Everything about Oxford totally explained
Oxford () is a
city, and the
county town of
Oxfordshire, in
South East England. It has a population of 134,248 (2001 census). The
River Thames runs through Oxford, where for a distance of some it's known as the
Isis.
Oxford is home to the
University of Oxford, the oldest university in the
English-speaking world, having been started in 1249.
Buildings in Oxford reflect every
English architectural period since the arrival of the
Saxons, including the mid-18th century
Radcliffe Camera, the hub of the city. Oxford is known as the "city of dreaming spires", a term coined by poet
Matthew Arnold in reference to the harmonious architecture of Oxford's university buildings.
History
Oxford was first occupied in
Saxon times, and was initially known as "Oxenaforda", meaning "
Ford of the
Ox"; fords being very important before the days of bridges . It began with the foundation 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 prestige of Oxford is seen in the fact that it received a charter from King
Henry II, granting its citizens the same privileges and exemptions as those enjoyed by the capital of the kingdom; and various important religious houses were founded in or near the city. A grandson of King John established Rewley Abbey for the
Cistercian Order; and friars of various orders (
Dominicans,
Franciscans,
Carmelites,
Augustinians, and
Trinitarians), all had houses at Oxford of varying importance. Parliaments were often held in the city during the thirteenth century. The
Provisions of Oxford were installed by a group of barons led by
Simon de Montfort; these documents are often regarded as England's first written constitution.
The
University of Oxford is first mentioned in 12th century records. Oxford's earliest
colleges were
University College (1249),
Balliol (1263) and
Merton (1264). These colleges were established at a time when Europeans were starting to translate the writings of Greek philosophers. These writings challenged European ideology – inspiring scientific discoveries and advancements in the arts – as society began seeing itself in a new way. These colleges at Oxford were supported by the Church in hopes to reconcile
Greek Philosophy and
Christian Theology. The relationship between "
town and gown" has often been uneasy — as many as 93 students and townspeople were killed in the
St Scholastica Day Riot of 1355.
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
Oxford Martyrs were tried for heresy in 1555 and subsequently burnt at the stake, on what is now Broad Street, for their religious beliefs and teachings.
The three martyrs were the bishops
Hugh Latimer and
Nicholas Ridley, and the Archbishop
Thomas Cranmer.
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 the
Siege of Oxford of 1646. It later housed the court of
Charles II during the
Great Plague of London in 1665-66. Although reluctant to do so, he was forced to evacuate when the plague got too close.
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.
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.
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's 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 on a smaller site. A large area of the original car manufacturing facility at Cowley was demolished in the 1990s and is now the site of a major
business park
.
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 and
Cowley Road areas with their many bars, cafes, restaurants, clubs, ethnic shops and fast food outlets.
Oxford is one of the most diverse small cities in Britain with more than 19.3% of the population born outside of the UK and 23.2% from an ethnic minority group, including 12.9% from a non-white ethnic minority ethnic group (2001 Census)
On
6 May 1954,
Roger Bannister, as a 25 year old medical student, ran the first authenticated
four-minute mile at the
Iffley Road running track in Oxford.
Oxford's second university,
Oxford Brookes University, formerly the Oxford School of Art, based on Headington Hill, was given its charter in 1991 and has been voted for the last five years the best new university in the UK.
Governance
Many important and famous politicians and people in the political public eye were resident in Oxford, often due to their membership of the University. Most notably of recent times, this list includes
Osama bin Laden ||}} and
Benazir Bhutto.
Oxford City Council
Despite stereotypes of Oxford being a conservative city, there are no elected
Conservatives on the city council, although two
Liberal Democrat councillors briefly sat as Conservatives during 2007-8. Since the
2004 local elections, the council has been in minority administration, first by councillors from the
Labour Party, with the
Liberal Democrats being the official opposition. In 2006 these roles were reversed, although two years later, the unpopularity of the Liberal Democrat administration led to the election once again of a minority Labour administration
(External Link). With seven city councillors and five county councillors, Oxford has one of the highest
Green Party representation for a UK city. The
Independent Working Class Association has two councillors, although their support is confined to a ward in the
Blackbird Leys housing estate in the south east of the city. See
Oxford Council election 2004 for further information.
Since 2002, elections have been held for Oxford City Council in even years, with each councillor serving a term of four years. Each
electoral ward within Oxford is represented by two councillors, thus all wards elect one councillor at each election. Prior to 2002, the City Council was elected by thirds.
Partisan Composition
Partisan control
- 1974 – 1976: Labour
- 1976 – 1980: Conservative
- 1980 – 2000: Labour
- 2000 – 2002: No overall control
- 2002 – 2004: Labour
- 2004 – Present: No overall control
Parliamentary representation
The two MPs are
Andrew Smith from the
Oxford East constituency, erstwhile Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in the Labour government; and
Dr Evan Harris from the
Oxford West and Abingdon constituency, Liberal Democrat science spokesman. At the
2005 general election, Oxford East became a
marginal seat with a Labour majority over the Liberal Democrats of just 963. Oxford West and Abingdon is a
safe seat for the Liberal Democrats with Dr Harris enjoying a majority of just under 8,000.
Parishes
Oxford has four
civil parishes with parish councils – these are
Blackbird Leys,
Littlemore,
Old Marston and
Risinghurst and Sandhills. Note: Littlemore, Marston and Risinghurst and Sandhills have only recently been brought within the city boundary.
Geography
Oxford's latitude and longitude are (at
Carfax Tower, which is usually considered the centre).
Wards, neighbourhoods, and suburbs
Abingdon
Barton
Binsey
Blackbird Leys
Botley
Cowley
East Oxford
Cutteslowe
Donnington
Grandpont
Headington
Iffley
Littlemore
Jericho
Marston
North Oxford
Northway
Osney
Rose Hill
Risinghurst
Sandhills
St Ebbes
Summertown
Temple Cowley
Wolvercote
Wood Farm
Climate
Oxford has a Maritime Temperate climate ("Cfb" by Köppen classification). Precipitation is uniformally distributed throughout the year and is provided mostly by weather systems that arrive from the Atlantic. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Oxford was -16.6°C (2°F) in January 1982. The highest temperature ever recorded in Oxford is 35.6°C (96°F) in August 2003 during the 2003 European heat wave.
Due to Climate change, temperatures are increasing in Oxford, precipitation is decreasing in summer and increasing in winter.
The average conditions below are from the Radcliffe Meteorological Station. It boasts the longest series of temperature and rainfall records for one site in Britain. These records are continuous from January, 1815. Irregular observations of rainfall, cloud and temperature exist from 1767.
Outside the City Centre:
Iffley Road, Oxford
Cowley Road, Oxford
Templars Square Shopping Centre, Cowley, Oxford
St. Clements, Oxford
London Road, Headington, Oxford
Banbury Road, Summertown, Oxford
Walton Street, Jericho, Oxford
Botley Road, Oxford
North Parade, Oxford
Cowley Retail Park, Cowley, Oxford
Theatres and cinemas
Oxford Playhouse, Beaumont Street
New Theatre, George Street
Burton Taylor Theatre, Worcester Street
Old Fire Station Theatre, George Street
Pegasus Theatre, Magdalen Road
Ultimate Picture Palace, Cowley Road
Phoenix Picturehouse, Walton Street
Odeon Cinema, George Street
Odeon Cinema, Magdalen Street
Vue Cinema, Grenoble Road
Landmarks
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 the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, both of which offer views over the spires of the city. Many tourists shop at the historic Covered Market. In the summer, punting on the Thames/Isis and the Cherwell is popular.
Transport
Buses
Oxford has 5 park and ride sites that service the city centre;
Pear Tree (Link to city centre with bus 300)
Water Eaton (Link to city centre with bus 500)
Thornhill (Link to city centre with bus 400)
Redbridge (Link to city centre with bus 400)
Seacourt (Link to city centre with bus 300)
A service also runs to The John Radcliffe Hospital (from Thornhill/Water Eaton) as well as the Churchill and Nuffield Hospitals (from Thornhill).
Standard bus services are provided by the Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach Oxfordshire. Both companies also operate regular services to London.
Rail
Oxford railway station is placed out of the city centre. The station is served by numerous routes, including CrossCountry services as far afield as Manchester and Edinburgh, First Great Western (who operate the station) services to London and other destinations and occasional Chiltern Railways services to Birmingham. The present station opened in 1852.
Roads
A Roads
The city has a ring road that consists of the A34, the A40 and the A4142. It is mostly dual carriageway and was completed in 1966.
The main roads that lead out of Oxford are:
A40- which leads to London and High Wycombe (as well as the M40 motorway south) to the east, and Cheltenham, Gloucester and South Wales to the west.
A34- which leads to Bicester, the M40 north, Birmingham and Manchester to the north, and Didcot, Newbury and Winchester to the south. The A34 is entirely grade separated dual carriageway all the way from Bicester to Winchester.
A44- which begins in Oxford and leads to Worcester, Hereford and Aberystwyth.
A420- which also begins in Oxford and leads to Bristol passing Swindon and Chippenham.
Motorways
The city is served by the M40 motorway, which connects London to Birmingham. The original M40 opened in 1974 went from London to Waterstock where the A40 contined to Oxford. However, when the M40 was extended to Birmingham in 1991, a mile of the old motorway became a spur and the new section bended away sharply north. Now the M40 does a large arc around Oxford (staying around 10 miles away from the centre) due to the woodland that the motorway had to avoid. The M40 meets the A34 a junction later, the latter now being in two parts, the A34 restarting in Birmingham.
Education
There are two universities in Oxford; the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University.
Oxford is home to wide range of schools many of which receive pupils from around the world. Three are University choral foundations, established to educate the boy choristers of the chapel choirs, and have kept the tradition of single sex education. Examination results in state-run Oxford schools are consistently below the national average and regional average however results in the city are improving with 44% of pupils gaining 5 grades A*-C in 2006.
Media
As well as the BBC national radio stations, Oxford and the surrounding area has several local stations, including BBC Radio Oxford, Fox FM, Oxford's FM 107.9, and new station JACK fm on 106.8 along with Oxide: Oxford Student Radio (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. The city is home to a BBC TV newsroom which produces an opt-out from the main South Today programme broadcast from Southampton.
Popular local papers include The Oxford Times (compact; weekly), its sister papers The Oxford Mail (tabloid; daily) and The Oxford Star (tabloid; free and delivered), and Oxford Journal (tabloid; weekly free pick-up). Oxford is also home to several advertising agencies.
Daily Information (known locally as Daily Info) is an events and advertising news sheet which has been published since 1964 and now provides a connected website.
Recently (2003) DIY grassroots non-corporate media has begun to spread. Independent and community newspapers include the Jericho Echo and Oxford Prospect.
Culture
Literature and film
Well-known Oxford-based authors include:
Oscar Wilde a nineteenth century poet and author who attended Oxford from 1874 to 1878.
Susan Cooper who is best known for her The Dark Is Rising Sequence
Lewis Carroll (real name Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), Student and Mathematical Lecturer of Christ Church.
Colin Dexter who wrote and set his Inspector Morse detective novels in Oxford. Colin Dexter still lives in Oxford.
John Donaldson (d.1989), a poet resident in Oxford in later life.
Siobhan Dowd Oxford resident; who was an undergraduate at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.
Kenneth Graham educated at St. Edward's School, Oxford
Michael Innes (J. I. M. Stewart), of Christ Church.
P. D. James who lives part-time in Oxford.
T. E. Lawrence, "Lawrence of Arabia", Oxford resident, undergraduate at Jesus, postgraduate at Magdalen.
C. S. Lewis, Fellow of Magdalen.
Ian McEwan, formerly an Oxford resident for many years.
Iris Murdoch, Fellow of St Anne's.
Mike Philbin, wrote his infamous Hertzan Chimera novels/stories in Oxford.
Iain Pears, undergraduate at Wadham College and Oxford resident, whose novel An Instance of the Fingerpost is set in the city.
Philip Pullman who was an undergraduate at Exeter.
Dorothy L. Sayers who was an undergraduate at Somerville.
J. R. R. Tolkien, undergraduate at Exeter and later professor of English at Merton.
Oxford appears in the following works:
Jude the Obscure (1895) by Thomas Hardy (in which Oxford is thinly disguised as "Christminster").
Zuleika Dobson (1911) by Max Beerbohm.
Gaudy Night (1935) by Dorothy L. Sayers.
Brideshead Revisited (1945) by Evelyn Waugh.
A Question of Upbringing (1951 ) by Anthony Powell
Second Generation (1964 novel) by Raymond Williams
The Children of Men (1992) by P. D. James.
His Dark Materials (1995 onwards) by Philip Pullman
Endymion Spring (2006) by Matthew Skelton
Sport
Oxford is considered to be an important centre of the sport of swimming in England. The Amateur Swimming Association was founded in 1869 in England, but it was much later, in 1909, that Oxford Swimming Club came into existence. In 1939, Oxford had its first major public indoor pool at Temple Cowley in the whole of England. After the pool was installed, swimming began to take off and soon Oxford Swimming Club became Oxford City Swimming Club, and Temple Cowley Pool was its home.
Speedway racing has been staged on and off in Oxford since 1939 at Cowley Stadium. Most recently, it held Elite League Speedway and Conference League Speedway until 2007, when landlords Greyhound Racing Association apparently doubled the rent. Speedway, for the time being, isn't running in Oxford. Details of the 1949 and 1950 seasons at Cowley can be viewed on Oxford Speedway website.
Oxford is also home to Oxford United FC, who are currently in the Blue Square Premier, the highest tier of non-league football, but have seen great success in the past, mainly in winning the League Cup in the 80's and being one of the highest teams in the football league.
Twinning
Oxford's twin cities are:
Bonn, Germany
Grenoble, France
León, Nicaragua
Leiden, Netherlands
Perm, Russia
Umeå, Sweden
All of these are university towns, except for
Oxford, Michigan, United StatesFurther Information
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