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This article is about the city of Oxford in England. For other cities and other meanings, see Oxford (disambiguation).
City of Oxford

Shown within Oxfordshire
Geography
Status: City (1542)
Region: South East England
Admin. County: Oxfordshire
Area:
- Total
Ranked 306th
45.59 km²
Admin. HQ: Oxford
Grid reference: SP 51 06
ONS code: 38UC
Demographics
Population:
- Total (2004 est.)
- Density
Ranked 113th
145,100
3,183 / km²
Ethnicity: 87.1% White
4.8% S.Asian
2.5% Afro-Carib.
1.8% Chinese
Politics

Oxford City Council
http://www.oxford.gov.uk/
Leadership: Leader & Cabinet
Executive: Labour
MPs: Evan Harris, Andrew Smith

Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). It is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world.

It is known as the "city of dreaming spires", a term coined by Matthew Arnold in reference to the harmonious architecture of the university buildings. The Oxford suburb of Cowley has a long history of carmaking, and still produces BMW MINIs.

Contents

  • 1 History
    • 1.1 Twinning
  • 2 Transport
  • 3 Tourist attractions
    • 3.1 Religious sites
      • 3.1.1 Churches in central Oxford
    • 3.2 Museums and galleries
    • 3.3 University buildings
    • 3.4 Open spaces
    • 3.5 Commercial areas
    • 3.6 Theatres and cinemas
    • 3.7 Traditional and historic pubs
  • 4 Media and press
  • 5 Literature in Oxford
  • 6 Other notable Oxonians
  • 7 Schools
  • 8 Geography
    • 8.1 Wards, neighbourhoods, and suburbs
  • 9 Politics in Oxford
    • 9.1 Oxford City Council
    • 9.2 Westminster representation
    • 9.3 Alternative Culture
    • 9.4 Parishes
  • 10 See also
  • 11 External links

History

Oxford was first occupied in Saxon times, and was initially known as "Oxenaforda". It began with the foundations of St Frideswide's nunnery in the 8th century, and was first mentioned in written records in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 912. In the 10th century Oxford became an important military frontier town between the kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex and was on several occasions raided by Danes. St Frideswide is the patron saint of both the city and university.

The University of Oxford is first mentioned in 12th century records. Oxford's earliest colleges were University College (1249), Balliol (1263) and Merton (1264).

Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford is unique as a college chapel and cathedral in one foundation. Originally the Priory Church of St Frideswide, the building was extended and incorporated into the structure of the Cardinal's College shortly before its refounding as Christ Church in 1546, since which time it has functioned as the cathedral of the Diocese of Oxford.

The relationship between "town and gown" has often been uneasy—several university students were killed in the St Scholastica Day Riot of 1355.

During the English Civil War, Oxford housed the court of Charles I in 1642, after the king was expelled from London, although there was strong support in the town for the Parliamentarian cause. The town yielded to Parliamentarian forces under General Fairfax in 1646.

In 1790 the Oxford Canal connected the city with Coventry. The Duke's Cut was completed by the Duke of Marlborough in 1789 to link the new canal with the River Thames; and in 1796 the Oxford Canal company built their own link to the Thames, at Isis Lock. In the 1840s the Great Western Railway and London and North Western Railway linked Oxford with London.

Oxford Coat-of-arms
Motto: Fortis est veritas
(Latin: "Truth is strong") A map of Oxford, 1605.

In the 19th century the controversy surrounding the Oxford Movement in the Anglican Church drew attention to the city as a focus of theological thought.

Map of Oxford (1904)

Oxford's Town Hall was built by Henry T. Hare, the foundation stone was laid on 6 July 1893 and opened by the future King Edward VII on 12 May 1897. The site has been the seat of local government since the Guild Hall of 1292 and though Oxford is a city and a Lord Mayoralty, it is still called by its traditional name of "Town Hall".

By the early 20th century Oxford was experiencing rapid industrial and population growth, with the printing and publishing industries becoming well established by the 1920s. Also during that decade the economy and society of Oxford underwent a huge transformation as William Morris established the Morris Motor Company to mass produce cars in Cowley, on the south-eastern edge of the city. By the early 1970s over 20,000 people worked in Cowley at the huge Morris Motors and Pressed Steel Fisher plants. By this time Oxford was a city of two halves: the university city to the west of Magdalen Bridge (from where students traditionally jump into the River Cherwell every May Day morning) and the car town to the east. This led to the witticism that "Oxford is the left bank of Cowley". Cowley suffered major job losses in the 1980s and 1990s during the decline of British Leyland, but is now producing the successful New MINI for BMW.

The influx of migrant labour to the car plants, recent immigration from south-east Asia, and a large student population, have given Oxford a notable cosmopolitan character, especially in the Headington, Jericho and Cowley Road areas with their many bars, cafes, restaurants, clubs, ethnic shops and fast food outlets.

On 6 May 1954 Roger Bannister, as a 25 year old medical student, ran the first authenticated sub-four minute mile at the Iffley Road running track in Oxford.

Oxford's "other" university, Oxford Brookes University, formerly Oxford Polytechnic, based at Headington, was given its charter in 1991.

Twinning

Oxford is twinned with:

  • Bonn, Germany
  • Grenoble, France
  • León, Nicaragua
  • Leiden, Netherlands
  • Perm, Russia

All of these are university towns.

Transport

Oxford is located some 50 miles (80 km) north west of London; the cities are linked by the M40 motorway, which also links northwards to Birmingham.

Rail connections include services to London (Paddington), Bournemouth, Worcester (via the Cotswold Line), and Bicester. The city also has regular train services northwards to Birmingham, Coventry and the north. The railway service connecting Oxford and Cambridge, known as the Varsity Line, was discontinued in 1968.

The Oxford Canal connects to the River Thames at Oxford.

Oxford Airport at Kidlington offers business and general aviation services.

Local bus services are largely provided by the Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach South Midlands

Tourist attractions

Oxford has numerous major tourist attractions, many belonging to the university and colleges. As well as several famous institutions, the town centre is home to Carfax Tower and a historical themed ride, The Oxford Story. In the summer, punting on the Thames (sometimes called the Isis as it flows through Oxford) and the Cherwell is popular.

The Radcliffe Camera

Other notable attractions include:

Religious sites

  • Christ Church Cathedral
  • The Church of St Mary the Virgin (the University Church)
  • Martyrs' Memorial

Churches in central Oxford

  • Blackfriars (Catholic) Dominican Priory, 64 St Giles'
  • Christ Church Cathedral (Anglican), St Aldate's
  • German Lutheran services at St Mary the Virgin, High Street
  • New Road Baptist Church, Bonn Square
  • Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity and the Annuciation, 1 Canterbury Road (off Banbury Road)
  • Oxford Unitarians at Harris Manchester College Chapel, Mansfield Road
  • Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), St Giles'
  • Catholic Chaplaincy, Rose Place, St Aldate's
  • St Aldate's (Anglican), St Aldate's
  • St Aloysius (Catholic), Woodstock Road
  • St Columba's United Reformed Church, Alfred Street
  • St Cross (Anglican), St Cross Road
  • St Ebbe's (Anglican), Pennyfarthing Place (off St Ebbe's)
  • St Giles' (Anglican), St Giles'
  • St Mary Magdalen (Anglican), Magdalen Street
  • St Mary the Virgin University Church, High Street
  • St Michael-at-the-Northgate (Anglican), Cornmarket
  • The Salvation Army, Oxford Citadel, Albion Place
  • Wesley Memorial Methodist Church, New Inn Hall Street

Museums and galleries

Oxford University Museum of Natural History

University of Oxford:

  • Ashmolean Museum, Britain's oldest museum
  • Pitt Rivers Museum
  • Museum of Natural History, home of (the remains of) the Oxford Dodo
  • Museum of the History of Science, in Britain's oldest purpose-built museum building

Others:

  • Museum of Oxford
  • Museum of Modern Art
  • Science Oxford

University buildings

Oxford University Press

(Other than the colleges)

  • The Bodleian Library
  • The Clarendon Building (often used as a set for film and television)
  • The Radcliffe Camera (one of several institutions named after John Radcliffe)
  • The Sheldonian Theatre
  • The Oxford University Press
  • University Offices (administration), Wellington Square

Open spaces


The floodplains for Oxford's two rivers reach right into the heart of the city, providing a wealth of green spaces.

  • The University Parks
  • The University Botanic Garden
  • Christ Church Meadow
  • Port Meadow
  • Mesopotamia
  • Angel & Greyhound Meadow
  • Cutteslowe Park
  • Florence Park
Punts in Oxford

Commercial areas

  • Cornmarket Street, Oxford
  • Turl Street, Oxford
  • Little Clarendon Street
  • Broad Street, Oxford
  • Oxford Covered Market
  • George Street, Oxford
  • The Clarendon Shopping centre
  • Westgate Shopping Centre

Theatres and cinemas

  • Oxford Playhouse
  • New Theatre, George Street
  • Ultimate Picture Palace, Cowley Road
  • Phoenix Picturehouse, Walton Street
  • The Odeon Cinema, George Street
  • The Odeon Cinema, Magdalen Street

Traditional and historic pubs

Historic Pub "The Bear"
  • The Eagle and Child
  • The Turf Tavern
  • The Lamb and Flag
  • The Bear

Media and press

As well as the BBC national radio stations, Oxford and the surrounding area has several local stations, including BBC Radio Oxford, Fox FM, Passion 107.9 [1], and Oxide: Oxford Student Radio [2] (which went on terrestrial radio at 87.7 MHz FM in late May 2005). A local TV station, Six TV: The Oxford Channel is also available.

Popular local papers include the Oxford Mail, the Oxford Times, and the Oxford Star.

Recently (2003) DIY grassroots non-corporate media has began to spread [3]. Independent and community newspapers include the Jericho Echo [4] and Oxford Prospect [5].

Literature in Oxford

Well-known Oxford-based authors include:

  • Lewis Carroll (real name Charles Dodgson), Fellow of Christ Church.
  • Colin Dexter who wrote and set his Inspector Morse mystery novels in Oxford.
  • Michael Innes (J. I. M. Stewart), of Christ Church.
  • T. E. Lawrence, "Lawrence of Arabia", Oxford resident, undergraduate at Jesus, post-graduate at Magdalen.
  • C. S. Lewis, Fellow of Magdalen.
  • Iris Murdoch, Fellow of St Anne's
  • Philip Pullman who was an undergraduate at Exeter.
  • J. R. R. Tolkien, Professor of English at Merton, and undergraduate at Exeter.
  • Ian McEwan, formerly an Oxford resident for many years.

Many English novels have been set partly or wholly in Oxford. They include:

  • Jude the Obscure (1895) by Thomas Hardy (in which Oxford is thinly disguised as "Christminster").
  • Zuleika Dobson (1911) by Max Beerbohm (Merton).
  • Gaudy Night (1935) by Dorothy L. Sayers (Somerville).
  • Brideshead Revisited (1945) by Evelyn Waugh (Hertford).
  • His Dark Materials (1995 onwards) by Philip Pullman

See also the Literature section in the University of Oxford article.

Other notable Oxonians

  • Noel Godfrey Chavasse, twice awarded the Victoria Cross
  • Mike Hailwood, motor cycle world champion
  • Martin Keown, footballer
  • Martha Lane Fox, internet entrepreneur
  • Emma Watson, "Harry Potter" film actress
  • Thom Yorke, of band Radiohead

Schools

Oxford and the surrounding area is home to an unusual number of highly academic schools, many of which receive pupils from around the world. Some of these are college schools, dating back centuries, which retain their links with the University and have kept the tradition of single sex education. Intellectual rivalry between the pupils of the different schools is frequent but generally good humoured.

  • Abingdon School
  • Christ Church Cathedral School
  • The Dragon School
  • Headington School
  • Magdalen College School
  • New College School
  • Oxford High School
  • Radley College
  • St Edward's School
  • St Helen and St Katharine

Geography

Oxford's latitude and longitude are 51°45'07" N and 1°15'28" W (at Carfax Tower, which is usually considered the centre).

Wards, neighbourhoods, and suburbs

The Oxford shark in Headington
  • Barton
  • Binsey
  • Blackbird Leys
  • Botley, Oxfordshire
  • Cowley
  • East Oxford
  • Headington — home to the Oxford shark.
  • Littlemore
  • Jericho
  • Marston
  • North Oxford
  • Osney
  • Rose Hill, Oxford
  • Risinghurst
  • Summertown
  • Temple Cowley
  • Wolvercote
  • Woodfarm


Politics in Oxford

Oxford City Council

Despite stereotypes of Oxford being a conservative city, there are no Conservatives on the city council. Since the 2004 local elections, the council has been in minority administration by councillors from the Labour Party, with the Liberal Democrats being the official opposition. At 7 city councillors and 5 county councillors, Oxford is one of the UK cities with highest Green Party representation. The Independent Working Class Association also has councillors, mainly from wards with many housing estates in the southeast, such as Blackbird Leys.

Since 2002, elections have been held to Oxford's City Council in even years, with each Councillor serving a term of four years. Each electoral ward within Oxford is represented by two Councillor, thus all wards elect one Councillor at each election. Prior to 2002, the City Council was elected by thirds.

Partisan Composition
Year Labour Lib Dem Green IWCA Conservative Source
2002 29 15 3 1 0 [6]
2004 20 18 7 3 0 [7]
Present (As of 14 February 2006) 21 17 7 3 0
Partisan Control
  • 1974 – 1976: Labour
  • 1976 – 1980: Conservative
  • 1980 – 2000: Labour
  • 2000 – 2002: No overall control
  • 2002 – 2004: Labour
  • 2004 – Present: No overall control

Westminster representation

A pre-election husting at the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency

The two MPs are Andrew Smith from the Oxford East constituency, erstwhile employment minister in the Labour government; and Dr Evan Harris from the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency, sometime Liberal Democrat spokesperson on health. At the 2005 general election, Oxford East became a marginal seat with a Labour majority over the Liberal Democrats of just 963. Oxford West & Abingdon, on the other hand, is a safe Lib Dem seat with Dr Harris enjoying a majority of just under 8,000.

Alternative Culture

There is also a large and vibrant alternative political culture mostly situated in East Oxford. Some examples are:

  • Oxford BOP Samba
  • Oxford Student Activist Network [8]
  • Undercurrents
  • OCSET
  • Campaign to Close Campsfield [9]
  • Corporate Watch [10]
  • ETC Group
  • Oxford Indymedia [11]

Parishes

Unusually for a compact urban district, Oxford has four civil parishes with parish councils - these are Blackbird Leys, Littlemore, Old Marston and Risinghurst and Sandhills.

See also

  • Bishop of Oxford
  • Earl of Oxford
  • Oxfam
  • Oxford Union
  • Oxford United F.C.
  • University of Oxford (including links to the individual colleges)
  • Radiohead


  • Category:Visitor attractions in Oxfordshire

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Oxford
  • Oxford City Council official website
  • Oxford City Council official tourism website
  • Oxford City Guide — Comprehensive Guide
  • Oxford web site
  • Virtual Tour of Oxford
  • Oxford University
  • Oxford Information
  • The Aliens' Guide to Oxford
  • Mushroom Guide to Oxford
  • The Oxford Guide: an Open Guide to Oxford
  • OxOx:community-driven events and reviews site
  • The Oxford shark
  • Oxford weather
  • Live Webcam in Oxford City
  • General Detailed Map of Central Oxford
  • Oxford Brookes University


Districts of South East England

Adur | Arun | Ashford | Aylesbury Vale | Basingstoke and Deane | Bracknell Forest | Brighton & Hove | Canterbury | Cherwell | Chichester | Chiltern | Crawley | Dartford | Dover | Eastbourne | East Hampshire | Eastleigh | Elmbridge | Epsom and Ewell | Fareham | Gosport | Gravesham | Guildford | Hart | Hastings | Havant | Horsham | Isle of Wight | Lewes | Maidstone | Medway | Mid Sussex | Milton Keynes | Mole Valley | New Forest | Oxford | Portsmouth | Reading | Reigate and Banstead | Rother | Runnymede | Rushmoor | Sevenoaks | Shepway | Slough | Southampton | South Bucks | South Oxfordshire | Spelthorne | Surrey Heath | Swale | Tandridge | Test Valley | Thanet | Tonbridge and Malling | Tunbridge Wells | Vale of White Horse | Waverley | Wealden | West Berkshire | West Oxfordshire | Winchester | Windsor and Maidenhead | Woking | Wokingham | Worthing | Wycombe

Counties with multiple districts: Berkshire - Buckinghamshire - East Sussex - Hampshire - Kent - Oxfordshire - Surrey - West Sussex


  Places with City status in England
Bath | Birmingham | Bradford | Brighton & Hove | Bristol | Canterbury | Cambridge | Carlisle | Chester | Chichester | Coventry | Derby | Durham | Ely | Exeter | Gloucester | Hereford | Kingston upon Hull | Lancaster | Leeds | Leicester | Lichfield | Lincoln | Liverpool | London (City of London and Westminster) | Manchester | Newcastle upon Tyne | Norwich | Nottingham | Oxford | Peterborough | Plymouth | Portsmouth | Preston | Ripon | Salford | Salisbury | Sheffield | Southampton | St Albans | Stoke-on-Trent | Sunderland | Truro | Wakefield | Wells | Winchester | Wolverhampton | Worcester | York

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