importance until the formation of a settlement at Oxford in the 8th century.
Alfred the Great
was born across the Thames in Wantage, Vale of White Horse. The University of Oxford was founded in 1096, although its collegiate structure did not develop until later on. The university in the county town of
Oxford
(whose name came from
Anglo-Saxon
Oxenaford
= "ford for
oxen
") grew in importance during the Middle Ages and early modern period. The area was part of the Cotswolds wool trade from the 13th century, generating much wealth, particularly in the western portions of the county in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds.
Morris Motors
was founded in Oxford in 1912, bringing heavy industry to an otherwise agricultural county. The importance of agriculture as an employer declined rapidly in the 20th century; currently
[
when?
]
under one per cent of the county's population are involved due to high mechanisation.
[
citation needed
]
Nevertheless, Oxfordshire remains a very agricultural county by land use, with a lower population than neighbouring Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, which are both smaller.
During most of its history, the county was partitioned as
fourteen divisions
called
hundreds
, namely
Bampton
,
Banbury
,
Binfield
,
Bloxham
,
Bullingdon
,
Chadlington
,
Dorchester
,
Ewelme
,
Langtree
,
Lewknor
,
Pyrton
,
Ploughley
,
Thame
and
Wootton
.
The
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
, the main army unit in the area, was based at
Cowley Barracks
on Bullingdon Green,
Cowley
.
The
Vale of White Horse
district and parts of the
South Oxfordshire
administrative district south of the River Thames were historically part of
Berkshire
, but, in 1974,
Abingdon
,
Didcot
,
Faringdon
,
Wallingford
and
Wantage
were added to the administrative county of Oxfordshire under the
Local Government Act 1972
. Conversely, the
Caversham
area of
Reading
, now administratively in
Berkshire
, was historically part of Oxfordshire, as was the parish of
Stokenchurch
, now administratively in
Buckinghamshire
. The areas of
Oxford
city south of the Thames, such as
Grandpont
, were transferred much earlier, in 1889.
Geography
[
edit
]
Oxfordshire includes parts of three
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
. In the north-west lie the
Cotswolds
; to the south and south-east are the open chalk hills of the
North Wessex Downs
and the wooded hills of the
Chilterns
. The north of the county contains the ironstone of the Cherwell uplands. Long-distance walks within the county include the
Ridgeway National Trail
,
Macmillan Way
,
Oxfordshire Way
and the D’Arcy Dalton Way.
Extreme points
[
edit
]
Rivers and canals
[
edit
]
From the mid-point western edge to the southeast corner of Oxfordshire, via the city in the middle, runs the
Thames
with its flat floodplains. This river forms the
historic
limit with
Berkshire
, remaining so on some lowest reaches. The
Thames Path
National Trail follows the river from upper estuary to a source.
Many smaller rivers in the county feed into the Thames, such as the
Thame
,
Windrush
,
Evenlode
and
Cherwell
. Some of these have trails running along their valleys. The
Oxford Canal
links to the Midlands and follows the Cherwell from Banbury via Kidlington into the city of Oxford, where these join the navigable Thames. About 15% of the historically named
Wilts & Berks Canal
, in sporadic sections, has been restored to navigability, including the county-relevant
[
clarification needed
]
140 metres near
Abingdon-on-Thames
where it could, if restored, meet the Thames.
Green belt
[
edit
]
Oxfordshire contains a
green belt
area that fully envelops the city of Oxford and extends for some miles to protect surrounding towns and villages from inappropriate development and urban growth. Its border in the east extends to the Buckinghamshire county boundary, while part of its southern border is shared with the North Wessex Downs
AONB
. It was first drawn up in the 1950s, and all of the county's districts contain some portion of the belt.
Economy
[
edit
]
Regional gross value added at current basic prices in millions pounds sterling.
[5]
Year
|
Regional gross value added
[a]
|
Agriculture
[b]
|
Industry
[c]
|
Services
[d]
|
1995
|
7,607
|
120
|
2,084
|
5,404
|
2000
|
10,594
|
80
|
2,661
|
7,853
|
2003
|
12,942
|
93
|
2,665
|
10,184
|
Politics
[
edit
]
The
Oxfordshire County Council
, since 2013 under
no overall control
, is responsible for the most strategic
local government
functions, including schools, county roads and
social services
. The county is divided into five
local government districts
:
Oxford
,
Cherwell
,
Vale of White Horse
(after the
Uffington White Horse
),
West Oxfordshire
and
South Oxfordshire
, which deal with such matters as
town and country planning
, waste collection and housing.
In the
2016 European Union referendum
, Oxfordshire was the only English county as a whole to vote to remain in the European Union by a significant margin, at 57.06% (70.27% in the City of Oxford), despite Cherwell (barely) voting to leave at 50.31%.
[
citation needed
]
Education
[
edit
]
Oxfordshire has a completely comprehensive education system with 23 independent schools and 35 state secondary schools. Only eight schools do not have a
sixth form
; these are mostly in South Oxfordshire and Cherwell districts. Oxfordshire has a large number of leading independent schools, including public schools such as
Radley College
.
The county has two universities: the ancient
University of Oxford
[6]
and the modern
Oxford Brookes University
, which are both located in Oxford. In addition,
Wroxton College
, located in
Banbury
, is affiliated with
Fairleigh Dickinson University
of
New Jersey
.
[7]
Buildings
[
edit
]
The "dreaming spires" of the University of Oxford are among the reasons for which Oxford is the sixth most visited city in the United Kingdom by international visitors.
[8]
Among many notable University buildings are the
Sheldonian Theatre
, built 1664?68 to the design of
Sir Christopher Wren
, and the
Radcliffe Camera
, built 1737?49 to the design of
James Gibbs
.
Blenheim Palace
, close to
Woodstock
, was designed and partly built by the architect
John Vanbrugh
for
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
, after he had won the
battle of Blenheim
. The gardens, which can be visited, were designed by the landscape gardener
"Capability" Brown
, who planted the trees in the battle formation of the victorious army. Sir
Winston Churchill
was born in the palace in 1874. It is open to the public.
Chastleton House
, on the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire borders, is a great
country mansion
built on property bought from
Robert Catesby
, who was one of the men involved in the
Gunpowder Plot
with
Guy Fawkes
.
Stonor Park
, another country mansion, has belonged to the
recusant
Stonor family for centuries.
Mapledurham House
is an
Elizabethan
stately home in the south-east of the county, close to
Reading
.
The Abbey
in
Sutton Courtenay
is a medieval
courtyard house
. It has been recognised by the
Historic Building Council for England
(now
Historic England
) as a building of outstanding historic and
architectural
interest.
[9]
It is considered to be a 'textbook' example of the English medieval
manor house
and is a
Grade I-listed
building.
[11]
Settlements
[
edit
]
Rank
|
Town
|
Population
|
Year
|
Definition
|
Notes
|
1
|
Oxford
|
162,100
|
2021
|
Oxford
non-metropolitan district
|
|
2
|
Banbury
|
54,335
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
|
3
|
Abingdon-on-Thames
|
37,931
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
In Berkshire until 1974.
|
4
|
Bicester
|
37,020
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
|
5
|
Didcot
|
32,183
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
200 dwellings in the south-east of the town lie in neighbouring
East Hagbourne
parish. In Berkshire until 1974.
|
6
|
Witney
|
31,217
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
|
7
|
Carterton
|
15,680
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
|
8
|
Kidlington
|
13,600
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
Does not include
Gosford
.
|
9
|
Thame
|
13,273
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
Includes hamlet of
Moreton
.
|
10
|
Wantage
|
13,106
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
In Berkshire until 1974.
|
11
|
Henley-on-Thames
|
12,186
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
|
12
|
Faringdon
|
8,627
|
2021
|
Great Faringdon
civil parish
|
In Berkshire until 1974.
|
13
|
Wallingford
|
8,455
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
In Berkshire until 1974.
|
14
|
Grove
|
8,336
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
15
|
Chinnor
|
7,651
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
|
16
|
Chipping Norton
|
7,250
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
|
17
|
Eynsham
|
5,324
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
|
18
|
Benson
|
4,801
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
|
19
|
Wheatley
|
4,267
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
|
20
|
Sonning Common
|
4,138
|
2021
|
Civil Parish
|
|
21
|
Kennington
|
4,133
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
|
22
|
Woodstock
|
3,521
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
|
23
|
Charlbury
|
3,063
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
|
24
|
Bampton
|
2,993
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
|
25
|
Watlington
|
2,697
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
|
26
|
Deddington
|
2,301
|
2021
|
Civil parish
|
|
Places of interest
[
edit
]
- Abingdon County Hall Museum
[12]
? housed in a 17th-century county hall building
- Ashdown House
? 17th-century
country house
in the
Lambourn Downs
- Ashmolean Museum
? Oxford University's museum of art and archaeology
- Banbury Museum
,
Banbury
- Bicester Village
- Blenheim Palace
and
garden
? UNESCO
World Heritage Site
- Broughton Castle
? 14th-century fortified
manor house
- Buscot Park
,
Buscot
? 18th-century
country house
and
landscape garden
- Champs Chapel Museum of East Hendred
? village museum in a 15th-century
Carthusian
chapel
- Charlbury
Museum
- Chastleton House
? 17th-century
country house
(limited access)
- Chiltern Hills
?
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway
? operated with
steam
and
diesel locomotives
- Chipping Norton
Museum
[13]
- Cholsey and Wallingford Railway
- Cogges Manor Farm Museum
,
Witney
? a living museum of country life
- Combe
Mill Museum,
[14]
Long Hanborough
? working museum of stationary
steam engines
- Cotswold Wildlife Park
and
garden
, Bradwell Grove,
Holwell
- Cotswolds
?
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- Didcot Railway Centre
? museum of the
Great Western Railway
- Dorchester Abbey
,
Dorchester-on-Thames
? 12th-century church of former
Augustinian
abbey
- Great Coxwell Barn
? 14th-century
tithe barn
- Greys Court
,
Rotherfield Greys
? 16th-century
country house
- Hampton Gay Manor ? ruins of 16th-century
manor house
(no website)
- Harcourt Arboretum
,
Nuneham Courtenay
- Heythrop Hall
? 17th-century
country house
: now a hotel, golf &
country club
- Hook Norton Brewery
? working Victorian "tower" brewery that offers guided tours
- Kelmscott Manor
? Home of
William Morris
- Mapledurham Estate
? 16th-century
country house
and 15th-century
watermill
- Milton
Manor House
? 18th-century
country house
[15]
- Minster Lovell
Hall ?
dovecote
and ruins of 15th-century
manor house
- Museum of Bygones,
Claydon
? private museum including stationary steam engines
- North Wessex Downs
?
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- Oxford
- Oxford Bus Museum
and
Morris Motors
Museum,
Long Hanborough
- Oxford Canal
? 18th-century "narrow"
canal
- The Oxfordshire Museum
,
Woodstock
- The Ridgeway
- River and Rowing Museum
,
Henley-on-Thames
- River Thames
- Rollright Stones
?
megalithic
stone circle
and Whispering Knights
burial chamber
, near Little Rollright
- Rousham House
? 17th-century
country house
and
landscape garden
- Rycote chapel
? 15th-century chapel with original furnishings
- St Katharine's
church,
Chiselhampton
? 18th-century
parish church
with original furnishings (no website, limited access)
- St Mary's
church,
Iffley
? 12th-century
Norman
parish church
[16]
- Shotover
Country Park
,
Headington
- Spiceball
Country Park
,
Banbury
- Stanton Harcourt
manor house
(limited access), with garden and 15th-century chapel and
Pope's
Tower (no website)
- Stonor Park
?
country house
and 14th-century chapel of the
recusant
Stonor family
- Swalcliffe Tithe Barn
? 15th-century
- Thame
Museum
- Tolsey Museum,
Burford
(no website)
- Uffington White Horse
,
Uffington Castle
and
Wayland's Smithy
burial chamber
in the
White Horse Hills
- Vale and Downland Museum
, Wantage
- Wallingford Museum
- Wheatley
Windmill
? 18th-century
tower mill
[17]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
- ^
includes hunting and forestry
- ^
includes energy and construction
- ^
includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
References
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Powell, Philip (2005).
The Geology of Oxfordshire
. Dovecote Press.
ISBN
1-904349-19-6
.
External links
[
edit
]
Look up
Oxfordshire
in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
|
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|
Boroughs or districts
| |
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Major settlements
(cities in italics)
| |
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Topics
| |
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51°45′N
1°17′W
/
51.75°N 1.28°W
/
51.75; -1.28