Oxford

This is about the city of Oxford in England. See also Other cities named Oxford

It is known as the "city of dreaming spires", a term coined by Matthew Arnold for the harmonious architecture of the university buildings. A major point of interest has always been the sometimes uneasy relationship between "town and gown", which in 1355 resulted in a riot in which several university students were killed (the Saint Scholastica Day Riot). Unlike its great rival, Cambridge, Oxford is an industrial city, particularly associated with car manufacture in the suburb of Cowley.

History

The town was first occupied in Saxon times, and is first mentioned in written records, in the Anglo-Saxon chronicles of the year 912. The University of Oxford, the oldest in England, was first mentioned in the 12th century. Oxford's earliest Colleges were University College 1249, Balliol 1263 and Merton 1264.

During the English Civil War in the 17th century, Oxford became the headquarters of king Charles I and his court in 1642, after the king was expelled from London, although there was strong support in the town for the Parliamentarian cause.

The town yielded to the Parliamentarian forces under General Fairfax in 1646.

By the early 20th century Oxford was experiencing rapid industrial and population growth, with the printing and publishing industries becoming well established by the 1920s. Also during that decade a major car building industry was begun by the Morris company.

Major tourist attractions and important buildings include:

• The Ashmolean Museum
• The Bodleian Library
• Carfax Tower
• Christ Church Cathedral[?]
• The Church of St Mary the Virgin
• The Clarendon Building (often used as a set for film and television)
• The Oxford Story (theme ride)
• Punting on the the Thames (sometimes known in Oxford as the "Isis") and the Cherwell
• The Pitt Rivers Museum
• The Radcliffe Camera (one of several buildings named after John Radcliffe)
• The Sheldonian Theatre
• The University Parks

Oxford is also the setting for Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse mystery[?] novels.

See also University of Oxford (including links to the individual colleges).

External link

• Oxford City Council (http://www.oxford.gov.uk)