Oxfordshire

[oks-ferd-sheer, -sher]

Oxfordshire or Oxon, county (1991 pop. 553,800), 749 sq mi (1,940 sq km), S central England. The county seat is Oxford. The terrain is generally flat except for a branch of the Chiltern Hills in the southeast. The county is drained by the Thames River (or Isis as it is sometimes locally called) and its affluents, the Windrush, the Evenlode, the Cherwell, and the Thame. The chief occupation is farming (wheat, barley, and oats), with some dairying and sheep raising. Ironstone and limestone are found. Oxford is the industrial center (automobiles and steel products). In the Middle Ages, Oxfordshire was a part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. During the English civil war it was a stronghold of royalist resistance. Near Woodstock, rich in historical associations, is Blenheim Park.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Oxfordshire

Administrative (pop., 2001: 605,492) and historic county, south-central England. It consists of two upland areas divided by a broad vale. Evidence of inhabitation dates from the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods. Dorchester was an important Roman settlement; subsequent Saxon settlement was concentrated along the Thames River valley. The county saw action during the English Civil Wars. Oxfordshire's economy is basically agricultural, with sheep farming and wool production. Cowley, a suburb of the county seat of Oxford, is the major industrial centre.

Learn more about Oxfordshire with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire (administrative county)
\|-		Geography
Status	Ceremonial & Non-metropolitan county
Region:	South East England
Area - Total - Admin. council	Ranked 22nd 2,605 km² Ranked 19th
Admin HQ:	Oxford
GB:	GB-OXF
ONS code:	38
NUTS 3:	UKJ14
Demographics
Population - Total () - Density - Admin. Council	Ranked / km² Ranked
Ethnicity:	95.1% White 1.7% S. Asian
Politics
Oxfordshire County Council http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/
Executive
Members of Parliament	Tony Baldry (C) David Cameron (C) Evan Harris (LD) John Howell (C) Andrew Smith (L) Ed Vaizey (C)
Districts
Oxford Cherwell South Oxfordshire Vale of White Horse West Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from the Latinised form Oxonia) is a county in the South East of England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire.

It is divided into five local government districts: Oxford, Cherwell, Vale of White Horse (after the Uffington White Horse), West Oxfordshire and South Oxfordshire.

The county has a major tourism industry. The area is noted for the concentration of performance motorsport companies and facilities. Oxford University Press has headed a concentration of print and publishing firms; the university is also linked to the concentration of local biotechnology companies.

The main centre of population is the city of Oxford. Other significant settlements are Banbury, Bicester, Kidlington, and Chipping Norton to the north of Oxford; Witney to the west; Thame and Chinnor to the east; and Abingdon, Wantage, Didcot, Wallingford and Henley-on-Thames to the south. Future population growth in the county is hoped to be concentrated around Banbury, Bicester, Didcot and Witney, near the South Midlands growth area.

The highest point of the county is Whitehorse Hill, in the Vale of White Horse, reaching 856 feet (261m).

Oxfordshire's county flower is the Snake's-head Fritillary.

History

The county of Oxfordshire was formed in the early years of the 10th century and is broadly situated in the land between the River Thames to the south, the Cotswolds to the west, the Chilterns to the east and the Midlands to the north, with spurs running south to Henley-on-Thames and north to Banbury.

Historically the area has always had some importance, containing valuable agricultural land in the centre of the country and the prestigious university in the county town of Oxford (whose name came from Anglo-Saxon Oxenaford = "ford for oxen"). Ignored by the Romans, it was not until the formation of a settlement at Oxford in the eighth century that the area grew in importance. Alfred the Great was born across the Thames in Wantage in Berkshire. The University of Oxford was founded in 1096, though its collegiate structure did not develop until later on. The area was part of the Cotswolds wool trade from the 13th century, generating much wealth, particularly in the western portions of the county in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds. Morris Motors was founded in Oxford in 1912, bringing heavy industry to an otherwise agricultural county. The importance of agriculture as an employer has declined rapidly in the 20th century though; currently under one percent of the county's population are involved due to high mechanisation.

Throughout most of its history the county was divided into fourteen hundreds, namely Bampton, Banbury, Binfield, Bloxham, Bullingdon, Chadlington, Dorchester, Ewelme, Langtree, Lewknor, Pyrton, Ploughley, Thame and Wootton.

The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, the main army unit in the area, was based at the Barracks on Bullingdon Green, Cowley.

The Vale of the White Horse district and parts of the South Oxfordshire administrative district south of the River Thames were historically part of Berkshire, but were added to the administrative county of Oxfordshire in 1974. Conversely, the Caversham area of Reading was historically part of Oxfordshire as was the parish of Stokenchurch, now in administrative Buckinghamshire.

Towns and cities in Administrative Oxfordshire

Abingdon (In Berkshire until 1974)
Banbury
Bicester
Burford
Carterton
Chipping Norton
Didcot (In Berkshire until 1974)
Faringdon (In Berkshire until 1974)
Henley-on-Thames
Oxford
Thame
Wallingford (In Berkshire until 1974)
Wantage (In Berkshire until 1974)
Witney
Woodstock

For a more complete list of settlements in the county see List of places in Oxfordshire.

Economy

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Oxfordshire at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

Year	Regional Gross Value Added	Agriculture	Industry	Services
1995	7,607	120	2,084	5,404
2000	10,594	80	2,661	7,853
2003	12,942	93	2,665	10,184

Education

Oxfordshire has a completely comprehensive education system with 23 independent schools and 35 state schools. The state schools are from the ages of 11 to either 16 or 18. Only eight schools do not have a sixth form; these are mostly in South Oxfordshire and Cherwell districts.

Buildings

The most famous building in Oxfordshire is Blenheim Palace at Woodstock. It was built by the great architect John Vanbrugh for John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, after he had won the battle of Blenheim. The gardens, which can be visited, were designed by the landscape gardener "Capability Brown", who planted the trees in the battle formation of the victorious troops. In the palace, which can also be visited, Sir Winston Churchill was born.

Chastleton House, on the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire borders, is a great country mansion that was 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.

Towns by population

Rank	Town	Population	Year
1	Banbury	52,000
2	Abingdon	36,000
3	Bicester	28,672
4	Witney	23,765	2001
5	Didcot	22,700
6	Kidlington(village)	17,000
7	Carterton	14,000
8	Thame	12,000
9	Henley on Thames	10,513
10	Wantage	9,767
11	Wallingford	7,000
12	Chipping Norton	5,972
13	Faringdon	5,600
14	Watlington	3,000