The county ofOxfordshire inEngland is broadly situated in the land between theRiver Thames to the south, theCotswolds to the west, theChilterns to the east andThe Midlands to the north, with spurs running south toHenley-on-Thames and north toBanbury.
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 ofOxford (whose name came fromAnglo-SaxonOxenaford = "ford foroxen").[citation needed] Largely ignored by theRomans, it was not until the formation of a settlement at Oxford in the 8th century that the area grew in importance.Alfred the Great was born across the Thames inWantage, then in Berkshire. TheUniversity of Oxford was founded in 1096, though its collegiate structure did not develop until later on. The area was part of theCotswolds 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, bringingheavy 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.
There are fourteen hundreds in Oxfordshire, among them being five of the Chiltern hundreds. The jurisdiction over these five belonged to the manor of Benson, and in 1199 to Robert de Harecourt, a name which is still to be found in the county in the Harcourts ofStanton Harcourt andNuneham. The county includes small portions formerly of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, which lie in the hundreds of Bampton and Ploughley respectively.[1]
Throughout most of its history the county was divided into fourteenhundreds, namelyBampton,Banbury,Binfield,Bloxham,Bullingdon,Chadlington,Dorchester,Ewelme,Langtree,Lewknor,Pyrton,Ploughley,Thame andWootton.[citation needed]
There has been little change in the county boundary; but acts ofWilliam IV andVictoria slightly increased its area.[1]
Members of theAtrebates tribe lived in a region stretching between theThames, theTest, andWest Sussex in pre-Roman times.[2]
The origin of the county of Oxford is somewhat uncertain; like other divisions of the Mercian kingdom, theolder 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.[1]
The district was overrun in the 6th century by the victorious West Saxons, who tookBenson andEynsham, as may be seen in the Saxon 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 thebattle of Burford, and to Mercia after abattle at Bensington.[1]
As part of the Mercian kingdom it was included in thediocese of Lincoln. A bishopric had been established atDorchester as early as 634, whenBirinus, the apostle of Wessex, was given an episcopal seat there, but when a bishop was established atWinchester this bishopric seems to have come to an end. Before the Mercian conquest in 777, Oxfordshire was in the diocese ofSherborne. In 873 the jurisdiction of Dorchester reached to theHumber, and when theDanes were converted it extended overLeicestershire andLincolnshire, Oxfordshire forming about an eighth of the diocese.[3]
The Danes overran the county during the 10th century;Thorkell's army burnt Oxford in 1010, and the combined armies ofSweyn and Olaf crossedWatling Street and ravaged the district, Oxford and Winchester submitting to them. In 1018 Danes and Englishmen choseEadgar's law at an assembly in Oxford, and in 1036, onCanute's death, his sonHarold Harefoot was chosen king. Here also took place the stormy meeting following the assembly (gemot) at Northampton, in whichHarold Godwinson allowed his brotherTostig to be outlawed andMorkere to be chosen earl in his place, thus preparing the way for his own downfall and for theNorman Conquest.[3]
The destruction of houses in Oxford recorded in theDomesday Book may possibly be accounted for by the ravages of the rebel army of Eadwine and Morkcre on this occasion, there being no undisputed mention of a siege byWilliam the Conqueror. Large possessions in the county fell to the Conqueror, and also to his rapacious kinsman,Odo, Bishop of Winchester.[3]
At theNorman Conquest Oxfordshire remained in thediocese of Sherborne, but in 1092 the seat of the diocese was transferred to Lincoln.[1] The bishop of Lincoln also had extensive lands therein, while the abbeys ofAbingdon,Osney andGodstow, with other religious houses, held much land in the county. Among lay tenants in chief,Robert D'Oili, heir ofWigod of Walhngford, held many manors and houses in Oxford, of which town he was governor.[3]
By the time of the conquest the importance of Oxford was already well established; theshire moot there is mentioned in Canute's Oxford laws, and it was undoubtedly the seat of the county court from the first, the castle being the county gaol. The principal historical events between this period and theCivil War belong less to the history of the county than to that of the city of Oxford.[3]
The county was represented in parliament in 1289 by two members. Thepestilence of 1349, the conversion of arable into pasture land caused a steady decline in prosperity from the early 14th century, when it had been second in prosperity in the kingdom, owing its wealth largely to its well-watered pastures, which bred sheep whose wool was famous all over England, and to its good supply of water power. Salt is mentioned as a product of the county in Domesday Book. Various small industries grew up, such as plush-making atBanbury, leather works at Bampton andBurford, gloves atWoodstock, and malt at Henley. Glass was made at Benson andStokenchurch in the reign ofHenry VI, and the wool trade continued, though not in so flourishing a state, Witney retaining its fame in blanket making.[3]
The dissolution of the monasteries, though it affected the county greatly, caused no general disturbance, but the enclosure of common land in the early 16th century led to agricultural depression and discontent.[3]
In 1542 a bishopric of Osney and Thame was established, taking its title from Oxford, the last abbot of Osney being appointed to it. In 1546 the existing bishopric of Oxford was established. The ecclesiastical boundaries remain as they were when archdeacons were first appointed — the county and archdeaconry being conterminous — and the county being almost entirely in the diocese of Oxford.[1]
When KingCharles I won theBattle of Edgehill (23 October 1642)—the first battle of theEnglish Civil War—Oxford at once became the material and moral stronghold of the royalist cause. Every manor house in the district became an advanced work, and from Banbury in the north to Marlborough in the west and Reading in the south the walled towns formed an outer line of defence.[3]
For thecampaign of 1643 the role of this strong position was to be the detention of the main parliamentary army until the royalists from the north and the west could come into line on either hand, after which the united royal forces were to close upon London on all sides, and in the operations of that year Oxfordshire successfully performed its allotted functions. No serious breach was made in the line of defence, and more than once, notably at theBattle of Chalgrove Field (18 June 1643),Prince Rupert's cavalry struck hard and successfully.[3]
In thecampaign of Newburywhich followed, the parliamentary troops under theEssex passed through north Oxfordshire on their way to the relief ofGloucester, and many confused skirmishes took place between them and Rupert's men. When the campaign closed with the virtual defeat of the Royalists, the fortresses of the county offered them a refuge which Essex was powerless to disturb.[3]
Thefollowing campaign witnessed a change in Charles' strategy. Realizing his numerical weakness he abandoned the 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 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, leavingSir William Waller to face the king alone. TheBattle of Cropredy Bridge followed (29 June 1644), and the victorious king turned south to pursue and capture Essex at Lostwithiel in Cornwall.[3]
In the remaining operations of 1644 Oxfordshire again served as a refuge and as a base (Newbury and Donnington). With the appearance on the scene ofOliver Cromwell and theNew Model Army a fresh interest arose. Having started from Windsor on the 20 April 1645, the future Protector carried outa daring cavalry 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 round Oxford, fought again at Bampton, and finally rejoined his chief, Fairfax, in Berkshire.[3]
A few days later Charles again marched away northwards, while Fairfax was ordered tobesiege Oxford. In spite of the difficulties of the besiegers Charles was compelled to turn back to relieve the city, and the consequent delay led tothe campaign anddisaster of Naseby (14 June 1645). Yet even after Naseby the actual position of Oxfordshire was practically unshaken.[3]
It is true that Abingdon with its parliamentary garrison was a standing menace, but the districts east of the Cherwell and Thames, and the triangle bounded by Oxford, Faringdon and Banbury, still retained its importance, until early in 1646 the enemy closed from all sides on the last stronghold of royalism. TheBattle of Stow-on-the-Wold witnessed the final battle of theFirst English Civil War. On the 9 May Banbury surrendered, and two days later Oxford itselfwas closely invested. On the 24 June 16e46 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 condition.[3]
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In 1830 the enclosure of Otmoor led to serious riots, in which the people gathered in Oxford atSt Giles' fair joined.[3]
TheOxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, the main army unit in the area, was based atCowley Barracks on Bullingdon Green,Cowley.[4]
The Vale of the White Horse district and parts of the South Oxfordshire administrative district south of the River Thames were historically part ofBerkshire, but were added to the administrative county of Oxfordshire in 1974.[5] Conversely, theCaversham area ofReading now belongs to Berkshire but was historically part of Oxfordshire as was the parish of Stokenchurch, now in administrative Buckinghamshire.
2007 marked the county's 1000th birthday. Two 40-foot (12 m) canoes imported fromSylhet inBangladesh were brought to Oxfordshire to host the United Kingdom's firstNowka Bais competition.[6] The sport became an annual cultural event of Oxfordshire, attracting thousands such as the likes of the High Commissioner of Bangladesh.[7]
The remains of castles are scanty. The majority of them were probably built for defence inthe Anarchy ofStephen's reign (1100–1135), and were not maintained afterorder was restored. Considerable portions of the Norman Oxford Castle survive, however, while there are slighter remains of the castle at Bampton, the seat of Aylmer de Valence in 1313.[3]
Among remains of former mansions there may be noted the 14th centuryGreys Court near Henley-on-Thames,Minster Lovell, on the Windrush above Witney, andRycote, between Thame and Oxford. Minster Lovell, the extensive ruins of which make an exquisite picture by the river-side, was the seat ofFrancis, Lord Lovel, who, being the son of a Lancastrian father, incurred the hatred of that party by servingRichard III, and afterwards assisted the cause ofLambert Simnel, mysteriously disappearing after theBattle of Stoke. The remains of Rycote (partly incorporated with a farmhouse) are of fine Elizabethan brick, and in the chapel attached to the manor there is remarkable Jacobean woodwork, the entire fittings of the church, including the canopied pews and altar-table, being of this period. Here Princess[Elizabeth was kept in 1554, before her accession, and afterwards resided as Queen.[3]
Of ancient mansions still inhabited at the start of the 20th century, the finest isBroughton Castle near Banbury, dating from 1301. Others areShirburn Castle, begun in 1377, but mainly Perpendicular of the next century;Stanton Harcourt, dating from 1450, with a gatehouse of 1540, a vast kitchen, and Pope's Tower, named fromthe poet, who stayed here more than once.Mapledurham, on the Thames above Reading, is a fine Tudor mansion of brick; andWater Eaton, on the Cherwell above Oxford, is a singularly perfect Jacobean house of stone, with a chapel of the same period resembling pure Perpendicular.[3]
Other mansions in the county includeBlenheim Palace, near Woodstock; the formerHolton House (now replaced by a Georgian building), near Wheatley, was the scene in 1646 of the wedding of the Parliamentary Major GeneralHenry Ireton andBridget daughter of Oliver Cromwell.[3]
The university had a significant influence upon the ecclesiastical history of Oxfordshire. A large number of monastic foundations arose, such as those ofAugustinian canons atBicester,Caversham, Cold Norton,Dorchester,Osney (a foundation just outside the walls of Oxford) andWroxton; ofCistercians, atBruern andThame; ofBenedictines, atCogges,Eynsham, Milton; ofMathurins, atNuffield; ofGilbertines, atClattercote; ofTemplars, atSandford-on-Thames. There was atGosford one of the only two preceptories of female Templars in England. Of all these, excepting the abbey church at Dorchester, remains are scanty. A few domestic buildings remain atStudley; the boundary walls still stand ofGodstow Nunnery on the Thames, the retreat and burial-place ofRosamund Clifford or "Fair Rosamund," the object ofHenry II's famous courtship; and there are traces ofRewley Abbey within Oxford.[8]
In ecclesiastical architecture Oxfordshire, apart from Oxford itself, is rich, but there is no dominant style, nearly all the churches being of mixed dates. In fact, of the most important churches onlyIffley,Adderbury andMinster Lovell need be taken as types of a single style.[citation needed] Iffley, 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Oxford, is one of the finer examples of pure Norman in England, with an ornate west front. Adderbury, 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Banbury, has a massive central tower and spire. The parish church of Minster Lovell is purePerpendicular style; its central tower is supported on four detached piers.[9]
One feature common to several churches in the county are spires. The short ungainly spire ofOxford cathedral was among the earliest, if not the first, constructed in England,[citation needed] and served as a model from which were probably developed the splendid central spires of the great churches atWitney,Bampton,Shipton-under-Wychwood andBradwell.[citation needed] There are also three fine spires in the north:Bloxham, Adderbury andKing's Sutton (across the border in Northamptonshire), which are locally proverbial as typifying length, strength and beauty.[citation needed] Bloxham church, mainly decorated with Norman portions and an Early English west front, is one of the largest in the county.[citation needed] In the west,Burford (Norman and later) is noteworthy, and in the porch of the Norman church ofLangford is seen the rare feature of a crucifix with the figure cloaked.[9]
AtSouth Leigh, there are mural paintings of the 15th century. About 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Oxford areKidlington with a needle-like Perpendicular spire, andIslip, which, as the birthplace ofEdward the Confessor, retains a connection with hisAbbey of Westminster (the Dean and Chapter of which are lords of the manor and patrons of theliving). In the south-east,Dorchester Abbey, with its nave of transitional Norman, has a curious decoratedJesse window, the tracery representing the genealogical tree of the patriarch.[9]
AtCuddesdon there is another large cruciform church, Norman and later.Ewelme church (Perpendicular) isremarkable for the tomb of Alice, Duchess of Suffolk (1475), with tracery and gilded canopy, and that of Sir Thomas Chaucer (1434), ornamented with enamelled coats of arms. HereWilliam de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, founded in 1436 the picturesque hospital and free school still standing.[9]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Oxfordshire § History".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 416–418.