Oxfordshire

I

Introduction

Oxfordshire (abbreviation Oxon), county, central-southern England, bounded on the north by the counties of Warwickshire and Northamptonshire, on the west by Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Swindon unitary authority, on the south by West Berkshire, Reading, and Wokingham unitary authorities, and on the east by Buckinghamshire. Under the local government reforms of 1974 the county's boundaries were extended to take in parts of the former county of Berkshire north of the Berkshire Downs, including the towns of Abingdon, Faringdon, Wallingford, and Wantage. Oxfordshire now has a land area of 2,608 sq km (1,007 sq mi). Primarily an agricultural county, lying almost entirely within the basin of the River Thames, it is renowned worldwide for the University of Oxford, the oldest in the United Kingdom. Oxford is the administrative centre.

II

Land and Resources

Oxfordshire consists of two upland areas: the limestone North Oxfordshire Heights, to the north-east; and the chalky Berkshire Downs to the south. Between them lies a broad vale of rich clay, consisting of the Oxford Clay Vale and the Vale of the White Horse. This Oxford clay formation is exceptionally thick and rich in fossiliferous deposits; grassland predominates. To the west lie the limestone Cotswold Hills and to the east the chalky Chiltern Hills. The Thames flows through the county, joined by its tributaries—the Cherwell, the Evenlode, the Ock, and the Windrush.

Ironstone, sand, gravel, and clay are among the natural resources still worked. Much of the fertile rural area is devoted to arable and sheep farming; the wool trade contributed greatly to the county's prosperity in medieval times. Water from the Windrush was an important source of power for the famous Witney blanket-making industry. There is a large thermal power station near Didcot. The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) research establishment at Harwell is nearby. At Culham Laboratory, near Abingdon, is the Joint European Taurus (JET) project on nuclear fusion. Didcot is a major railway junction.

Oxfordshire has a moderate climate, with an average annual rainfall in the region of 635-760 mm (25-30 in).

III

Population and Administration

The population of Oxfordshire is estimated at 605,492 (2001). Oxford (2001, 134,248) is the largest city and main commercial and industrial centre, as well as the seat of local government. Other important towns are Abingdon (1991, 35,234), Banbury (1994 estimate, 38,200), Henley-on-Thames (1991, 10,558), and Witney (1991, 20,377).

Oxfordshire has a county council and five local government district councils: Cherwell, Oxford, South Oxfordshire, Vale of the White Horse, and West Oxfordshire. Its administrative structure was unchanged by the local government restructuring in England in the 1990s. The police authority is the Thames Valley Police, with its headquarters at Kidlington, Oxford. The UKAEA Constabulary at Culham Laboratory is responsible for policing the United Kingdom's various nuclear power establishments and for escorting nuclear material between them. A Crown Court sits at Oxford.

IV

Education and Culture

The University of Oxford dates from the 12th century; its oldest surviving college is University College (founded 1249). Once a bastion of male learning, the university now has more than 8,900 men and 5,800 women enrolled in any one academic year. Outstanding university buildings include the Sheldonian Theatre, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, the Radcliffe Camera, and the Bodleian Library, which is one of Great Britain's six copyright libraries. Oxford Brookes University, at Headington (formerly Oxford Polytechnic), was established in 1993. The John Radcliffe Hospital, in Headington, is one of Britain’s leading teaching hospitals.

The county has many independent schools, as well as a number of highly regarded state schools. Schools in Oxford include Oxford High, a girls' private school; and Magdalen College School, a boys' public school, founded to train choristers for Magdalen College (pronounced “maudlin”). Near Abingdon is a leading boys' public school Radley College (founded 1847), and the European School attached to the JET project at Culham.

Two celebrated children's classics have associations with the county. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was conceived in 1862, when the Oxford academic and mathematician Charles Lutwidge Dodgson began the fantasy during a boating trip on the Thames to amuse the children of the dean of Christ Church College; one, 10-year-old Alice Liddell, was the model for the heroine of the book and of its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. Dodgson published both books under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. The picturesque mill and weir at Mapledurham Lock, on the Oxfordshire-West Berkshire border to the north of Reading, was used by the artist E. H. Shepard in his illustrations for the novel The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. The poet, artist, and social reformer William Morris lived at Kelmscott. He later used the village's name both for his London residence and for the Kelmscott Press, founded in Hammersmith in 1890. Garsington Manor, near Wheatley, the home of Lady Ottoline Morrell, was a favourite venue for the Bloomsbury Group.

The Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS), founded in 1884, has achieved a high reputation for its productions, especially of Shakespeare. The Oxford Playhouse is one of the most highly esteemed repertory theatres in Britain.

Oxford United FC, based in Headington, is the county’s only club in the Football League. The club used to play its home games at the Manor Ground, but moved to the Kassam Stadium at the start of the 2001-2002 season. A number of fiercely competed sporting fixtures take place every year between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The first University Boat Race and the first inter-varsity cricket match were held in 1827.