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OXFORDSHIRE (or OxoN)
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See also:OXFORDSHIRE (or OxoN) , an inland See also:county of See also:England, bounded N.E. by See also:Northamptonshire, N.W! by See also:Warwickshire, W. by See also:Gloucestershire, S.S.W. and S.E. by See also:Berkshire, and E. by See also:Buckinghamshire; See also:area 755.7 sq. m. The county lies almost wholly in the See also:basin of the upper See also:Thames. This See also:river forms its See also:southern boundary for 71 m., from Kelmscot near Lechlade (Gloucestershire) to Remenham below See also:Henley-on-Thames, excepting for very See also:short distances at two points near See also:Oxford. The See also:main stream is the boundary See also:line, but from Oxford upward the river often sends out branches through the See also:flat See also:water-meadows. The See also:principal tributaries joining the Thames on the Oxfordshire See also:side do not in any See also:case rise within the county, but have the greater See also:part of their courses through it. These tributaries are as follows, pursuing the main river down-wards. (I) The Windrush, rising in Gloucestershire, follows a narrow and pleasant valley as far as See also:Witney, after which it meanders in several branches through See also:rich flat See also:country, to join the Thames at Newbridge. (2) The Evenlode, also rising in Gloucestershire, forms the western county boundary for a short distance, and followsa similar but more beautiful valley to the Thames below Eynsham. From the See also:north it receives the Glyme, which joins it on the confines of See also:Blenheim See also:Park, where the woodland scenery is of See also:peculiar richness. (3) The Cherwell, rising in Northamptonshire, forms some to m. of the eastern boundary, and with a straight southerly course joins the Thames at Oxford. From the See also:east it receives the See also:Ray, which drains the flat See also:tract of Ot See also:Moor. (4) The Thame, rising In Buckinghamshire, runs See also:south-See also:west and west, forming 6 m. of the eastern boundary, after which it turns south to join the Thames near See also:Dorchester. Above the point of junction the Thames is often called the See also:Isis. Lastly, a small part of the north-eastern boundary is formed by the See also:Great See also:Ouse (which discharges into the North See also:Sea), here a very slight stream, some of whose See also:head-feeders rise within Oxfordshire.
The See also:low hills which See also:lie south of the Windrush, and those between it and the Evenlode (which attain a greater height) are foothills of the Cotteswold range, the greater part of which lies in Gloucestershire. Between the Windrush and Evenlode they are clothed with the remaining See also:woods of Wychwood See also:Forest, one of the See also:ancient forests of England, which was a royal preserve from the See also:time of See also: The Thames flows through a deep See also:gap from about See also:Goring downwards, between the Chilterns and the Berkshire See also:Downs. Here, as above at Nuneham and other points, the sylvan scenery is fine, and Henley and Goring are favourite See also:riverside resorts on the Oxfordshire See also:shore. The western feeders of the Thames and Cherwell have much rich woodland in their narrow valleys, and the sequestered See also:village of Great Tew, on a tributary of the Cherwell river, may be singled out as having a situation of exceptional beauty. See also:Geology.—The See also:influence of the rocky substratum upon the See also:character of the scenery and See also:soil is clearly marked. It is sufficient to point, on the one See also:hand, to the dry chalky upland of the Chiltern Hills and the oolitic See also:limestone hills in the north-west, or the See also:Corn-brash with its rich, fertile soil; and, on the other hand, to the dreary scenery of the Oxford See also:Clay See also:land with its See also:cold, unproductive soil. Cretaceous rocks occupy the south-eastern corner of the county; See also:Jurassic rocks prevail over the See also:remainder. The See also:general See also:dip is towards the south-east, and the strike of the strata is S.W.–N.E.; therefore in passing from south to north, beds are traversed which are successively lower and older. The Chiltern Hills, with a strong scarp facing the north-west, are formed of See also:Chalk, the Lower Chalk at the See also:foot and the hard Chalk See also:rock at the See also:summit; from the See also:top of the hills the Upper Chalk-with-Flints descends steadily towards the Thames. Here and there, as at Shiplake and Nettlebed, outliers of See also:Tertiary See also:clays See also:rest upon it. The Upper See also:Greensand forms a low feature at the foot of the Chalk hills; this is succeeded by the See also:Gault, with an outcrop varying from 4 M. to 11 M. wide between Dorchester and See also:Sydenham; it is a See also:pale See also:blue clay, dug for bricks at Culham. The Lower Greensand appears from beneath the Gault at Culham and Nuneham See also:Courtney and in outliers north of Cuddesdon. The Kimmeridge clay, in the grass-covered vales between See also:Sandford and Waterperry, is separated from the Lower Greensand by the See also:Portland limestone and Portland sands and by the thin Purbeck beds; it is dug for bricks at Headington. Both Portland and Purbeck beds may be observed in Shotover hill; the Portland limestone is quarried at Garsington. The See also:Coral Rag,with calcareous grit at the See also:base, is a shelly, coral-bearing limestone, traceable from Sandford to See also:Wheatley; it has been extensively quarried at Heading-ton hill. North-west of the last-named formation a broad outcrop of Oxford Clay crosses the county; while this is mostly under pasture, the next lower formation, the See also:Cornbrash, a brownish rubbly limestone, gives rise to a loose See also: The Upper Lias clays occur mostly as unimportant outliers. The Lower Lias clays have been exposed by the Evenlode near Charlbury and by the Cherwell in the upper part of its valley. A hard shelly limestone called See also:Banbury marble occurs in this part of the Lias. Glacial See also:drift is sparingly scattered over the south-western part of the county, but is more plentiful in the north-eastern portion. Valley gravels are associated with the main stream courses and See also:gravel, clay-withflints and See also:brick See also:earth rest upon much of the chalk slope. See also:Coal See also:Measures have been proved at a See also:depth of about 1200 ft. near See also:Burford. See also:Climate and See also:Agriculture.—The climate is healthy and generally dry except in the low ground bordering the Thames, as at Oxford; but colder than the other southern districts of England, especially in the See also:bleak and exposed regions of the Chilterns. Crops are later in the uplands than in more northerly situations at a lower elevation. In the See also:northern districts there is a strong yet friable See also:loam, well adapted for all kinds of crops. The centre of the county is occupied for the most part by a See also:good friable but not so rich soil, formed of decomposed See also:sandstone, chalk and limestone. A large district in the south-east is occupied by the chalk of the Chiltern Hills, partly wooded, partly arable, and partly used as See also:sheep-walks. The remainder of the county is occupied by a variety of See also:miscellaneous soils ranging from coarse See also:sand to heavy tenacious clay, and occasionally very fertile. Nearly seven-eighths of the area of the county, a high proportion, is under cultivation. The acreage under See also:grain crops is nearly equally divided between See also:barley, oats and wheat. There is a considerable acreage under beans. More than See also:half the See also:total acreage under See also:green crops is occupied by turnips, and vetches and tares are also largely grown. Along the smaller streams there are very rich meadows for grazing, but those on the Thames and Cherwell are subject to floods. The See also:dairy See also:system prevails in many places, but the See also:milk is manufactured into See also:butter, little See also:cheese being made. The improved shorthorn is the most common breed, but See also:Alderney and See also:Devonshire cows are largely kept. Of sheep, Southdowns are kept on the lower grounds, and Lelcesters , and Cotteswolds on the hills. Pigs are extensively reared, the county being famous for its brawn. Manufactures.—Blankets are manufactured at Witney, and See also:tweed, girths and horsecloths at Chipping Norton. There are See also:paper See also:mills at Shiplake, Sandford-on-Thames, Wolvercot and Eynsham, using water See also:power, as do the blanket See also:works and many mills on the tributary streams of the Thames. Agricultural implements and portable engines are made at Banbury, and gloves at Woodstock, the last a very ancient See also:industry. Banbury has been See also:long celebrated for the manufacture of a peculiar cake. Some iron ore is raised (from the middle Lias), and the quarries and clays for brick-making are important, as already indicated. A large number of See also:women and girls are employed in several of the towns and villages in the See also:lace manufacture.
Communications.—The northern line of the Great Western railway, leaving the main line at Didcot Junction in Berkshire, runs north through Oxfordshire by the Cherwell valley. Oxford is the junction for the See also:Worcester line, running north-west by the Evenlode valley, with branches from Chipping Norton Junction into Gloucestershire (See also:Cheltenham), and across the north-west of the county to the northern line at See also: See also:Population and See also:Administration.—The area of the ancient county is 483,626 acres, with a population in 1891 of 185,240and in 1901 of 181,120. The area of the ad ninistrative county is 480,687 acres. The municipal boroughs are Banbury (pop. 12,968), Chipping Norton (3780), Henley-on-Thames (5984), Oxford, a See also:city and the county town (49,336) and Woodstock (1684). The See also:urban districts are Bicester (3023), Caversham (658o), Thame (2911), Wheatley (872), Witney (3574)• See also:Bampton (1167) and Burford (1146) in the west, and Watlington (1154) in the south-east, are the other principal country towns. The county is in the Oxford See also:circuit, and assizes are held at Oxford. It has one See also:court of See also:quarter-sessions, and is divided into rr See also:petty sessional divisions. The See also:borough of Banbury and the city of Oxford have See also:separate courts of quarter-sessions and commissions of the See also:peace, and the borough of Henley-on-Thames has a separate See also:commission of the peace. The total number of See also:civil parishes in 304. Oxfordshire is in the See also:diocese of Oxford, and contains 244 ecclesiastical parishes or districts, wholly or in part. The ancient county is divided (since 1885) into three See also:parliamentary divisions: Banbury or northern, Woodstock or See also:mid, and Henley or southern, each returning one member. It also includes part of the parliamentary borough of Oxford, returning one member, in addition to which the university of Oxford returns two members. See also:Education. On See also:account of the famous university of Oxford and other educational institutions there, the county as regards education holds as high a position as any in England. In connexion with the university there is a See also:day training See also:college for schoolmasters, and there is also in Oxford a residential training college for school-mistresses (diocesan), which takes day students. There is a training college for schoolmasters in the dioceses of Oxford and Gloucester, at Culham. At Cuddesdon, where is the See also:palace of the bishops of Oxford, there is a theological college, opened in 1854. At Bloxham is the large See also:grammar school of All See also:Saints, and there are several boys' See also:schools in Oxford. See also:History.—The origin of the county of Oxford is somewhat uncertain; like other divisions of the Mercian See also:kingdom, the older boundaries were entirely wiped out, and the district was renamed after the principal town. The boundaries, except for the southern one, which is formed by the Thames, are artificial. There are fourteen hundreds in Oxfordshire, among them being five of the Chiltern hundreds. The See also:jurisdiction over these five belonged to the See also:manor of See also:Benson, and in 1199 to See also:Robert de See also:Hare-court, a name which is still to be found in the county in the Harcourts of See also:Stanton-See also:Harcourt and Nuneham. The county includes small portions of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, which lie in the hundreds of Bampton and Ploughley respectively. There has been little See also:change in the county boundary; but acts of William IV. and See also:Victoria slightly increased its area. The district was overrun in the 6th See also:century by the victorious West See also:Saxons, who took Benson and Eynsham, as may be seen in the Saxon See also:Chronicle for 571. In the 7th century the Mercians held all the northern border of the Thames, and during the 8th century this district twice changed hands, falling to Wessex after the See also:battle of Burford, and to See also:Mercia after a battle at Benson. As part of the Mercian kingdom it was included in the diocese of See also:Lincoln. A bishopric had been established at Dorchester as See also:early as 634, when Birinus, the apostle of Wessex, was given an episcopal seat there, but when a See also:bishop was established at See also:Winchester this bishopric seems to have come to an end. Before the Mercian See also:conquest in 777, Oxfordshire was in the diocese of See also:Sherborne. In 873 the jurisdiction of Dorchester reached to the See also:Humber, and when the Danes were converted it extended over See also:Leicestershire and See also:Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire forming about an eighth of the diocese. At the Conquest there was no alteration, but in 1092 the seat was transferred to Lincoln. In 1542 a bishopric of Osney and Thame was established, taking its See also:title from Oxford, the last See also: Here also took See also:place the stormy See also:meeting following the assembly (gemot) at See also:Northampton, in which Harold allowed See also:Tostig to be outlawed and Morkere to be chosen See also:earl in his place, thus preparing the way for his own downfall and for the See also:Norman Conquest. The destruction of houses in Oxford recorded in the Domesday Survey may possibly be accounted for by the ravages of the See also:rebel army of Eadwine and Morkere on this occasion, there being no undisputed mention of a. See also:siege by William. Large possessions in the county See also:fell to the Conqueror, and also to his rapacious kinsman, See also:Odo, bishop of Winchester. The bishop of Lincoln also had extensive lands therein, while the abbeys of See also:Abingdon, Osney and Godstow, with other religious houses, held much land in the county. Among See also:lay tenants in See also:chief, Robert D'Oili, See also:heir of Wigod of See also:Wallingford, held many manors and houses in Oxford, of which town he was See also:governor. The importance of Oxford was already well established; the See also:shire See also:moot there is mentioned in Canute's Oxford See also:laws, and it was undoubtedly the seat of the county court from the first, the See also:castle being the county See also:gaol. The principal See also:historical events between this See also:period and the Civil See also:War belong less to the history of the county than to that of the city of Oxford (q.v.). The See also:dissolution of the monasteries, though it affected the county greatly, caused no general disturbance.
When King See also: In the campaign of See also:Newbury which followed, the parliamentary troops under See also:Essex passed through north Oxfordshire on their way to the See also:relief of Gloucester, and many confused skirmishes took place between them and Rupert's men; and when the campaign closed with the virtual defeat of the royalists, the fortresses of the county offered them a See also:refuge which Essex was powerless to disturb. The following campaign witnessed a change in Charles' See also:strategy. Realizing his numerical weakness he abandoned the See also:idea of an envelopment, and decided to use Oxfordshire as the stronghold from which he could strike in all directions. The commanding situation of the city itself prevented any serious See also:attempt at investment by dividing the enemy's forces, but material wants made it impossible for Charles to maintain permanently his central position. Plans were continually resolved upon and cancelled on both sides, and eventually Essex headed for the south-west, leaving See also:Waller to See also:face the king alone. The battle of Cropredy Bridge followed (29th of See also:Jan.), and the victorious king turned south to pursue and See also:capture Essex at See also:Lostwithiel in See also:Cornwall. In the remaining operations of 1644 Oxfordshire again served as a refuge and as a base (Newbury and Donnington). With the See also:appearance on the See also:scene of See also:Cromwell and the New See also:Model army a fresh See also:interest arose. Having started from See also:Windsor on the loth of See also:April 1645, the future See also:Protector carried out a daring cavalry See also:raid. He caught and scattered the royalists unawares at Islip; then he pursued the fugitives to Bletchington and terrified the governor into surrendering. He swept right See also:round Oxford, fought again at Bampton, and finally rejoined his chief, See also:Fairfax, in Berkshire. A few days later Charles again marched away northwards; while Fairfax was ordered to besiege Oxford. In spite of the difficulties of the besiegers Charles was compelled to turn back to relieve the city, and the consequent
XX. 14delay led to the campaign and disaster of See also:Naseby. Yet even after Naseby the actual position of Oxfordshire was practically unshaken. It is true that Abingdon with its parliamentary See also:garrison was a See also:standing menace, but the districts east of the Cherwell and Thames, and the triangle bounded by Oxford, See also:Faringdon and Banbury, still retained its importance, till early in 1646 the enemy closed from all sides on the last stronghold of royalism. See also:Stow-on-the-Wold witnessed the final battle of the war. On the 9th of May Banbury surrendered, and two days later Oxford itself was closely invested. On the 24th of June the city capitulated, and three days later Wallingford, the last place to give in, followed its example.
The war left the county in an exceedingly impoverished See also:condition. Its prosperity had steadily declined since the early 14th century, when it had been second in prosperity in the kingdom, owing its See also:wealth largely to its well-watered pastures, which bred sheep whose See also:wool was famous all over England, and to its good See also:supply of water power. See also:Salt is mentioned as a product of the county in Domesday See also:Book. Various small See also:industries See also:grew up, such- as See also:plush-making at Banbury, See also:leather works at Bampton and Burford, gloves at Woodstock, and See also:malt at Henley. See also:Glass was made at Benson and Stokenchurch in the reign of See also: The pestilence of 1349, the See also:conversion of arable into pasture land, and the enclosure of common land in the early 16th century had led to agricultural depression and discontent. In 183o the enclosure of Otmoor led to serious riots, in which the See also:people gathered in Oxford at St See also:Giles' See also:fair joined. The county was represented in See also:parliament in 1289 by two members.
Antiquities.—The remains of castles are scanty. The See also:majority of them were probably built for defence in the civil strife of See also:Stephen's reign (1100-1135), and were not maintained after See also:order was restored. Considerable portions of the Norman Oxford Castle survive, however, while there are slighter remains of the castle at Bampton, the seat of See also:Aylmer de See also:Valence in 1313. Among remains of former mansions there may be noted the 14th century Greys Court near Henley-on-Thames, See also:Minster See also:Lovell, on the Windrush above Witney, and Rycote, between Thame and Oxford. Minster Lovell, the extensive ruins of which make an exquisite picture by the river-side, was the seat of See also:Francis, See also:Lord Lovel, who, being the son of a Lancastrian See also:father, incurred the hatred of that party by'serving See also:Richard III., and afterwards assisted the cause of See also:Lambert See also:Simnel, mysteriously disappearing after the battle of Stoke. The remains of Rycote (partly incorporated with a farmhouse) are of fine Elizabethan brick, and in the See also:chapel attached to the manor there is remarkable Jacobean woodwork, the entire fittings of the See also: Mapledurham, on the Thames above Reading, is a fine Tudor See also:mansion of brick; and Water See also:Eaton, on the See also:Cher-well above Oxford, is a singularly perfect Jacobean house of stone, with a chapel of the same period resembling pure Perpendicular. Of other mansions in the county Blenheim Palace, near Woodstock, must be mentioned.- The former Holton House (now replaced by a Georgian building), near Wheatley, was the scene in 1646 of the See also:wedding of See also:Ireton, .the soldier of Cromwell, with his See also:leader's daughter See also:Bridget. The influence of such a centre of learning as the university was naturally very great upon the ecclesiastical history of the neighbourhood. A large number of monastic See also:foundations arose, such as those of Augustinian canons at Bicester, Caversham, Cold Norton, Dorchester, Osney (a magnificent See also:foundation just outside the walls of Oxford) and Wroxton; of See also:Cistercians, II at Bruern and Thame; of See also:Benedictines, at Cogges, Eynsham, Milton; of Mathurins, at Nuffield; of Gilbertines, at Clatter-cote; of See also:Templars, at Sandford-on-Thames. There was at Gosford one of the only two preceptories of See also:female Templars in England. Of all these, excepting the See also:abbey church at Dorchester, remains are scanty. A few domestic buildings remain at Studley; the boundary walls still stand of Godstow Nunnery on the Thames, the See also:retreat and See also:burial-place of Rosamund See also:Clifford or " Fair Rosamund," the See also:object of Henry II.'s famous court-See also:ship; and there are traces of Rewley Abbey within Oxford. In ecclesiastical See also:architecture Oxfordshire, apart from Oxford itself, is remarkably rich, but there is no dominant See also:style, nearly all the churches being of mixed See also:dates. In fact, of the most important churches only Ifffey, Adderbury and Minster Lovell need be taken as types of a single style. Iffley, picturesquely placed above the Thames 1 m. S. of Oxford, is one of the finest examples of pure Norman in England, with a highly ornate west front. Adderbury, 4 M. S. of Banbury, is a great cruciform Decorated church with a massive central tower and See also:spire. Minster Lovell, also cruciform, is pure Perpendicular; its central tower is supported, with beautiful and unusual effect, on four detached piers. For the rest, one feature common to several is to be noticed. The short ungainly spire of Oxford See also:cathedral was among the earliest, if not the first, constructed in England, and served as a model from which were probably See also:developed the splendid central See also:spires of the great churches at Witney, Bampton, Shipton-under-Wychwood and Bradwell. There are also three fine spires in the north: Bloxham, Adderbury and King's Sutton (across the border in Northamptonshire), which are locally proverbial as typifying length, strength and beauty. Bloxham church, mainly Decorated, with Norman portions and a remarkable Early English west front, is one of the largest and most beautiful in the county. In the west Burford (Norman and later) is noteworthy, and in the See also:porch of the fine Norman church of Langford is seen the rare feature of a crucifix with the figure cloaked. At South See also:Leigh are remarkable mural paintings of the 15th century. About 5 m. N. of Oxford there are Kidlington (Decorated) with a beautiful See also:needle-like Perpendicular spire, and Islip, which, as the birthplace of See also:Edward the See also:Confessor, retains a connexion with his Abbey of See also:Westminster, the See also:Dean and See also:Chapter of which are lords of the manor and patrons of the living. In the south-east, Dorchester Abbey, with its See also:nave of transitional Norman, has a curious Decorated See also:Jesse window, the See also:tracery representing the genealogical See also:tree of the See also:patriarch. At Cuddesdon there is another large cruciform church, Norman and later. Ewelme church (Perpendicular) is remarkable for the See also:tomb of Alice, Duchess of See also:Suffolk (1475), gorgeous with tracery and gilded See also:canopy, and that of See also:Sir See also: Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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