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Oxford () is a city
City status in the United Kingdom

City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarchy to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city"....
, and the county town
County town

A county town is the 'capital' of a county in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county....
 of Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East England region, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire....
, in South East England
South East England

South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. Its boundaries include Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex....
. It has a population of 151,000. The rivers Cherwell
River Cherwell

The River Cherwell is a river which flows through the English Midlands of England. It is a major tributary of the River Thames.The general course of the River Cherwell is north to south and the 'straight-line' distance from its source to the Thames is about 40 miles....
 and Thames
River Thames

The Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading, Berkshire and Windsor, Berkshire....
 run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre. For a distance of some along the river, in the vicinity of Oxford, the Thames is known as The Isis
The Isis

The Isis is the name given to the part of the River Thames above Iffley Lock which flows through the city of Oxford. The name is especially used in the context of Rowing at the University of Oxford....
.

Oxford is home to the University of Oxford
University of Oxford

The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....
, the oldest university in the English-speaking world
Anglosphere

The word Anglosphere describes a concept of a group of anglophone nations which share historical, political, and cultural characteristics rooted in or attributed to the historical experience of the United Kingdom....
.

Buildings in Oxford reflect every English architectural
Architecture of the United Kingdom

The architecture of the United Kingdom has a long and diverse history from beyond Stonehenge to the designs of Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank and the present day....
 period since the arrival of the Saxons
History of Anglo-Saxon England

The history of Anglo-Saxon England covers the history of early medieval England from the end of Roman Britain and the establishment of Anglo-Saxons kingdoms in the fifth century until the Norman Conquest of England in 1066....
, including the iconic, mid-18th century Radcliffe Camera
Radcliffe Camera

The Radcliffe Camera is a building in Oxford, England, designed by James Gibbs in the Palladian architecture#English Palladian revival and built in 1737?1749 to house the Radcliffe Science Library....
, the hub of the city.






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Oxford () is a city
City status in the United Kingdom

City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarchy to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city"....
, and the county town
County town

A county town is the 'capital' of a county in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county....
 of Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East England region, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire....
, in South East England
South East England

South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. Its boundaries include Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex....
. It has a population of 151,000. The rivers Cherwell
River Cherwell

The River Cherwell is a river which flows through the English Midlands of England. It is a major tributary of the River Thames.The general course of the River Cherwell is north to south and the 'straight-line' distance from its source to the Thames is about 40 miles....
 and Thames
River Thames

The Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading, Berkshire and Windsor, Berkshire....
 run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre. For a distance of some along the river, in the vicinity of Oxford, the Thames is known as The Isis
The Isis

The Isis is the name given to the part of the River Thames above Iffley Lock which flows through the city of Oxford. The name is especially used in the context of Rowing at the University of Oxford....
.

Oxford is home to the University of Oxford
University of Oxford

The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....
, the oldest university in the English-speaking world
Anglosphere

The word Anglosphere describes a concept of a group of anglophone nations which share historical, political, and cultural characteristics rooted in or attributed to the historical experience of the United Kingdom....
.

Buildings in Oxford reflect every English architectural
Architecture of the United Kingdom

The architecture of the United Kingdom has a long and diverse history from beyond Stonehenge to the designs of Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank and the present day....
 period since the arrival of the Saxons
History of Anglo-Saxon England

The history of Anglo-Saxon England covers the history of early medieval England from the end of Roman Britain and the establishment of Anglo-Saxons kingdoms in the fifth century until the Norman Conquest of England in 1066....
, including the iconic, mid-18th century Radcliffe Camera
Radcliffe Camera

The Radcliffe Camera is a building in Oxford, England, designed by James Gibbs in the Palladian architecture#English Palladian revival and built in 1737?1749 to house the Radcliffe Science Library....
, the hub of the city. Oxford is known as the "city of dreaming spires", a term coined by poet Matthew Arnold
Matthew Arnold

Matthew Arnold was an England poet, and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the famed headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold , literary professor, and William Delafield Arnold, novelist and colonial administrator....
 in reference to the harmonious architecture of Oxford's university buildings. Nowadays, the city is often wrly referred to as the "city of perspiring dreams".

History

Oxford was first occupied in Saxon
Anglo-Saxons

Anglo-Saxons is the term usually used to describe the invading tribes in the south and east of Great Britain starting from the early 5th century AD, and their creation of the English nation, lasting until the Norman conquest of England of 1066....
 times, and was initially known as "Oxenaforda", meaning "Ford
Ford (crossing)

A ford is a place in a watercourse that is shallow enough to be crossed by wading, on horseback, or in a wheeled vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low....
 of the Ox
Ox

Oxen are bovinae trained as draught animals. Often they are adult, castration males. Oxen are used for ploughing, transport, hauling cargo, threshing grain by trampling, powering machines for grinding grain, irrigation or other purposes, and drawing carts and wagons....
"; fords being very important before the days of bridges. It began with the foundation of St Frideswide's nunnery
Priory of St Frideswide, Oxford

The priory of St Frideswide, Oxford was established as a priory of Augustinian regular canons, in 1122. It was set up by Gwymund, chaplain to Henry I of England....
 in the 8th century, and was first mentioned in written records in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English language chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The annals were created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great....
 for the year 912. In the 10th century Oxford became an important military frontier town between the kingdoms of Mercia
Mercia

Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands....
 and Wessex
Wessex

West Saxon redirects here. For other meanings of Wessex or West Saxon see Wessex .Wessex , from the Old English Westseaxe , was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of the English state in the 9th century, under the Wessex dynasty....
 and was on several occasions raided by Danes. St Frideswide
Frideswide

Saint Frideswide was a celibacy English people princess and abbess who is credited with establishing Christ Church, Oxford in Oxford....
 is the patron saint of both the city and university.

In 1191, a city charter stated in Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
:

The prestige of Oxford is seen in the fact that it received a charter from King Henry II
Henry II of England

Henry II, called Curtmantle ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France....
, 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 (Dominican
Dominican Order

The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Roman Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic in the early 13th century in France....
s, Franciscan
Franciscan

The term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic religious orders that follow a body of regulations known as "The rule of St....
s, Carmelites, Augustinians, and Trinitarian
Trinitarian Order

The Order of the Holy Trinity is a Catholic religious order that was founded in the area of Cerfroid, some 80 km northeast of Paris, at the end of the twelfth century....
s), all had houses at Oxford of varying importance. Parliaments were often held in the city during the thirteenth century. The Provisions of Oxford
Provisions of Oxford

The Provisions of Oxford were installed in 1258 by a group of barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester; these documents are often regarded as England's first written constitution....
 were installed by a group of barons led by Simon de Montfort
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester

Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester , was the principal leader of the baronial opposition to King Henry III of England. After the rebellion of 1263-1264, de Montfort became de facto ruler of England and called the De Montfort's Parliament in medieval Europe....
; these documents are often regarded as England's first written constitution.

Radcliffe Camera, Oxford Oct 2006
The University of Oxford
University of Oxford

The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....
 is first mentioned in 12th century records. Oxford's earliest college
College

File:Government college for Women Dhoke Kala Khan.JPGCollege is a term most often used today to denote an education institution. More broadly, it can be the name of any group of collegialitys, for example, an electoral college, a College of Arms or the College of Cardinals....
s were University College
University College, Oxford

University College , is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England. It is a contender for being the oldest of the colleges of the university, and is amongst the largest in terms of population....
 (1249), Balliol
Balliol College, Oxford

Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England.Balliol is Oxford's most popular college, measured in terms of the number of applications for entry from prospective students....
 (1263) and Merton
Merton College, Oxford

Merton College is one of the Colleges of Oxford University of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III of England and later to Edward I of England, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to support it....
 (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
Greek philosophy

Greek philosophy focused on the role of reason and inquiry. Many philosophers today concede that Greek philosophy has shaped the entire Western thought since its inception....
 and Christian Theology
Christian theology

Christian theology is discourse concerning Christianity faith. Christian theologians use biblical exegesis, rationality analysis and argument to understanding, explanation, test, critic#critique, defend or promote Christianity....
. The relationship between "town and gown
Town and gown

Town and gown are two distinct communities of a college town; "town" being the non-academic population and "gown" Metonymy being the university community, especially in ancient seats of learning such as University of Oxford, University of Cambridge and University of St Andrews, though also in more modern university towns such as University of...
" has often been uneasy — as many as 93 students and townspeople were killed in the St Scholastica Day Riot of 1355.

The sweating sickness
Sweating sickness

Sweating sickness, also known as the "English sweate" , was a mysterious and highly virulent disease which struck England and later Europe in a series of epidemics, the first beginning in 1485 and the last in 1551, afterwards apparently vanishing....
 epidemic in 1517 was particularly devastating to Oxford and Cambridge
Cambridge

The city status in the United Kingdom of Cambridge is a College town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies about 50 miles north of London....
 where it killed half of the cities population, including many students and professors.

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
Diocese

In many rites of the Roman Catholic Church and in Anglicanism, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a bishop. It is also referred to as a bishopric or Episcopal Area or episcopal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by the bi...
 of Oxford.

The Oxford Martyrs
Oxford Martyrs

The Oxford Martyrs were tried for heresy in 1555 and subsequently burnt at the stake in Oxford, England, for their religious beliefs and teachings....
 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
Hugh Latimer

Hugh Latimer was the bishop of Worcester, and by his death he became a famous martyr among Protestants and the Church of England.Latimer was born into a family of farmers in Thurcaston, Leicestershire....
 and Nicholas Ridley
Nicholas Ridley (martyr)

Nicholas Ridley was an England clergyman. He came from a prominent family in Tynedale, Northumberland, and was born early in the sixteenth century....
, and the Archbishop Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer

Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII of England and Edward VI of England....
.

During the English Civil War
English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Roundhead and Cavalier. The First English Civil War and Second English Civil War civil wars pitted the supporters of Charles I of England against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the Third English Civil War saw fighting between supporters...
, Oxford housed the court of Charles I
Charles I of England

Charles I was List of English monarchs, List of monarchs of Scotland and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his capital punishment on 30 January 1649....
 in 1642, after the king was expelled from London, although there was strong support in the town for the Parliamentarian
Roundhead

"Roundheads" was the nickname given to the Puritan supporters of Parliament of England during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they were the supporters of Oliver Cromwell against Charles I of England ....
 cause. The town yielded to Parliamentarian forces under General Fairfax
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron

Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron was a general and parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War....
 in the Siege of Oxford
Siege of Oxford

The Siege of Oxford was a Parliament of England victory late in the First English Civil War. Whereas the title of the event may suggest a single siege, there were in fact three individual engagements....
 of 1646. It later housed the court of Charles II
Charles II of England

Charles II was the Monarchy of Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland.His father Charles I of England Regicide#The regicide of Charles I of England at Palace of Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War....
 during the Great Plague of London
Great Plague of London

The Great Plague was a massive outbreak of disease in England that killed an estimated 100,000 people, a third of London's population. The disease was historically identified as bubonic plague, an infection by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, transmitted through a flea vector ....
 in 1665-66. Although reluctant to do so, he was forced to evacuate when the plague got too close.

In 1790, the Oxford Canal
Oxford Canal

The Oxford Canal is a 78 mile long narrow canal in central England linking Oxford with Coventry via Banbury and Rugby, Warwickshire. It connects with the Thames at Oxford, to the Grand Union Canal at the villages of Braunston, Northamptonshire and Napton-on-the-Hill, and to the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury Junction in Bedworth just north o...
 connected the city with Coventry
Coventry

Coventry is a City status in the United Kingdom and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. With a population of 303,475 at the United Kingdom Census 2001 , Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom....
. The Duke's Cut was completed by the Duke of Marlborough
George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough

George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough Knight of the Garter Fellow of the Royal Society was a United Kingdom nobleman. Born the son of Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, he was known as Marquess of Blandford until succeeding his father in 1758....
 in 1789 to link the new canal with the River Thames
River Thames

The Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading, Berkshire and Windsor, Berkshire....
; and in 1796 the Oxford Canal company built their own link to the Thames, at Isis Lock. In the 1840s, the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was a History of rail transport in Great Britain that linked London with the south west and west of England and most of Wales....
 and London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway

The London and North Western Railway was a railway company of the United Kingdom which existed between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three railway companies - the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, and is effectively an ancestor of today's West Coast Main L...
 linked Oxford with London.

In the 19th century, the controversy surrounding the Oxford Movement
Oxford Movement

The Oxford Movement or Tractarianism was an affiliation of High Church Anglicans, most of whom were members of the University of Oxford, who sought to demonstrate that the Church of England was a direct descendant of the Church established by the Twelve apostles....
 in the Anglican Church drew attention to the city as a focus of theological thought.

4516 Oxford Map 1510x1384
Oxford's Town Hall
Oxford Town Hall

The Oxford Town Hall is located on St Aldate's, Oxford in the centre of Oxford, England. It is a meeting place for local government in the city and also houses the Museum of Oxford....
 was built by Henry T. Hare, the foundation stone was laid on 6 July 1893 and opened by the future King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom

Edward VII was Monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death on 6 May 1910....
 on 12 May 1897. The site has been the seat of local government
Local government

Local governments are administrative offices that are smaller than a state. The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal 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
William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield

William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield Order of the British Empire Order of the Companions of Honour was the founder of the Morris Motor Company and a philanthropist....
 established the Morris Motor Company
Morris Motor Company

The Morris Motor Company was a United Kingdom automobile manufacturing company. After the incorporation of the company into larger corporations, the Morris name remained in use as a marque until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin Motor Company marque....
 to mass produce cars in Cowley
Cowley, Oxford

Cowley in Oxford, England, is a residential and industrial area that forms a small conurbation within greater Oxford. It has a population of about 16,500 people....
, 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 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
BMW

, is an independent German automotive industry founded in 1916. It also produces BMW Motorrad, is the owner of the MINI brand and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars....
 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 the Oxford Business Park
Oxford Business Park

The Oxford Business Park is a business park of 88 acres at Cowley, Oxford on the eastern edge of Oxford, England. The park is immediately adjacent to the Oxford Ring Road....
.

The influx of migrant labour to the car plants and hospitals, recent immigration from south-east Asia, and a large student population, have given Oxford a notable cosmopolitan character, especially in the Headington
Headington

Headington is a suburb of Oxford, England. It lies on top of Headington Hill overlooking the Oxford in the River Thames valley below. The life of the large residential area congregates around London Road, the main thoroughfare from London to Oxford....
 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 the most recent population estimates for 2005. showing that 27% of the population were from an ethnic minority group, including 16.2% from a non-white ethnic minority ethnic group (ONS). These figures do not take into account more recent international migration into the city, with over 10,000 people from overseas registering for National Insurance Numbers in Oxford between 2005/06 and 2006/07.

On 6 May 1954, Roger Bannister
Roger Bannister

Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister, Order of the British Empire is an England former athlete best known as the first man in history to run the mile in Four-minute mile....
, as a 25 year old medical student, ran the first authenticated four-minute mile
Four-minute mile

In athletics , the four-minute mile is the running of a mile in less than four minutes. It was first achieved in 1954 by Roger Bannister. The 'four minute barrier' has since been broken by many male athletes, and is now the standard of all professional Middle distance track event runners....
 at the Iffley Road
Iffley Road

Iffley Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England. It leads from The Plain, Oxford, near Magdalen Bridge, south-east towards the village of Iffley....
 running track in Oxford. Although he had previously studied at Oxford University, Bannister was actually studying at St Mary's Hospital Medical School in London at the time.

Oxford's second university, Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University

Oxford Brookes University is a university in Oxford, England....
, 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.

Attractions


The University of Oxford

University College Oxford
The University of Oxford
University of Oxford

The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....
 is one of the most famous universities in the world. Leading academics come to Oxford from all over the world.

The City Centre

As well as being an extraordinary sight for tourists, Oxford City Centre is a very attractive location for the consumer to visit, as well as being a good location for socialising.

The city centre is relatively small, and is centred on Carfax, Oxford
Carfax, Oxford

Carfax is located at the conjunction of St Aldate's, Oxford , Cornmarket Street, Oxford , Queen Street, Oxford and the High Street, Oxford in Oxford, England....
, a cross-roads on which a clocktower stands, and which forms the junction of Cornmarket Street (pedestrianised), Queen Street (semi-pedestrianised), St Aldate's and The High. Cornmarket Street and Queen Street are home to Oxford's various chain stores, as well as a small number of independent retailers, one of the longest established of which is Boswells, which was founded in 1738.. St Aldate's has few shops but is the location of a number of local-government buildings, including the Town Hall, the city police station and local council offices. The High (the word street is not part of the name of this road) has a number of independent and high-end chain stores.

There are two small shopping centres in the city centre: The Clarendon Centre and The Westgate Centre. The Westgate Centre is named for the original West Gate in the city wall, and is located at the west end of Queen Street. It is quite small and contains a number of chain stores and a supermarket. The Westgate Shopping Centre is to undergo a massive but controversial refurbishment; its plans involve tripling the size of the centre to , building a brand new 1,335 space underground car park and 90 new shops and bars, including a John Lewis
John Lewis Partnership

The John Lewis Partnership is a major United Kingdom retailer which operates John Lewis department stores, Waitrose supermarkets and the direct services company Greenbee....
 department store. There will be a new and improved transport system, a complete refurbishment of the existing centre and the surrounding Bonn Square area. The development plans include a number of new homes, and completion is expected in 2011.

Blackwells Books


Blackwells Bookshop is a very popular tourist attraction in Oxford. Blackwells Books claims the largest single room devoted to book sales in the whole of Europe, the cavernous Norrington Room (10,000 sq ft).

Other attractions

  • Ashmolean Museum
    Ashmolean Museum

    The Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum. Its first building is sometimes attributed to Christopher Wren, though there is no good evidence for this claim, and was built in 1678?1683 to house the collection or cabinet of curiosities Elias Ashmole gave Oxford University in 1677....
  • Bodleian Library
    Bodleian Library

    The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest library in Europe, and in England is second in size only to the British Library....
  • Carfax Tower
  • Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
    Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford

    Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the diocese of Oxford, which includes the City of Oxford, England, and the surrounding countryside as far north as Banbury....
  • Modern Art Oxford
    Modern Art Oxford

    Modern Art Oxford is an art gallery established in 1965 in Oxford, England. From 1965 to 2002, it was known as The Museum of Modern Art, Oxford....
  • Museum of the History of Science
  • Oxford Botanic Garden
  • Pitt Rivers Museum
    Pitt Rivers Museum

    The Pitt Rivers Museum is a museum displaying the archaeology and anthropology collections of the University of Oxford. The museum is located to the east of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and can only be accessed through that building....
  • Sheldonian Theatre
    Sheldonian Theatre

    The Sheldonian Theatre, located in Oxford, England, was built from 1664 to 1668 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford....
  • St. Mary The Virgin Church


Politics and 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 Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher Order of the Garter, Order of Merit, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Fellow of the Royal Society was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990....
, Tony Blair
Tony Blair

Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007....
, Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto

Benazir Bhutto was a Pakistani politician who chaired the Pakistan Peoples Party , a centre-left List of political parties in Pakistan. Bhutto was the first woman elected to lead a Muslim world, having twice been Prime Minister of Pakistan ....
 and others.

Oxford City Council


Parliamentary representation

Hustings20050204 Copyrightkaihsutai
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
Evan Harris

Evan Leslie Harris MB ChB MP is an England Liberal Democrats politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Oxford West and Abingdon ....
 from the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency, Liberal Democrat science spokesman. At the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005

The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, with a reduced Majority government of 66....
, 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
Safe seat

A safe seat is a seat in a legislature which is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both....
 for the Liberal Democrats with Dr Harris enjoying a majority of just under 8,000.

Parishes

Oxford has four civil parish
Civil parish

In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a civil parish is usually the lowest unit of local government, below district and county councils....
es with parish councils – these are Blackbird Leys
Blackbird Leys

Blackbird Leys is a Ward located on the south-eastern outskirts of Oxford, England, and is one of the largest Council housing in Europe. According to the 2001 census, the ward had a population of 5,803....
, Littlemore
Littlemore

Littlemore is an Oxfordshire village with a parish council that also represents parts of Rose Hill, Oxfordshire. It is located approximately 2.5 miles south-east of the city centre of Oxford, England ? between Rose Hill, Blackbird Leys, Cowley, Oxford, and Sandford-on-Thames....
, Old Marston and Risinghurst and Sandhills
Risinghurst and Sandhills

Risinghurst and Sandhills is a civil parish in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. It consists of Risinghurst and Sandhills, Oxfordshire, two areas in the east of Oxford, east of the junction of the A40 road and the A4142 road....
. Littlemore, Marston and Risinghurst and Sandhills have only recently been brought within the city boundary.

Geography

Oxford's latitude and longitude are or OS Grid Reference SP513061 (at Carfax Tower, which is usually considered the centre).

Wards, neighbourhoods, and suburbs

Headingtonsharkfront
* Barton
Barton, Oxfordshire

Barton is a suburb of Oxford, England on the city's eastern periphery. Barton is located just outside the Oxford Ring Road to the north of the junction with the A40 road leading to the M40 motorway and London....
  • Binsey
    Binsey, Oxfordshire

    Binsey is a small village just to the west of Oxford, England, in modern times encompassed within the city's Oxford Ring Road. It is the other side of the River Thames from Port Meadow, Oxford, and a couple of miles south-west from the remains of Godstow priory....
  • Blackbird Leys
    Blackbird Leys

    Blackbird Leys is a Ward located on the south-eastern outskirts of Oxford, England, and is one of the largest Council housing in Europe. According to the 2001 census, the ward had a population of 5,803....
  • Cowley
    Cowley, Oxford

    Cowley in Oxford, England, is a residential and industrial area that forms a small conurbation within greater Oxford. It has a population of about 16,500 people....
  • Cowley Road
  • Cutteslowe
    Cutteslowe

    Cutteslowe is a suburb of north Oxford, England, between Sunnymead and the northern bypass , and a little beyond.Between 1934 and 1959 it was the location of two very contentious barriers, the Cutteslowe Walls, designed to keep council house tenants in the Cutteslowe Estate from entering a development of private houses between Cuttesl...
  • Donnington
    Donnington, Oxfordshire

    Donnington is a small housing estate in Oxford, England located adjacent to the River Thames in the post-war housing developments either side of Donnington Bridge and around Boundary Brook Road....
  • Grandpont
  • Headington
    Headington

    Headington is a suburb of Oxford, England. It lies on top of Headington Hill overlooking the Oxford in the River Thames valley below. The life of the large residential area congregates around London Road, the main thoroughfare from London to Oxford....
  • Iffley
    Iffley

    Iffley is a village in Oxfordshire, England, within the boundaries of the city of Oxford, located between the estates of Rose Hill, Oxford, Cowley, Oxford, and Donnington, Oxfordshire, and in proximity to the River Thames ....
  • Littlemore
    Littlemore

    Littlemore is an Oxfordshire village with a parish council that also represents parts of Rose Hill, Oxfordshire. It is located approximately 2.5 miles south-east of the city centre of Oxford, England ? between Rose Hill, Blackbird Leys, Cowley, Oxford, and Sandford-on-Thames....
  • Jericho
    Jericho, Oxford

    Jericho is a historic suburb of the England city of Oxford. It consists of the streets bounded by the Oxford Canal, Worcester College, Walton Street and Walton Well Road....
  • Marston
  • New Hinksey
    New Hinksey

    New Hinksey is a suburb in the south of the city of Oxford in the civil parish of South Hinksey in the England county of Oxfordshire ....
  • North Oxford
    North Oxford

    North Oxford, especially Central North Oxford between the city centre and Summertown, Oxford, is considered by many to be the most desirable and famous suburb of Oxford, England....
  • Northway
  • Osney
    Osney

    Osney, Osney Island, or Osney Town is a riverside community in the west of the city of Oxford, England. It is located off the Botley Road, just west of the city's main Oxford railway station, on an island surrounded by the River Thames, known in Oxford as the Isis....
  • Rose Hill
    Rose Hill, Oxford

    Rose Hill is an inner city council estate. It is located on the south-eastern outskirts of Oxford, England.According to the 2001 Census, the population of Rose Hill and the adjoining village of Iffley was 4,667....
  • Risinghurst
    Risinghurst

    Risinghurst is a quiet outlying residential area of Oxford, England, situated just outside the Eastern Bypass road which forms part of the Oxford ring road....
  • Sandhills
  • St Ebbes
    St Ebbes

    St Ebbes is a district of central Oxford, England, south-west of Carfax.The area takes its name from the parish church of St Ebbe's, Oxford, dedicated to St....
  • St John's street area
    St John's street area

    The St John's street area is the closest residential area to Oxford 's city centre. The area is one of if not the smallest area in Oxford and is made up of a mere two streets, St john's street and Beaumont Buildings....
  • Summertown
    Summertown, Oxford

    Summertown in North Oxford is a suburb of Oxford, England.The focal part of Summertown is a busy area of retailing on both sides of Banbury Road....
  • Temple Cowley
  • Waterways
  • Wood Farm
  • Wolvercote
    Wolvercote

    Wolvercote is a village that is now part of the City of Oxford, England, though still retaining its own identity. It is located about 3 miles to the northwest of the centre of Oxford, on the northern edge of Port Meadow, Oxford....



Climate

Oxford has a Maritime Temperate climate ("Cfb" by Köppen classification). Precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)

File:MeanMonthlyP.gifIn meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of Atmosphere water vapor that is deposited on the earth's surface....
 is uniformly 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
2003 European heat wave

The 2003 European heat wave was one of the hottest summers on record in Europe, especially in France. The heat wave led to health crises in several countries and combined with drought to create a Crop shortfall in Southern Europe....
.

There is a field of thought that due to Climate change
Climate change

Climate change is any long-term significant change in the expected patterns of average weather of a specific region over an appropriately significant period of time....
, 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.

Economy

The Oxford suburb of Cowley
Cowley, Oxford

Cowley in Oxford, England, is a residential and industrial area that forms a small conurbation within greater Oxford. It has a population of about 16,500 people....
 has a long history of carmaking and now produces the BMW MINI.

Brewing

Morrells, the Oxford based regional brewery
Regional brewery

Regional brewery is a term used in the United Kingdom to describe a long-established brewery that supplied beer to Tied house pubs in a fixed geographical location such as South Wales, the Midlands or the Isle of Man....
 was founded in 1743 by Richard Tawney. He formed a partnership in 1782 with Mark and James Morrell, who eventually became the owners. The brewery building, known as the "Lion Brewery", was located in St Thomas Street. After an acrimonious family dispute this much-loved brewery was closed in 1998, the beer brand
Brand

A brand is a collection of symbols, experiences and associations connected with a product, a service, a person or any other artifact or entity....
 names being taken over by the Thomas Hardy Burtonwood brewery., while the 132 tied pubs were bought by "Morrells of Oxford", who sold the bulk of them on to Greene King in 2002. The Lion Brewery was converted into luxury apartments in 2002.

Commercial areas

  • Broad Street
    Broad Street, Oxford

    Broad Street is a wide street in Oxford, England. It is famous for its bookshops, including the original Blackwell's bookshop at number 50....
  • Clarendon Shopping Centre
    Clarendon Shopping Centre

    The Clarendon Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in central Oxford, England. It is located to the west of Cornmarket Street and to the north of Queen Street, Oxford....
  • Cornmarket Street
    Cornmarket Street

    Cornmarket Street is a major shopping street in Oxford, England that leads north from Carfax Tower towards St Giles' Street, Oxford. Its mid-point is ....
  • George Street
    George Street, Oxford

    George Street is a street in central Oxford, England. It is a shopping street running east-west. At its eastern end, it meets Cornmarket Street to the south, Broad Street, Oxford to the east and Magdalen Street to the north....
  • Golden Cross
    Golden Cross, Oxford

    Golden Cross is a shopping arcade in central Oxford, England. It has been redeveloped as a number of small up-market shops from historic buildings in an alleyway to the east off Cornmarket Street, one of Oxford's main shopping streets....
  • The High Street
    High Street, Oxford

    The High Street in Oxford, England runs between Carfax, Oxford, generally recognized as the centre of the city, and Magdalen Bridge to the east....
  • Little Clarendon Street
    Little Clarendon Street

    Little Clarendon Street is a short shopping street in central Oxford. It runs east-west between the foot of the Woodstock Road to the east and Walton Street to the west....
  • Queen Street, Oxford
    Queen Street, Oxford

    Queen Street is a shopping street in central Oxford, England. It is one-way for buses and taxis, two-way for cyclists outside main shopping hours, and forbidden for cars....
  • The Covered Market
  • Turl Street
  • Westgate Shopping Centre
    Westgate Shopping Centre, Oxford

    Westgate Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in central Oxford, England. It is located at the west end of Queen Street, Oxford, where the west gate of the city of Oxford used to be situated....


Outside the City Centre:
  • Banbury Road
    Banbury Road

    Banbury Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England, running from St Giles' Street, Oxford at the south end, north towards Banbury through the leafy suburb of North Oxford and Summertown, Oxford, with its local shopping centre....
    , Summertown, Oxford
  • Botley Road
    Botley Road

    Botley Road is the main arterial road into Oxford, England from the west. It stretches between Botley, Oxfordshire, on the Oxford Ring Road to the west of the city, and Oxford railway station, close to central Oxford....
    , Oxford
  • Cowley Retail Park, Cowley, Oxford
  • Cowley Road
    Cowley Road, Oxford

    Cowley Road is an arterial road in the city of Oxford, England, following a southeasterly route from the city centre at The Plain, Oxford roundabout near Magdalen Bridge, through the inner city area of East Oxford, and into the industrial suburb of Cowley, Oxford....
    , Oxford
  • Iffley Road
    Iffley Road

    Iffley Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England. It leads from The Plain, Oxford, near Magdalen Bridge, south-east towards the village of Iffley....
    , Oxford
  • London Road
    London Road

    London Road may refer to numerous roads throughout the United Kingdom...
    , Headington, Oxford
  • North Parade
    North Parade

    North Parade or North Parade Avenue is a short shopping street in north Oxford, England. It runs between Winchester Road, Oxford to the west and Banbury Road to the east....
    , Oxford
  • St. Clements
    St Clement's, Oxford

    St Clement's is a street and parish in Oxford, England. The street leads from The Plain, Oxford near Magdalen Bridge towards the suburb of Headington....
    , Oxford
  • Templars Square Shopping Centre, Cowley, Oxford
  • Walton Street, Jericho, Oxford


Theatres and cinemas

  • Burton Taylor Theatre
    Burton Taylor Theatre

    The Burton Taylor Studio is a 50-seater studio theatre owned by Oxford University. It is situated on Gloucester Street off Beaumont Street in Oxford, United Kingdom close to the Oxford Playhouse, a larger professional theatre, which manages the Burton Taylor Studio on behalf of the University....
    , Worcester Street
  • New Theatre
    New Theatre Oxford

    The New Theatre Oxford is the main commercial Theater in Oxford, England and has a capacity of 1,800 people. It is located in George Street, Oxford in the centre of the city, and puts on a wide variety of shows, from musical theatre to stand-up comedy to Concert ....
    , George Street
    George Street, Oxford

    George Street is a street in central Oxford, England. It is a shopping street running east-west. At its eastern end, it meets Cornmarket Street to the south, Broad Street, Oxford to the east and Magdalen Street to the north....
  • Odeon Cinema
    Odeon Cinemas

    Odeon Cinemas is the largest chain of movie theater in Europe and is wholly based within the United Kingdom. It is owned by Terra Firma Capital Partners....
    , George Street
    George Street, Oxford

    George Street is a street in central Oxford, England. It is a shopping street running east-west. At its eastern end, it meets Cornmarket Street to the south, Broad Street, Oxford to the east and Magdalen Street to the north....
  • Odeon Cinema
    Odeon Cinemas

    Odeon Cinemas is the largest chain of movie theater in Europe and is wholly based within the United Kingdom. It is owned by Terra Firma Capital Partners....
    , Magdalen Street
    Magdalen Street

    Magdalen Street is a short shopping street in central Oxford, England.At the southern end, Magdalen Street meets Cornmarket Street continuing to the south, Broad Street, Oxford to the east and George Street, Oxford to the west....
  • Old Fire Station Theatre, George Street
    George Street, Oxford

    George Street is a street in central Oxford, England. It is a shopping street running east-west. At its eastern end, it meets Cornmarket Street to the south, Broad Street, Oxford to the east and Magdalen Street to the north....
  • Oxford Playhouse, Beaumont Street
    Beaumont Street

    Beaumont Street is a street in the centre of Oxford, England. The street was laid out in the 1820s with elegant terraced houses in the Regency architecture....
  • Pegasus Theatre, Magdalen Road
  • Phoenix Picturehouse, Walton Street
    Walton Street

    Walton Street is a street in central Oxford, England, located on the eastern edge of the area known as Jericho, Oxford.The street runs north from the western end of Beaumont Street where the main entrance of Worcester College, Oxford is located....
  • Ultimate Picture Palace, Cowley Road
  • Vue Cinema
    Vue (cinema)

    Vue is a movie theater company in Ireland and the United Kingdom. The company was formed in May 2003 when SBC International Cinemas bought Warner Village Cinemas....
    , 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
University Church of St Mary the Virgin

The University Church of St Mary the Virgin is the largest of Oxford parish churches and the centre from which the University of Oxford grew....
, both of which offer views over the spires of the city. Many tourists shop at the historic Covered Market. In the summer punting
Punt (boat)

This article concentrates on the history and development of punts and punting in England, for other usages see Norfolk punt and the general disambiguation pages at punt and punter....
 on the Thames/Isis
The Isis

The Isis is the name given to the part of the River Thames above Iffley Lock which flows through the city of Oxford. The name is especially used in the context of Rowing at the University of Oxford....
 and the Cherwell
River Cherwell

The River Cherwell is a river which flows through the English Midlands of England. It is a major tributary of the River Thames.The general course of the River Cherwell is north to south and the 'straight-line' distance from its source to the Thames is about 40 miles....
 is popular.

Urban Redevelopment

The Westgate redevelopment is just part of a wider scheme proposed by the city council. This scheme includes a total redesign of the centre of Oxford to "pedestrianise" the city.

The scheme, entitled Transform Oxford, is only a blueprint for public consultation at this stage, but county council officials are confident it will go ahead.

One of the key elements is the pedestrianisation of Queen Street, with bus stops removed next summer to make way for the eventual complete removal of buses from the street.

Pedestrianisation schemes in George Street and Magdalen Street should follow in the summer of 2010, with the removal of traffic from Broad Street the same year a possibility.

In 2011, highways engineers plan to remodel the Frideswide Square junctions near the railway station, removing traffic lights and introducing roundabouts to improve traffic flow.

Transport


Buses

Bus services are mainly provided by the Oxford Bus Company
Oxford Bus Company

Oxford Bus Company is a bus operator serving the city and surrounding area of Oxford, England and is the trading name of City of Oxford Motor Services Ltd ....
 and Stagecoach Oxfordshire. Both companies also operate regular services to London
Oxford to London coach route

The Oxford to London coach route is the most frequent long distance Coach service in the United Kingdom.Two companies operate the route. The Oxford Bus Company, using the brand name Oxford espress, runs 3 coaches an hour for most of the day....
. The Oxford Bus Company also runs the Airlink services to Heathrow and Gatwick.

Other operators include Thames Travel
Thames Travel

Thames Travel is a bus operator based in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, in England. It is the third largest bus company in the county It operates a fleet of around 34 vehicles, and employs 75 staff....
, Arriva Shires & Essex
Arriva Shires & Essex

Arriva Shires & Essex is a division of Arriva, with operations in Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. It is also one of many private operators of London Buses....
 and several smaller companies.

There is a bus station at Gloucester Green
Gloucester Green

Gloucester Green is a square in central Oxford, England, and the site of the city's bus station. It lies between George Street, Oxford to the south and Beaumont Street to the north....
, used mainly by the London and airport services, and National Express
National Express

National Express is the brand under which the majority of long distance bus and Coach services in Great Britain are marketed, and also the company that manages this network and operates some of the services....
 coach services.
Parkandrideoxford20050129 Copyrightkaihsutai
Oxford has 5 park and ride
Park and ride

Park and ride facilities are public transport Bus stations that allow commuting and other people wishing to travel into City Centre to leave their personal vehicles in a parking lot and transfer to a bus, Rail transport system , or carpool for the rest of their trip....
 sites that service the city centre;
  • Pear Tree (Link to city centre with bus 300)
  • Redbridge (Link to city centre with bus 300)
  • Seacourt
    Seacourt

    Seacourt is a Deserted medieval village near Botley, Oxfordshire in Oxfordshire .Its name comes from the Old English, and apparently means the homestead of an Anglo Saxon man called Seofeca....
     (Link to city centre with bus 400)
  • Thornhill (Link to city centre with bus 400)
  • Water Eaton (Link to city centre with bus 500)


A service also runs to The John Radcliffe Hospital (from Thornhill/Water Eaton) as well as the Churchill and Nuffield Hospitals (from Thornhill).

Rail

Oxfordfront
Oxford railway station
Oxford railway station

Oxford is a mainline railway station serving the city of Oxford, England. It is about ten minutes walk to the west of the city centre, and on the line linking Reading railway station with Birmingham New Street railway station....
 is half a mile west of the city centre. The station is served by numerous routes, including CrossCountry
CrossCountry

CrossCountry is a train operating company, the brand name of XC Trains Limited owned by Arriva, that has operated Great Britain?s Cross Country rail franchise since 11 November 2007....
 services as far afield as Manchester
Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1853....
 and Edinburgh
Edinburgh

Edinburgh ; is the Capital city of Scotland, a position it has held since 1437. It is the seventh largest city in the United Kingdom and the second largest Scottish City status in the United Kingdom after Glasgow....
, First Great Western
First Great Western

First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a United Kingdom List of companies operating trains in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup, which operates services in the west and south west of England and South Wales....
 (who operate the station) services to London and other destinations and occasional Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways

Chiltern Railways is a List of companies operating trains in the United Kingdom in England. It was formed by the privatisation of British Rail in 1996, and operates mainline passenger trains from Marylebone station in London to Aylesbury railway station and Birmingham Snow Hill station....
 services to Birmingham
Birmingham

Birmingham is a city status in the United Kingdom and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. Birmingham is the most populous of England's English Core Cities Group, and is the List of United Kingdom cities by population British city after London, with a population of 1,010,200 ....
. The present station opened in 1952. Oxford is the junction for a short branch line to Bicester, which is being extended to form the East-West Rail Link to Milton Keynes, providing a passenger route avoiding London.

Roads


A roads
The city has a ring road
Oxford Ring Road

The Oxford ring road is a ring road around the city of Oxford, England. It is a dual carriageway for most of its length apart from a short section to the North between the Woodstock Road and Banbury Roads....
 that consists of the A34
A34 road

The A34 is a major road in England. It runs from the A6042 in Salford to Winchester, Hampshire in Hampshire. It forms a large part of the major trunk route from Southampton, via Oxford, to Birmingham and Manchester....
, the A40
A40 road

The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales. It is 256 miles long.It is one of the few remaining of the "old" trunk routes not to have been superseded by a direct motorway link, though some parts, such as the southern section from London to Oxford are now better served by the M40 motorway....
, A4142 and the A423
A423 road

The A423 road is a primary road A roads in Great Britain in England which leads from central Banbury to the A45 road near Coventry. It starts in Banbury town centre as Southam Road and goes through the Southam Road Industrial Estate, then just north of banbury it passes over the M40 motorway, from there it passes a few Warwickshire villages...
. It is mostly dual carriageway and was completed in 1966.

The main roads that lead out of Oxford are:
  • A34
    A34 road

    The A34 is a major road in England. It runs from the A6042 in Salford to Winchester, Hampshire in Hampshire. It forms a large part of the major trunk route from Southampton, via Oxford, to Birmingham and Manchester....
    - which leads to Bicester
    Bicester

    Bicester is a town and civil parish in the Cherwell of north-eastern Oxfordshire in England.This historic market centre is one of the fastest growing towns in Oxfordshire....
    , the M40 north, Birmingham
    Birmingham

    Birmingham is a city status in the United Kingdom and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. Birmingham is the most populous of England's English Core Cities Group, and is the List of United Kingdom cities by population British city after London, with a population of 1,010,200 ....
     and Manchester
    Manchester

    Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1853....
     to the north, and Didcot
    Didcot

    Didcot is a town in the Thames Valley, in the England county of Oxfordshire . The town is located approximately 10 miles south of the city of Oxford....
    , Newbury
    Newbury, Berkshire

    Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings....
     and Winchester
    Winchester

    Winchester is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. It lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of the River Itchen, Hampshire....
     to the south. The A34 is entirely grade separated dual carriageway all the way from Bicester to Winchester.
  • A40
    A40 road

    The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales. It is 256 miles long.It is one of the few remaining of the "old" trunk routes not to have been superseded by a direct motorway link, though some parts, such as the southern section from London to Oxford are now better served by the M40 motorway....
    - which leads to London and High Wycombe
    High Wycombe

    High Wycombe , is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of central London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town....
     (as well as the M40 motorway
    M40 motorway

    The M40 motorway is a motorway in the England transport network that connects London to Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European route E05....
     south) to the east, and Cheltenham
    Cheltenham

    Cheltenham , or Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, England. The town has a population of 110,013 . The people of the town are known as "Cheltonians"....
    , Gloucester
    Gloucester

    Gloucester is a city status in the United Kingdom, Non-metropolitan district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England region of England....
     and south Wales to the west.
  • A44
    A44 road

    The A44 is a major road in the United Kingdom that runs from Oxford in southern England to Aberystwyth in west Wales....
    - which begins in Oxford and leads to Worcester
    Worcester

    Worcester is a City status in the United Kingdom and county town of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some 30 miles southwest of Birmingham, 29 miles north of Gloucester, and has an estimated population of 94,300 people....
    , Hereford
    Hereford

    Hereford is a cathedral city City status in the United Kingdom, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester....
     and Aberystwyth
    Aberystwyth

    Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. It is often colloquially known as Aber, and is located at the confluence of the Rivers River Ystwyth and River Rheidol....
    .
  • A420
    A420 road

    The A420 is a road between Bristol and Oxford in England. Between Swindon and Oxford it is a primary route....
    - which also begins in Oxford and leads to Bristol
    Bristol

    Bristol is a City status in the United Kingdom, unitary authority area and Ceremonial counties of England in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff....
     passing Swindon
    Swindon

    Swindon is a City sized town and unitary borough authority in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire in South West England England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, Berkshire, east....
     and Chippenham
    Chippenham

    Chippenham could be either of these places in the UK:* Chippenham, Wiltshire* Chippenham, CambridgeshireSee also:* Virginia State Route 150, also known as Chippenham Parkway, USA...
    .


Motorways
The city is served by the M40 motorway
M40 motorway

The M40 motorway is a motorway in the England transport network that connects London to Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European route E05....
, which connects London to Birmingham
Birmingham

Birmingham is a city status in the United Kingdom and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. Birmingham is the most populous of England's English Core Cities Group, and is the List of United Kingdom cities by population British city after London, with a population of 1,010,200 ....
. The original M40 opened in 1974 went from London to Waterstock
Waterstock

Waterstock is small sleepy village in Oxfordshire, England. It is located approximately 7 km west of Thame just off the A418 road and about 1 km from the M40 motorway Junction 8....
 where the A40
A40 road

The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales. It is 256 miles long.It is one of the few remaining of the "old" trunk routes not to have been superseded by a direct motorway link, though some parts, such as the southern section from London to Oxford are now better served by the M40 motorway....
 continued 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 away from the centre) due to the woodland that the motorway had to avoid. The M40 meets the A34
A34 road

The A34 is a major road in England. It runs from the A6042 in Salford to Winchester, Hampshire in Hampshire. It forms a large part of the major trunk route from Southampton, via Oxford, to Birmingham and Manchester....
 a junction later, the latter now being in two parts, the A34 restarting in Birmingham
Birmingham

Birmingham is a city status in the United Kingdom and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. Birmingham is the most populous of England's English Core Cities Group, and is the List of United Kingdom cities by population British city after London, with a population of 1,010,200 ....
.

Education

There are two universities in Oxford; the University of Oxford
University of Oxford

The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....
 and Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University

Oxford Brookes University is a university in Oxford, England....
 as well as Ruskin College.

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
BBC Radio Oxford

BBC Oxford is a British Broadcasting Corporation BBC Local Radio station, which opened on October 29, 1970 as BBC Radio Oxford. It broadcasts on 95.2 MHz Very high frequency Frequency modulation from the Oxford transmitting station....
, Fox FM
Fox FM (United Kingdom)

Fox FM is a local radio station, owned by Global Radio, broadcasting to Oxfordshire, United Kingdom on the frequencies 102.6 MHz FM from the Oxford transmitting station and 97.4 MHz FM from a relay station at Farthinghoe, near Banbury....
, 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
Six TV

Six TV is the sixth free to air terrestrial television television channel, broadcast in Oxford, Southampton, Reading, Berkshire and Portsmouth in the United Kingdom....
: 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
South Today

South Today is the BBC's regional television news programme for East Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Berkshire, and West Sussex; it also covers Brighton, Oxfordshire, and parts of Surrey, Wiltshire, and Buckinghamshire....
 programme broadcast from Southampton
Southampton

Southampton is the largest City status in the United Kingdom in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England, and is sited around 100 km south-west of London and 30 km north-west of Portsmouth....
.

Popular local papers include The Oxford Times
The Oxford Times

The Oxford Times is a weekly newspaper, published each Thursday in Oxford, England. In 2006 it had a circulation of 26,262. It is published from a large production facility at Osney Mead, west Oxford, and is owned by Newsquest, the United Kingdom subsidiary of United States-based Gannett Company....
 (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
Daily Information

Daily Information is a printed information sheet in Oxford, England, displayed especially around the University of Oxford colleges and departments, but also in local businesses....
 (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
    Oscar Wilde

    Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish people playwright, Irish poetry and author of numerous short stories and one novel. Known for his biting wit, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest Celebrity of his day....
     a nineteenth century poet and author who attended Oxford from 1874 to 1878.
  • John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir
    John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir

    John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, Order of St Michael and St George, Royal Victorian Order, Order of the Companions of Honour, Privy Council of the United Kingdom , was a United Kingdom novelist, best known for his novel The Thirty-nine Steps, and Unionist Party politician who served as Governor General of Canada....
     attended Brasenose College. Best known for his The Thirty-nine Steps, authored 32 novels and many more volumes of history, poetry and essays.
  • Susan Cooper
    Susan Cooper

    Susan Mary Cooper is a United Kingdom author best known for The Dark Is Rising, an award-winning five-volume fantasy saga set in and around England and Wales....
     who is best known for her The Dark Is Rising Sequence
    The Dark is Rising Sequence

    The Dark Is Rising is the name of a five-book series of children's novels by Susan Cooper originally published in the 1960s and 1970s. The series is written as contemporary fantasy, and depicts the struggle between the forces of good, called The Light, and the forces of evil, known as The Dark....
  • Lewis Carroll
    Lewis Carroll

    Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pen name Lewis Carroll , was an England author, mathematics, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer....
     (real name Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), Student
    Christ Church, Oxford

    Christ Church , is one of the largest Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England. As well as being a college, Christ Church is also the cathedral church of the diocese of Oxford, namely Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford....
     and Mathematical Lecturer of Christ Church
    Christ Church, Oxford

    Christ Church , is one of the largest Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England. As well as being a college, Christ Church is also the cathedral church of the diocese of Oxford, namely Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford....
    .
  • Colin Dexter
    Colin Dexter

    Norman Colin Dexter, Order of the British Empire, is an England crime writer, known for his Inspector Morse novels.Early life and career...
     who wrote and set his Inspector Morse
    Inspector Morse

    Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse is a fictional character in a series of thirteen detective novels by United Kingdom author Colin Dexter, as well as the Inspector Morse produced by Central Independent Television from 1987?2000, in which he was portrayed by John Thaw....
     detective novels in Oxford. Colin Dexter still lives in Oxford.
  • John Donaldson
    John Donaldson (author)

    John Donaldson , also known as Jon Inglis, was a United Kingdom author and poet most particularly associated in later life with Oxford, England....
     (d.1989), a poet resident in Oxford in later life.
  • Siobhan Dowd
    Siobhan Dowd

    Siobhan Dowd was a United Kingdom/Irish people writer; she wrote the drama/mystery, A Swift Pure Cry....
     Oxford resident; who was an undergraduate at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
    Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford

    Lady Margaret Hall is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England, located at the end of Norham Gardens in north Oxford....
    .
  • Kenneth Graham educated at St. Edward's School, Oxford
  • Michael Innes
    J. I. M. Stewart

    John Innes Mackintosh Stewart was a Scotland novelist and academic. He is equally well-known for the works of literary criticism and "straight" novels published under his real name and for the "whodunits" published under the pseudonym of Michael Innes....
     (J. I. M. Stewart), of Christ Church
    Christ Church, Oxford

    Christ Church , is one of the largest Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England. As well as being a college, Christ Church is also the cathedral church of the diocese of Oxford, namely Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford....
    .
  • P. D. James
    P. D. James

    Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, Order of the British Empire, Royal Society of Arts, Royal Society of Literature , commonly known as P....
     who lives part-time in Oxford.
  • T. E. Lawrence
    T. E. Lawrence

    Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence Order of the Bath, Distinguished Service Order , known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British people soldier renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt of 1916–18....
    , "Lawrence of Arabia", Oxford resident, undergraduate at Jesus
    Jesus College, Oxford

    Jesus College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had a financial endowment of ?119m....
    , postgraduate at Magdalen
    Magdalen College, Oxford

    Magdalen College redirects here, see also Magdalene College, CambridgeMagdalen College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England....
    .
  • C. S. Lewis
    C. S. Lewis

    Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as Jack, was an academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist....
    , Fellow of Magdalen
    Magdalen College, Oxford

    Magdalen College redirects here, see also Magdalene College, CambridgeMagdalen College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England....
    .
  • Ian McEwan
    Ian McEwan

    Ian Russell McEwan, CBE, Royal Society of Arts, Royal Society of Literature, is a Booker Prize-winning England novelist and screenwriter....
    , formerly an Oxford resident for many years.
  • Iris Murdoch
    Iris Murdoch

    Dame Jean Iris Murdoch Order of the British Empire was an Ireland-born British people author and philosopher, best known for her stories regarding ethical and sexual themes....
    , Fellow of St Anne's.
  • Iain Pears
    Iain Pears

    Iain Pears is an England art historian, novelist and journalist. He was educated at Warwick School, Warwick, Wadham College and Wolfson College, Oxford, Oxford....
    , undergraduate at Wadham College and Oxford resident, whose novel An Instance of the Fingerpost
    An Instance of the Fingerpost

    An Instance of the Fingerpost is a 1997 historical mystery novel by Iain Pears....
     is set in the city.
  • Philip Pullman
    Philip Pullman

    Philip Pullman Order of the British Empire is an England novelist. He is the best-selling author of His Dark Materials , and a number of other books....
     who was an undergraduate at Exeter
    Exeter College, Oxford

    Exeter College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England and the 4th oldest college of the University....
    .
  • Dorothy L. Sayers
    Dorothy L. Sayers

    Dorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned United Kingdom author, translator and Christian humanism. She was also a student of classical and modern languages....
     who was an undergraduate at Somerville
    Somerville College, Oxford

    Somerville College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England, and was one of the first women's colleges to be founded there....
    .
  • J. R. R. Tolkien
    J. R. R. Tolkien

    John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, Order of the British Empire was an English people English literature, poetry, Philology, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion....
    , undergraduate at Exeter
    Exeter College, Oxford

    Exeter College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England and the 4th oldest college of the University....
     and later professor of English at Merton
    Merton College, Oxford

    Merton College is one of the Colleges of Oxford University of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III of England and later to Edward I of England, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to support it....
    .
  • Charles Williams
    Charles Williams

    Charles Williams may refer to:...
    , editor at Oxford University Press
    Oxford University Press

    Oxford University Press is a publisher and a department of the University of Oxford in England. It is the largest university press in the world, being larger than all the American university presses combined with Cambridge University Press....
    .


Oxford appears in the following works:
  • Jude the Obscure
    Jude the Obscure

    Jude the Obscure is the last of Thomas Hardy's novels, begun as a magazine serial and first published in book form in 1895. The book was burnt publicly by the Bishop of Wakefield in that same year....
     (1895) by Thomas Hardy
    Thomas Hardy

    Thomas Hardy, Order of Merit was an England author of the naturalism movement, though he regarded himself primarily as a poet and composed novels mainly for financial gain....
     (in which Oxford is thinly disguised as "Christminster").
  • Zuleika Dobson
    Zuleika Dobson

    Zuleika Dobson is a 1911 novel by Max Beerbohm, a satire of undergraduate life at University of Oxford. It was his only novel, but was nonetheless very successful....
     (1911) by Max Beerbohm
    Max Beerbohm

    Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm was an English Parody and Caricature....
    .
  • Gaudy Night
    Gaudy Night

    Gaudy Night is a 1935 Lord Peter Wimsey Detective fiction by Dorothy L. Sayers. It is the third of the Wimsey novels to feature Harriet Vane....
     (1935) by Dorothy L. Sayers
    Dorothy L. Sayers

    Dorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned United Kingdom author, translator and Christian humanism. She was also a student of classical and modern languages....
    .
  • Brideshead Revisited
    Brideshead Revisited

    Brideshead Revisited, The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder is a novel by the English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945....
     (1945) by Evelyn Waugh
    Evelyn Waugh

    Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh was a United Kingdom writer, best known for such darkly humorous and Satire novels as Decline and Fall, Vile Bodies, Scoop , A Handful of Dust, and The Loved One, as well as for serious works, such as Brideshead Revisited and the Sword of Honour trilogy that clearly manifest his Catho...
    .
  • A Question of Upbringing
    A Question of Upbringing

    A Question of Upbringing is the opening novel in Anthony Powell's masterpiece, A Dance to the Music of Time, a twelve-volume cycle spanning much of the 20th century....
     (1951 ) by Anthony Powell
    Anthony Powell

    Anthony Dymoke Powell, Companion of Honour, Order of the British Empire was an English novelist best known for his twelve-volume work A Dance to the Music of Time, published between 1951 and 1975....
  • Second Generation (1964 novel) by Raymond Williams
    Raymond Williams

    Raymond Henry Williams was a Wales academic, novelist and critic. He was an influential figure within the New Left and in wider culture. His writings on politics, culture, the mass media and literature are a significant contribution to the Marxist critique of culture and the arts....
  • The Children of Men
    The Children of Men

    The Children of Men is a dystopian novel by P. D. James that was published in 1992. Set in England in 2021, it centres on the results of Human extinction....
     (1992) by P. D. James
    P. D. James

    Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, Order of the British Empire, Royal Society of Arts, Royal Society of Literature , commonly known as P....
    .
  • Doomsday Book
    Doomsday Book (novel)

    Doomsday Book is a 1992 in literature science fiction novel by American author Connie Willis. The novel won both the Hugo Award and Nebula Awards, and was shortlisted for other awards, placing it among the most-honored works of science fiction in recent history....
     (1992) by Connie Willis
    Connie Willis

    Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an United Statesn science fiction writer.She has won, among other awards, ten Hugo Awards and six Nebula Awards....
  • His Dark Materials
    His Dark Materials

    His Dark Materials is a trilogy of fantasy literature by Philip Pullman comprising Northern Lights , The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass ....
     (1995 onwards) by Philip Pullman
    Philip Pullman

    Philip Pullman Order of the British Empire is an England novelist. He is the best-selling author of His Dark Materials , and a number of other books....
  • Endymion Spring
    Endymion Spring

    Endymion Spring is a fantasy novel by English-Canadian author Matthew Skelton....
     (2006) by Matthew Skelton


Sport

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, is not running in Oxford. Details of the 1949 and 1950 seasons at Cowley can be viewed on .

Oxford is also home to Oxford United
Oxford United F.C.

Oxford United Football Club is an English association football team who play in the Conference National. The club has been a Non-League football side since relegation from Football League Two in 2005–06....
, who are currently in the Conference National
Conference National

Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system....
, the highest tier of non-league football, but have enjoyed greater success in the past. They were elected to the Football League in 1962, reached the Third Division
Football League Third Division

From the 1992-93 in English football to the 2003-04 in English football, the Football League Third Division was the third-highest division of The Football League and the fourth-highest division in the overall English football league system....
 after three years and the Second Division
Football League Second Division

From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in England football .This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992-93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams making up the new FA Premier League, which had...
 after six, and most notably reached the First Division
Football League First Division

The Football League First Division was the highest division of The Football League between 1993 and 2004, and the highest division of Football in England overall between 1892 and 1992....
 in 1985 - a mere 23 years after joining the Football League. They spent three seasons in the top flight, winning the Football League Cup
Football League Cup

The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or Carling Cup, is an England football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis....
 a year after promotion. The next 18 years saw them decline gradually (though a brief respite in 1996 saw them win promotion to the new (post Premier League) Division One in 1996 and stay there for three years) until they suffered relegation to the Conference. They play at the Kassam Stadium
Kassam Stadium

The Kassam Stadium is the home of Oxford United F.C., and is named after the ground's owner, and former chairman of the club, Firoz Kassam.To date, the Kassam Stadium has staged nothing higher than fourth-tier league football, as Oxford were relegated to Division Three the season before the new stadium was built and were further relegated t...
 (named after former chairman Firoz Kassam
Firoz Kassam

Firoz Kassam is a Tanzania, United Kingdom-based businessman. He is the former owner of Oxford United F.C..He was born in Tanzania of Indian parents and came to United Kingdom as a student during the 1970s....
), which is situated near the Blackbird Leys
Blackbird Leys

Blackbird Leys is a Ward located on the south-eastern outskirts of Oxford, England, and is one of the largest Council housing in Europe. According to the 2001 census, the ward had a population of 5,803....
 housing estate and has been their home since relocation from the Manor Ground
Manor Ground

The Manor Ground was a football stadium in Oxford, England, that was the home of Oxford United F.C. between 1925 and 2001. In 1966, with the demolition of Sandfield College, a new entrance to the ground was created onto London Road....
 in 2001. Notable former managers include Arthur Turner
Arthur Turner

Arthur L. Turner is a Democratic Party member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 9th District since 1981, and serving as the Deputy Majority Leader....
, Ian Greaves
Ian Greaves

Ian Denzil Greaves was an England association football player and manager. He was born in Shaw and Crompton. He won a Football League Championship medal and an FA Cup runners-up medal while playing Defender #Full back for Manchester United F.C....
, Jim Smith
Jim Smith

Jim Smith may refer to:*Jim Smith , Texan animator and co-writer on The Ren and Stimpy Show*Jim Smith , English cricketer*Jim Smith , former NFL and USFL wide receiver...
, Maurice Evans
Maurice Evans

Maurice Evans may refer to:*Maurice Evans , English actor*Maurice Evans , American basketball player*Maurice Evans , British football player and manager...
, Mark Lawrenson
Mark Lawrenson

Mark Thomas Lawrenson is a former professional Football player, a defender in the Liverpool F.C. and Football football teams of the 1980s; he has since become a radio, television and internet pundit for the BBC and Today FM....
, Brian Horton
Brian Horton

Brian Horton is an England football manager, currently working as the assistant manager at Hull City. Horton is one of the few managers in English football to have taken charge of teams in more than a thousand games....
, Denis Smith, Mark Wright
Mark Wright

Mark Wright may refer to:*Mark Wright , English footballer and manager*Mark Wright , English footballer*Mark Wright , British soldier in the Parachute Regiment and recipient of the George Cross...
, Ian Atkins
Ian Atkins

Ian Leslie Atkins is a former England professional football coach , and former professional Football ....
 and Ramon Diaz
Ramón Díaz

Ram?n ?ngel D?az , is a former Argentina football player. For most of his career he played for, and later coached, Club Atl?tico River Plate. He is also known by the nickname of El Pelado ....
. Notable former players include Ron Atkinson
Ron Atkinson

Ronald Franklin Atkinson, commonly known as "Big Ron" and "Bojangles" is an England former Association football player and coach ....
, John Aldridge
John Aldridge

John William Aldridge is a British-born former Republic of Ireland international striker. He was a prolific, record-breaking footballer, best known for his productive time with Liverpool F.C....
, Ray Houghton
Ray Houghton

Raymond James Houghton is a retired Scotland footballer who represented the Republic of Ireland national football team at international level, qualifying through his Ireland father....
, Trevor Hebberd
Trevor Hebberd

Trevor Neal Hebberd is a retired England association football who played as a midfielder.He signed for Southampton F.C. on leaving school in 1974 and made his first team debut two years later....
, Nigel Jemson
Nigel Jemson

Nigel Jemson is an England former Association football, who represented his country at England national under-21 football team and until May 2008 was Football manager of Ilkeston Town F.C.....
, Kevin Francis
Kevin Francis

Kevin Derek Michael Francis is a former professional Association footballer who played as a striker and was tall. He played in the Football League for Derby County F.C., Stockport County F.C....
, Bobby Ford
Bobby Ford

Robert "Bobby" Ford is a English people professional footballer who has played for Oxford United F.C. and Sheffield United F.C.....
, Joey Beauchamp
Joey Beauchamp

Joseph "Joey" Beauchamp is an England association football player who currently plays for Abingdon Town F.C. of the Hellenic Football League Premier Division....
, Tommy Mooney
Tommy Mooney

Thomas John Mooney is a professional England Association football player who plays as a striker....
 and Darren Purse
Darren Purse

Darren John Purse is a professional association football player who is currently captain of Football League Championship side Cardiff City F.C.....
.

At a lower level in the football pyramid, the city is also represented by Oxford City.

Twinning

Oxford's twin cities
Town twinning

Town twinning, also known as sister cities, is a concept whereby towns or city in geographically and politically distinct areas are paired, with the goal of fostering human contact and cultural links between their inhabitants....
 are: Bonn
Bonn

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the Capital of Germany West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, Germany Grenoble
Grenoble

Grenoble is a city in southeastern France situated at the foot of the Alps where the Drac River joins the Is?re River.Located in the Rh?ne-Alpes regions of France, Grenoble is the capital of the Departments of France of Is?re....
, France Leiden
Leiden

Media:Nl-Leiden.ogg is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands and has 118,000 inhabitants. It forms a single urban area with Oegstgeest, Leiderdorp, Voorschoten, Valkenburg, Rijnsburg and Katwijk, with 254,000 inhabitants....
, Netherlands León
León, Nicaragua

Le?n is the second largest city in Nicaragua, after Managua. It was founded by the Spaniards as Santiago de los Caballeros de Le?n and rivals Granada, Nicaragua, in the number of historic spanish colonial homes and churches....
, Nicaragua Perm
Perm

Perm is a types of inhabited localities in Russia and administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia. It is situated on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains....
, Russia Umeå
Umeå

Ume? is a university cities of Sweden in V?sterbotten, Sweden.Ume? is the biggest city in Norrland and the Capital of V?sterbotten County. The city has about 76,000 inhabitants and is the seat of Ume? Municipality ....
, Sweden Oxford, Michigan
Oxford, Michigan

Oxford is a village in Oakland County, Michigan in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,540 at the United States Census, 2000. The village is located within Oxford Charter Township, Michigan....
, United States

The only Oxford twin city that is not a university town is "Oxford, Michigan"

See also

  • Bishop of Oxford
    Bishop of Oxford

    The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford....
  • Brill Tramway
    Brill Tramway

    |}The Brill Tramway or Brill branch, originally the Wotton Tramway, was a far-flung and little used Single track section of the Metropolitan Railway in Buckinghamshire, England....
  • Earl of Oxford
    Earl of Oxford

    Earl of Oxford was one of the older titles in the English peerage, and was held for several centuries by the de Vere family from 1141. It finally became dormant in 1703 with the death of the 20th Earl....
  • Oxfam
    Oxfam

    Oxfam International is a confederation of 13 organizations working with over 3,000 partners in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice....
  • Oxford bags
    Oxford bags

    Oxford bags were a loose-fitting baggy form of trousers favoured by members of the University of Oxford, especially undergraduates, in England during the early 20th century from the 1920s to around the 1950s....
  • Oxford Brookes University
    Oxford Brookes University

    Oxford Brookes University is a university in Oxford, England....
  • Oxford City F.C.
    Oxford City F.C.

    Oxford City Football Club is an England Football club, currently playing in the Southern Football League Premier Division after gaining promotion via the Division One South & West playoffs....
  • Oxford comma
  • Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers
    Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers

    The Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers is a society of people spread across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire with many rings of bells including a number of chimes....
  • Oxford Union
    Oxford Union

    The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, UK, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford....
  • Oxford United F.C.
    Oxford United F.C.

    Oxford United Football Club is an English association football team who play in the Conference National. The club has been a Non-League football side since relegation from Football League Two in 2005–06....
  • University of Oxford
    University of Oxford

    The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....


Further reading

  • , Anne Gordon, The Boston Globe
    The Boston Globe

    The Boston Globe is the most widely circulated daily newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts and in New England, United States. Owned by The New York Times Company, the broadsheet Globes local print rival is the Boston Herald....
    , June 22, 2008
  • Isolarion: A Different Oxford Journey, James Attlee, 2007. ISBN 978-0226030937
  • Oxford, Jan Morris
    Jan Morris

    Jan Morris Order of the British Empire is a British historian, author and travel writer. Morris was educated at Lancing College, West Sussex, and Christ Church, Oxford, but is Wales by heritage and adoption....
    , 2001. ISBN 978-0192801364
  • The Erosion of Oxford, James Stevens Curl, 1977. ISBN 0-902280-40-6


External links


  • - 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article
  • BBC program