Oxfordshire

The name of the pictureThe name of the pictureThe name of the pictureClash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP






















































Oxfordshire

County



Flag of Oxfordshire.svg
Flag

Motto: Sapere Aude
('Dare to be Wise')[1]

Map of Oxfordshire.
Oxfordshire in England
Sovereign state
United Kingdom
Country
England
Region
South East England
Ceremonial county
Area
2,605 km2 (1,006 sq mi)
 • Ranked
22nd of 48
Population (mid-2017 est.)
682,400
 • Ranked
35th of 48
Density
261/km2 (680/sq mi)
Ethnicity
95.1% White - 1.7% S. Asian

Non-metropolitan county
County council
Oxfordshire county council logo.jpg Oxfordshire County Council [2]
Executive
Conservative
Admin HQ
Oxford
Area
2,605 km2 (1,006 sq mi)
 • Ranked
19th of 27
Population
682,400
 • Ranked
17th of 27
Density
261/km2 (680/sq mi)
ISO 3166-2
GB-OXF
ONS code
38
NUTS
UKJ14



Oxfordshire numbered districts.svg
Unitary County council area
Districts of Oxfordshire
Districts
  1. City of Oxford

  2. Cherwell

  3. South Oxfordshire

  4. Vale of White Horse

  5. West Oxfordshire


Members of Parliament

  • Victoria Prentis (C)


  • Robert Courts (C)


  • Layla Moran (LD)


  • John Howell (C)


  • Anneliese Dodds (L)


  • Ed Vaizey (C)

Time zone
Greenwich Mean Time (UTC)
 • Summer (DST)
British Summer Time (UTC+1)

Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from Oxonium, the Latin name for Oxford) is a county in South East England. The ceremonial county borders Warwickshire to the north-west, Northamptonshire to the north-east, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, Wiltshire to the south-west and Gloucestershire to the west.


The county has major education and tourist industries and is noted for the concentration of performance motorsport companies and facilities. Oxford University Press is the largest firm among a concentration of print and publishing firms; the University of Oxford is also linked to the concentration of local biotechnology companies.


As well as the city of Oxford, other centres of population are Banbury, Bicester, Kidlington and Chipping Norton to the north of Oxford; Carterton and Witney to the west; Thame and Chinnor to the east; and Abingdon, Wantage, Didcot, Wallingford and Henley-on-Thames to the south. The areas south of the Thames, the Vale of White Horse and parts of South Oxfordshire, are in the historic county of Berkshire, as is the highest point, the 261 metres (856 ft) White Horse Hill.[3]


Oxfordshire's county flower is the snake's-head fritillary.[4]




Contents





  • 1 History


  • 2 Geography

    • 2.1 Extreme points


    • 2.2 Rivers


    • 2.3 Green belt



  • 3 Economy


  • 4 Politics


  • 5 Education


  • 6 Buildings


  • 7 Settlements in Oxfordshire


  • 8 Emergency services


  • 9 Settlements by population


  • 10 Places of interest


  • 11 See also


  • 12 References and notes


  • 13 Further reading


  • 14 External links




History



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, though 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 has declined rapidly in the 20th century though; currently under one percent of the county's population are involved due to high mechanisation. Nonetheless, Oxfordshire remains a very agricultural county by land use, with a lower population than neighbouring Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, which are both smaller.


Throughout most of its history the county was divided into fourteen 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 they 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.



Geography


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 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



  • Northernmost point: 52°10′6.58″N 1°19′54.92″W / 52.1684944°N 1.3319222°W / 52.1684944; -1.3319222, near Claydon Hay Farm, Claydon


  • Southernmost point: 51°27′34.74″N 0°56′48.3″W / 51.4596500°N 0.946750°W / 51.4596500; -0.946750, near Thames and Kennet Marina, Playhatch


  • Westernmost point: 51°46′59.73″N 1°43′9.68″W / 51.7832583°N 1.7193556°W / 51.7832583; -1.7193556, near Downs Farm, Westwell


  • Easternmost point: 51°30′14.22″N 0°52′13.99″W / 51.5039500°N 0.8705528°W / 51.5039500; -0.8705528, River Thames, near Lower Shiplake


Rivers


The central part of Oxfordshire contains the River Thames with its flat floodplains; the river forms the historic county boundary with Berkshire. The Thames Path National Trail parallels the river as it crosses Oxfordshire, continuing towards London. There are many smaller rivers that feed into the Thames such as the Thame, Windrush, Evenlode and Cherwell. Some of these rivers have trails running along their valleys. The Oxford Canal follows the Cherwell from Banbury to Kidlington.



Green belt



Oxfordshire contains a green belt area that fully envelops the city of Oxford, and extends for some miles to afford a protection to 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 the county's districts contain some portion of the belt.



Economy


This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Oxfordshire at current basic prices published by the Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British pounds sterling.[5]






















YearRegional gross value added[6]Agriculture[7]Industry[8]Services[9]
19957,6071202,0845,404
200010,594802,6617,853
200312,942932,66510,184


Politics


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%.



Education






Brasenose Lane in Oxford city centre, a street onto which three colleges back.




The University of Oxford's Chemistry Research Laboratory.


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.


The county has two universities: the ancient University of Oxford 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.



Buildings


The "dreaming spires" of the buildings of the University of Oxford are among the reasons for Oxford being the sixth most visited city in the United Kingdom for international visitors.[10] 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 built by the great 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. In the palace, which can also be visited by the public, Sir Winston Churchill was born in 1874.


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 far south-east of the county, close to Reading.



Settlements in Oxfordshire





Wantage Market Place



  • Abingdon (in Berkshire until 1974)

  • Banbury

  • Bicester

  • Burford

  • Carterton

  • Charlbury

  • Chinnor

  • Chipping Norton


  • Didcot (in Berkshire until 1974)


  • Faringdon (in Berkshire until 1974)

  • Henley-on-Thames

  • Islip

  • Kidlington

  • Oxford

  • Thame


  • Wallingford (in Berkshire until 1974)


  • Wantage (in Berkshire until 1974)

  • Watlington

  • Witney

  • Woodstock


Emergency services


  • Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service

  • Thames Valley Police

  • British Transport Police

  • South Central Ambulance Service

  • Thames Valley Air Ambulance


Settlements by population






























































































































































Rank
Town
Population
Year
Definition
Notes
1

Oxford
150,200
2011
Oxford non-metropolitan district

2

Banbury
46,853
2011

Civil parish

3

Abingdon
33,130
2011
Civil parish

4

Bicester
32,642
2011
Civil parish

5

Witney
27,522
2011
Civil parish

6

Didcot
25,140
2011
Civil parish
200 dwellings in the south-east of the town lie in neighbouring East Hagbourne parish.
7

Carterton
15,769
2011
Civil parish

8

Kidlington
13,723
2011
Civil parish
Does not include Gosford.
9

Henley-on-Thames
11,619
2011
Civil parish

10

Thame
11,561
2011
Civil parish
Includes hamlet of Moreton
11

Wantage
11,327
2011
Civil parish

12

Wallingford
7,918
2011
Civil parish

13

Grove
7,178
2011
Civil parish

14

Faringdon
7,121
2011

Great Faringdon civil parish

15

Chipping Norton
6,337
2011
Civil parish

16

Chinnor
5,924
2011
Civil parish

17

Benson
4,754
2011
Civil parish

18

Eynsham
4,648
2011
Civil parish

19

Wheatley
4,092
2011
Civil parish

20

Kennington
4,076
2011
Civil parish

21

Woodstock
3,100
2011
Civil parish

22

Charlbury
2,830
2011
Civil parish

23

Watlington
2,727
2011
Civil parish

24

Bampton
2,564
2011
Civil parish

25

Deddington
2,146
2011
Civil parish


Places of interest































Key
AP Icon.svg
Abbey/Priory/Cathedral
Accessible open spaceAccessible open space
Themepark uk icon.png
Amusement/Theme Park
CL icon.svg
Castle
Country Park
Country Park
EH icon.svg
English Heritage

Forestry Commission
Heritage railway
Heritage railway
Historic house
Historic House

Museum (free)
Museum

Museum (free/not free)
National Trust
National Trust
Drama-icon.svg
Theatre
Zoo icon.jpg
Zoo


  • Museum (free) Abingdon County Hall Museum[11] – housed in a 17th-century county hall building


  • National Trust Ashdown House – 17th-century country house in the Lambourn Downs


  • Museum (free) Ashmolean Museum – Oxford University's museum of art and archaeology


  • Museum (free) Banbury Museum, Banbury

  • Bicester Village


  • Historic house Blenheim Palace and garden – UNESCO World Heritage Site


  • Historic house Broughton Castle – 14th-century fortified manor house


  • National Trust Buscot Park, Buscot – 18th-century country house and landscape garden


  • Museum (free) Champs Chapel Museum of East Hendred – village museum in a 15th-century Carthusian chapel


  • Museum (free) Charlbury Museum


  • National Trust Chastleton House – 17th-century country house (limited access)


  • Accessible open space Chiltern Hills – Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty


  • Heritage railway Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway – operated with steam and diesel locomotives


  • Museum (not free) Chipping Norton Museum[12]


  • Heritage railway Cholsey and Wallingford Railway


  • Museum (not free) Cogges Manor Farm Museum, Witney – a living museum of country life


  • Museum (not free) Combe Mill Museum,[13]Long Hanborough – working museum of stationary steam engines


  • Zoo icon.jpg Cotswold Wildlife Park and garden, Bradwell Grove, Holwell


  • Accessible open space Cotswolds – Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty


  • Heritage railway Didcot Railway Centre – museum of the Great Western Railway


  • AP Icon.svg Dorchester Abbey, Dorchester-on-Thames – 12th-century church of former Augustinian abbey


  • National Trust Great Coxwell Barn – 14th-century tithe barn


  • National Trust Greys Court, Rotherfield Greys – 16th-century country house


  • Historic house Hampton Gay Manor – ruins of 16th-century manor house (no website)


  • Harcourt Arboretum, Nuneham Courtenay


  • Historic house Heythrop Hall – 17th-century country house: now a hotel, golf & country club


  • Hook Norton Brewery – working Victorian "tower" brewery that offers guided tours


  • Historic house Kelmscott Manor – Home of William Morris


  • Historic house Mapledurham Estate – 16th-century country house and 15th-century watermill


  • Historic house Milton Manor House – 18th-century country house[14]


  • English Heritage Minster Lovell Hall – dovecote and ruins of 15th-century manor house


  • Museum (not free) Museum of Bygones, Claydon – private museum including stationary steam engines


  • Accessible open space North Wessex Downs – Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty


  • AP Icon.svgCastleMuseum (free)Museum (not free) Oxford


  • Museum (not free) Oxford Bus Museum and Morris Motors Museum, Long Hanborough


  • Accessible open space Oxford Canal – 18th-century "narrow" canal


  • Museum (free) The Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock


  • Accessible open space The Ridgeway


  • Museum (not free) River and Rowing Museum, Henley-on-Thames


  • Accessible open space River Thames


  • Rollright Stones – megalithic stone circle and Whispering Knights burial chamber, near Little Rollright


  • Historic house 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[15]


  • Country Park Shotover Country Park, Headington


  • Country Park Spiceball Country Park, Banbury


  • Historic house Stanton Harcourt manor house (limited access), with garden and 15th-century chapel and Pope's Tower (no website)


  • Historic house Stonor House – country house and 14th-century chapel of the recusant Stonor family


  • Museum (free) Swalcliffe Tithe Barn – 15th-century


  • Museum (free) Thame Museum


  • Museum (free) Tolsey Museum, Burford (no website)


  • Accessible open space Uffington White Horse, Uffington Castle and Wayland's Smithy burial chamber in the White Horse Hills


  • Museum (free) Vale and Downland Museum, Wantage


  • Museum (not free) Wallingford Museum


  • Museum (free) Wheatley Windmill – 18th-century tower mill[16]



See also



  • Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire

  • High Sheriff of Oxfordshire


  • Oxfordshire Artweeks, an annual art festival each May


  • Oxford University (including links to the individual colleges)

  • Oxford Canal


References and notes




  1. ^ "Camelot International, Britain's heritage and history". Camelotintl.com. Retrieved 9 November 2011. 


  2. ^ Homepage


  3. ^ Edwardes, Simon (2001). "County and Unitary Authority Tops". The Mountains of England and Wales. Retrieved 14 December 2015. 


  4. ^ "Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris)". Plantlife. Retrieved 17 August 2012. 


  5. ^ "unknown" (PDF). pp. 240–253. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2011. 


  6. ^ Components may not sum to totals due to rounding


  7. ^ includes hunting and forestry


  8. ^ includes energy and construction


  9. ^ includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured


  10. ^ "Economic Statistics". Oxford City Council. Retrieved 8 August 2016. 


  11. ^ Christopher Gale (7 July 2012). "Abingdon County Hall Museum". Abingdonmuseum.org.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2016. 


  12. ^ "Home page". Chipping Norton History Society and Museum. Retrieved 27 June 2017. 


  13. ^ "Home". Combemill.org. Retrieved 23 August 2014. 


  14. ^ "Oxfordshire". Milton Manor House. Retrieved 23 August 2014. 


  15. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Sherwood, Jennifer (1974). The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300096392. 


  16. ^ Glitz. "Wheatley Windmill Website". Wheatleymill.co.uk. Retrieved 23 August 2014. 




Further reading



  • Powell, Philip (2005). The Geology of Oxfordshire. Dovecote Press. ISBN 1-904349-19-6. 


External links








  • Oxfordshire County Council


  • Thisisoxfordshire Oxfordshire news, sport & information

  • The Oxfordshire Association

  • Flags of Oxfordshire

  • Visit South Oxfordshire

  • Banbury & District National Trust Association


  • Images of Oxfordshire at the English Heritage Archive


  • Oxfordshire at Curlie (based on DMOZ)




Coordinates: 51°45′N 1°17′W / 51.75°N 1.28°W / 51.75; -1.28




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Executable numpy error

PySpark count values by condition

Mass disable jenkins jobs