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Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire, England
Oxfordshire is an inland county in the Midlands of England. The north-west of the county lies in the Cotswolds. Some of the finest Cotswold towns are to be found here, notably Chipping Norton and Burford. The Rollright Stones, an ancient stone circle, are located on a scarp of the Cotswold Hills. Away from the Cotswolds, northern Oxfordshire is rural in character with a few small towns. Banbury is famed in song and for Banbury cakes. Bicester is a historic market town. Carlbury is a quiet, unspoilt market town. Woodstock is dominated by the nearby Blenheim Palace - the birthplace of Churchill. The south of Oxfordshire lies in the Thames Valley, the Thames forming the whole of Oxfordshire's southern border. This part of the county is a place of idyllic villages. Oxford is the seat of the oldest university in Britain. The ancient colleges and university buildings define and shape the town. At Oxford the river, and thus the county border, takes a sudden turn south. Dorchester on Thames was in Saxon times a major monastic centre. The village of Caversham is now a suburb of Reading. Henley on Thames is famous for its annual regatta. North of Henley the Chilterns begin. The Chilterns are better known in Buckinghamshire, but there are many fine walks to be had in the Oxfordshire hills.Type: Historic County
Lat, Long: 51.861295,-1.338504
Grid Reference: SP456182
Country: England
Explore Oxfordshire on WikishireThe north-west of Oxfordshire lies in the Cotswolds. Some of the finest Cotswold towns are to be found here, the main town being Chipping Norton, with an impressive high street and coaching inns all in the honey coloured stone found throughout the Cotswolds. Burford is a small mediæval town often referred to as the 'gateway' to the Cotswolds. The Rollright Stones are located on a scarp of the Cotswold Hills, the Whispering Knights stone circle in Oxfordshire and the King Stone in Warwickshire. Nearby is Chastleton House (NT), a Jacobean country house.
The Rollright Stones
Away from the Cotswolds, northern Oxfordshire is rural in character with a few small towns. In the far north lies Banbury, famed in song and for Banbury cakes. In the north-east, Bicester is a historic market town which, like Banbury, lies close to the M40. In the north-west, Carlbury is a quiet, unspoilt market town. Woodstock is a small market town dominated by the neighbouring house, Blenheim Palace (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), The palace is the seat of the Duke of Marlborough, and was the birthplace in 1874 of Winston Churchill (who is buried in the nearby village of Bladon). Carterton is a large town established by William Carter in the early 20th century. Witney is a historic market town with a 17th-century "buttercross", so called because people would gather there to buy butter and eggs.
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Blenheim Palace
The south of Oxfordshire is in the middle and upper reaches of the Thames Valley. The Thames forms the whole of Oxfordshire's southern border, stretching for about 70 miles. At Kelmscott, at the south-western corner of the shire, the Thames is a modest river, though just navigable. Downstream from here as the river widens, the county is a place of idyllic villages, down to Oxford itself.
Oxford is the seat of the oldest university in Britain, and one of the most prestigious in the world. Oxford has a wealth of ancient colleges and university buildings with beautiful buildings which define and shape the town. Among its many highlights are the Radcliffe Camera, designed by James Gibbs in neo-classical style and built in 1737–49; the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Britain's first public museum; and the University of Oxford Botanic Garden, founded in 1621, the oldest botanic garden in Great Britain. At Oxford the Cherwell meets the Thames. Down by where the rivers meet are meadows belonging, like much of the city, to the colleges. The cathedral is by the meadows too, rather overlooked. Oxford though also has another side as a manufacturing town, centred in Cowley.
The Bridge of Sighs, University of Oxford
At Oxford the river, and thus the county border, takes a sudden turn south. Dorchester on Thames was in Saxon times a major monastic centre and the seat of a bishopric which covered much of the eastern Midlands, though it is now a small village. In the far south of the county lies the village of Caversham which is now grown to be a suburb of Reading across the river in Berkshire.
Some miles below Caversham is Henley on Thames, a very wealthy town and famous for the annual Henley Regatta. North of Henley the Chilterns begin. The Chilterns are better known in Buckinghamshire, but there are many fine walks to be had in the Oxfordshire hills. The highest point in Oxfordshire is on Bald Hill, within Cowleaze Wood. Greys Court (NT) is a Tudor country house in the Chiltern Hills at Rotherfield Greys. Nuffield Place (NT) is a 20th-century country house, the former home of Sit William Morris, near the village of Nuffield.
Henley on Thames
Oxfordshire was recorded as a county in the early years of the 10th century. Like many Anglo-Saxon counties it was named after its principal town. Oxfordshire Day is celebrated on 19th October. It is the principal feast day of the patron saint of the city and university of Oxford, St Frideswide. The Oxfordshire flag originated as the coat of arms of the former County Council of Oxfordshire. The basic field colour is the dark blue long associated with Oxford University; against this two broad, white, wavy stripes symbolise the River Thames, and against this sits a red ox head, the combination of which alludes to the origin of the county town of Oxford. At the lower left and upper right corners, a golden oak tree and wheatsheaf or garb represent the county's woodland and agriculture.