Oxfordshire
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Oxfordshire | |
---|---|
UTC±00:00 (Greenwich Mean Time) | |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+01:00 (British Summer Time) |
Members of Parliament | |
Police | 35th of 48 |
Density | 264/km2 (680/sq mi) |
Ethnicity | 90.9% White, 4.8% Asian/Asian British[2] |
Non-metropolitan county | |
County council | Oxfordshire County Council[3] |
Executive | Liberal Democrat Green Alliance |
Admin HQ | Oxford |
Area | 2,605 km2 (1,006 sq mi) |
• Ranked | 12th of 21 |
Population | 726,530 |
• Ranked | 15th of 21 |
Density | 279/km2 (720/sq mi) |
ISO 3166-2 | GB-OXF |
ONS code | 38 |
ITL | UKJ14 |
Website | oxfordshire |
Districts | |
Districts of Oxfordshire | |
Districts |
Oxfordshire (
The county is largely rural, with an area of 2,605 km2 (1,006 sq mi) and a population of 691,667. After Oxford (162,100), the largest settlements are Banbury (54,355) and Abingdon-on-Thames (37,931). For local government purposes Oxfordshire is a non-metropolitan county with five districts. The part of the county south of the River Thames, largely corresponding to the Vale of White Horse district, was historically part of Berkshire.
The lowlands in the centre of the county are crossed by the
History
Oxfordshire was recorded as a county in the early years of the 10th century and lies between the
Although it had some significance as an area of valuable agricultural land in the centre of the country, it was largely ignored by the Romans and did not grow in importance until the formation of a settlement at Oxford in the 8th century.
During most of its history, the county was partitioned as
The
The
Geography
Oxfordshire includes parts of three
Extreme points
- Northernmost point: 52°10′6.58″N 1°19′54.92″W / 52.1684944°N 1.3319222°W, near Claydon Hay Farm, Claydon
- Southernmost point: 51°27′34.74″N 0°56′48.3″W / 51.4596500°N 0.946750°W, near Thames and Kennet Marina, Playhatch
- Westernmost point: 51°46′59.73″N 1°43′9.68″W / 51.7832583°N 1.7193556°W, near Downs Farm, Westwell
- Easternmost point: 51°30′14.22″N 0°52′13.99″W / 51.5039500°N 0.8705528°W, River Thames, near Lower Shiplake
Rivers and canals
From the mid-point western edge to the southeast corner of Oxfordshire, via the city in the middle, runs the Thames with its flat floodplains. This river forms the historic limit with Berkshire, remaining so on some lowest reaches. The Thames Path National Trail follows the river from upper estuary to a source.
Many smaller rivers in the county feed into the Thames, such as the Thame, Windrush, Evenlode and Cherwell. Some of these have trails running along their valleys. The Oxford Canal links to the Midlands and follows the Cherwell from Banbury via Kidlington into the city of Oxford, where these join the navigable Thames. About 15% of the historically named Wilts & Berks Canal, in sporadic sections, has been restored to navigability, including the county-relevant[clarification needed] 140 metres near Abingdon-on-Thames where it could, if restored, meet the Thames.
Green belt
Oxfordshire contains a green belt area that fully envelops the city of Oxford and extends for some miles to protect surrounding towns and villages from inappropriate development and urban growth. Its border in the east extends to the Buckinghamshire county boundary, while part of its southern border is shared with the North Wessex Downs AONB. It was first drawn up in the 1950s, and all of the county's districts contain some portion of the belt.
Economy
Year | Regional gross value added[a] | Agriculture[b] | Industry[c] | Services[d] |
---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | 7,607 | 120 | 2,084 | 5,404 |
2000 | 10,594 | 80 | 2,661 | 7,853 |
2003 | 12,942 | 93 | 2,665 | 10,184 |
Politics
The
In the 2016 European Union referendum, Oxfordshire was the only English county as a whole to vote to remain in the European Union by a significant margin, at 57.06% (70.27% in the City of Oxford), despite Cherwell (barely) voting to leave at 50.31%.[citation needed]
Education
Oxfordshire has a completely comprehensive education system with 23 independent schools and 35 state secondary schools. Only eight schools do not have a sixth form; these are mostly in South Oxfordshire and Cherwell districts. Oxfordshire has a large number of leading independent schools, including public schools such as Radley College.
The county has two universities: the ancient
Buildings
The "dreaming spires" of the University of Oxford are among the reasons for which Oxford is the sixth most visited city in the United Kingdom by international visitors.
Chastleton House, on the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire borders, is a great country mansion built on property bought from Robert Catesby, who was one of the men involved in the Gunpowder Plot with Guy Fawkes. Stonor Park, another country mansion, has belonged to the recusant Stonor family for centuries.
Mapledurham House is an Elizabethan stately home in the south-east of the county, close to Reading.
The Abbey in Sutton Courtenay is a medieval courtyard house. It has been recognised by the Historic Building Council for England (now Historic England) as a building of outstanding historic and architectural interest.[9] It is considered to be a 'textbook' example of the English medieval manor house[10] and is a Grade I-listed building.[11]
Settlements
Rank | Town | Population | Year | Definition | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Oxford | 162,100 | 2021 | Oxford non-metropolitan district | |
2 | Banbury | 54,335 | 2021 | Civil parish | |
3 | Abingdon-on-Thames | 37,931 | 2021 | Civil parish | In Berkshire until 1974. |
4 | Bicester | 37,020 | 2021 | Civil parish | |
5 | Didcot | 32,183 | 2021 | Civil parish | 200 dwellings in the south-east of the town lie in neighbouring East Hagbourne parish. In Berkshire until 1974. |
6 | Witney | 31,217 | 2021 | Civil parish | |
7 | Carterton | 15,680 | 2021 | Civil parish | |
8 | Kidlington | 13,600 | 2021 | Civil parish | Does not include Gosford. |
9 | Thame | 13,273 | 2021 | Civil parish | Includes hamlet of Moreton .
|
10 | Wantage | 13,106 | 2021 | Civil parish | In Berkshire until 1974. |
11 | Henley-on-Thames | 12,186 | 2021 | Civil parish | |
12 | Faringdon | 8,627 | 2021 | Great Faringdon civil parish
|
In Berkshire until 1974. |
13 | Wallingford | 8,455 | 2021 | Civil parish | In Berkshire until 1974. |
14 | Grove | 8,336 | 2021 | Civil parish | |
15 | Chinnor | 7,651 | 2021 | Civil parish | |
16 | Chipping Norton
|
7,250 | 2021 | Civil parish | |
17 | Eynsham | 5,324 | 2021 | Civil parish | |
18 | Benson | 4,801 | 2021 | Civil parish | |
19 | Wheatley | 4,267 | 2021 | Civil parish | |
20 | Sonning Common | 4,138 | 2021 | Civil Parish | |
21 | Kennington | 4,133 | 2021 | Civil parish | |
22 | Woodstock | 3,521 | 2021 | Civil parish | |
23 | Charlbury | 3,063 | 2021 | Civil parish | |
24 | Bampton | 2,993 | 2021 | Civil parish | |
25 | Watlington | 2,697 | 2021 | Civil parish | |
26 | Deddington | 2,301 | 2021 | Civil parish |
Places of interest
Key | |
Abbey/Priory/Cathedral | |
Accessible open space | |
Amusement/Theme Park | |
Castle | |
Country Park | |
English Heritage | |
Forestry Commission | |
Heritage railway | |
Historic House
| |
Places of Worship | |
Museum (free/not free) | |
National Trust
| |
Theatre | |
Zoo |
- Abingdon County Hall Museum[12] – housed in a 17th-century county hall building
- Lambourn Downs
- Ashmolean Museum – Oxford University's museum of art and archaeology
- Banbury Museum, Banbury
- Bicester Village
- garden – UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Broughton Castle – 14th-century fortified manor house
- landscape garden
- Carthusianchapel
- Charlbury Museum
- Chastleton House – 17th-century country house (limited access)
- Chiltern Hills – Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- steam and diesel locomotives
- Chipping Norton Museum[13]
- Cholsey and Wallingford Railway
- Cogges Manor Farm Museum, Witney– a living museum of country life
- Combe Mill Museum,[14] Long Hanborough – working museum of stationary steam engines
- garden, Bradwell Grove, Holwell
- Cotswolds – Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- Didcot Railway Centre – museum of the Great Western Railway
- Dorchester-on-Thames – 12th-century church of former Augustinian abbey
- tithe barn
- Greys Court, Rotherfield Greys – 16th-century country house
- Hampton Gay Manor – ruins of 16th-century manor house (no website)
- Harcourt Arboretum, Nuneham Courtenay
- Heythrop Hall – 17th-century country house: now a hotel, golf & country club
- Hook Norton Brewery – working Victorian "tower" brewery that offers guided tours
- Kelmscott Manor – Home of William Morris
- Mapledurham Estate – 16th-century country house and 15th-century watermill
- Manor House – 18th-century country house[15]
- Minster Lovell Hall – dovecote and ruins of 15th-century manor house
- Museum of Bygones, Claydon – private museum including stationary steam engines
- North Wessex Downs – Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- Oxford
- Oxford Bus Museum and Morris Motors Museum, Long Hanborough
- Oxford Canal – 18th-century "narrow" canal
- The Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock
- The Ridgeway
- River and Rowing Museum, Henley-on-Thames
- River Thames
- burial chamber, near Little Rollright
- landscape garden
- Rycote chapel – 15th-century chapel with original furnishings
- St Katharine's church, Chiselhampton – 18th-century parish church with original furnishings (no website, limited access)
- Country Park, Headington
- Country Park, Banbury
- Stanton Harcourt manor house (limited access), with garden and 15th-century chapel and Pope's Tower (no website)
- Stonor Park – country house and 14th-century chapel of the recusant Stonor family
- Swalcliffe Tithe Barn– 15th-century
- Thame Museum
- Tolsey Museum, Burford (no website)
- burial chamber in the White Horse Hills
- Vale and Downland Museum, Wantage
- Wallingford Museum
- Wheatley Windmill – 18th-century tower mill[17]
See also
- Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire
- High Sheriff of Oxfordshire
- Oxfordshire Artweeks, an annual art festival each May
- Oxford University(including links to the individual colleges)
- Oxford Canal
Notes
References
- ^ "No. 62943". The London Gazette. 13 March 2020. p. 5161.
- Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- ^ "Homepage". Archived from the original on 23 November 2002. Retrieved 16 November 2002.
- ^ Edwardes, Simon (2001). "County and Unitary Authority Tops". The Mountains of England and Wales. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ "Regional Gross Value Added" (PDF). pp. 240–253. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2011.
- ^ "Six of world's top 20 universities are in UK". BBC. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ "Four Worlds of Work: Preparing students for the global market". Study International. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ "Economic Statistics". Oxford City Council. Archived from the original on 17 December 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- ^ The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay archives.
- ^ Currie 1992, p. 225.
- ^ Historic England. "The Abbey (1052729)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ Christopher Gale (7 July 2012). "Abingdon County Hall Museum". Abingdonmuseum.org.uk. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- ^ "Home page". Chipping Norton History Society and Museum. Archived from the original on 16 May 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ "Home". Combemill.org. Archived from the original on 10 September 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- ^ "Oxfordshire". Milton Manor House. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- ISBN 978-0300096392.
- ^ Glitz. "Wheatley Windmill Website". Wheatleymill.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 July 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- Currie, Christopher Richard John (1992). "Larger Medieval Houses in the Vale of White Horse" (PDF). Oxoniensia. 57: 81–224. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
Further reading
- Powell, Philip (2005). The Geology of Oxfordshire. Dovecote Press. ISBN 1-904349-19-6.
External links
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 415–418. .
- Oxfordshire County Council
- Thisisoxfordshire Oxfordshire news, sport & information
- The Oxfordshire Association
- Flags of Oxfordshire
- Visit South Oxfordshire
- Banbury & District National Trust Association Archived 12 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- Images of Oxfordshire Archived 2 October 2012 at the English Heritage Archive
- Oxfordshire at Curlie