| Oxfordshire | |
) | |
| Geography | |
| Status | Ceremonial & Non-metropolitan county |
|---|---|
| Region: | South East England |
| Area - Total - Admin. council | Ranked 22nd 2,605 km² Ranked 19th |
| Admin HQ: | Oxford |
| : | GB-OXF |
| ONS code: | 38 |
| NUTS 3: | UKJ14 |
| Demographics | |
| Population - Total (2005 est.) - Density - Admin. Council | Ranked 35th 626,900 241 / km² Ranked 18th |
| Ethnicity: | 95.1% White 1.7% S. Asian |
| Politics | |
) Arms of Oxfordshire County Council Oxfordshire County Council [1] | |
| Executive | Conservative |
| Members of Parliament | |
| Districts | |
) ) The parties ruling the borough councils by 2005. | |
Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from the Latinised form Oxonia) is a county in the South East of England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire.
It is divided into five local government districts: Oxford, Cherwell, Vale of White Horse (after the Uffington White Horse), West Oxfordshire and South Oxfordshire.
The county has a major tourism industry. The area is noted for the concentration of performance motorsport companies and facilities. Oxford University Press has headed a concentration of print and publishing firms; the university is also linked to the concentration of local biotechnology companies.
The main centre of population is the city of Oxford. Other significant settlements are Bicester, Banbury, Kidlington, and Chipping Norton to the north of Oxford; Witney to the west; Thame and Chinnor to the east; and Abingdon, Wantage, Didcot and Henley-on-Thames to the south. Future population growth in the county is hoped to be concentrated around Banbury, Bicester, Didcot and Witney, near the South Midlands growth area.
The highest point of the county is Whitehorse Hill, in the Vale of White Horse, reaching 856 feet (261m).
Oxfordshire's county flower is the Snake's-head Fritillary.
History
The county of Oxfordshire, at that time entirely situated to the north of the River Thames, was formed in the early years of the 10th century.
Historically the area has always had some importance, it has been valuable agricultural land resting between the main southern cities and containing the prestigious settlement at Oxford (whose name came from Anglo-Saxon Oxenaford = "ford for oxen"). Ignored by the Romans, it was not until the formation of a settlement at Oxford that the area grew in importance. Alfred the Great was born in Wantage. The University of Oxford was founded in 1096. The area was part of the Cotswolds wool trade from the 13th century. The Great Western Railway reached Didcot in 1839. Morris Motors was founded in Oxford in 1912 and MG in Abingdon in 1929. The importance of agriculture as an employer has declined rapidly in the 20th century; currently under one percent of the county's population are involved.
In 1808 the county had fourteen hundreds, namely Bampton, Banbury, Binfield, Bloxham, Bullingdon, Chadlington, Dorchester, Ewelme, Langtree, Lewknor, Pyrton, Ploughley, Thame and Wootton.
The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was based at the Barracks on Bullingdon Green, Cowley.
The Vale of the White Horse and parts of South Oxfordshire south of the River Thames were historically part of Berkshire, but were added to the administrative county in 1974. Conversely, the Caversham area of Reading was historically part of Oxfordshire. (See History of Oxfordshire for the traditional county boundaries).
Towns and cities
- Abingdon (In Berkshire until 1974)
- Banbury
- Bicester
- Burford
- Carterton
- Chipping Norton
- Didcot (In Berkshire until 1974)
- Faringdon (In Berkshire until 1974)
- Henley-on-Thames
- Oxford
- Thame
- Wallingford (In Berkshire until 1974)
- Wantage (In Berkshire until 1974)
- Witney
- Woodstock
Economy
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Oxfordshire at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.| Year | Regional Gross Value Added[1] | Agriculture[2] | Industry[3] | Services[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 7,607 | 120 | 2,084 | 5,404 |
| 2000 | 10,594 | 80 | 2,661 | 7,853 |
| 2003 | 12,942 | 93 | 2,665 | 10,184 |
1. ^ Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
2. ^ includes hunting and forestry
3. ^ includes energy and construction
4. ^ includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
2. ^ includes hunting and forestry
3. ^ includes energy and construction
4. ^ includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
Education
Oxfordshire has a completely comprehensive education system with 23 independent schools. The state schools are from ages of 11 to either 16 or 18. Sixth-form provision is very good, with only eight schools not having a sixth-form; these are mostly in South Oxfordshire and Cherwell districts. At GCSE in England, 45.8% of pupils gain five good GCSEs including English and Maths; for Oxfordshire's 6500 pupils taking GCSEs at 16, it is 47.5%. The best school at GCSE is the Chiltern Edge Community School (which has no sixth form) in Sonning Common. All schools in South Oxfordshire perform very well, with the notable exception of Wheatley Park School in Holton. The worst performing school is the Peers School in Littlemore in south Oxford. At A level, Oxfordshire performs well under the England average. The independent schools get good results, but in general the state schools achieve much less. The best school is the Faringdon Community College with excellent results, followed by the Cherwell School in Oxford. These two schools outstrip the others by a long way.GCSE results by district council (%)
- South Oxfordshire 56.9
- West Oxfordshire 54.6
- Vale of White Horse 43.8
- Oxford 42.4
- Cherwell 38.7
Places of interest
| Key | |
){kind=icon} | National Trust |
){kind=icon} | Forestry Commission |
){kind=small} | Country Park |
){kind=icon} | Accessible open space |
){kind=icon} .png')){kind=icon} | Museums (free/not free) |
){kind=icon} | Heritage railway |
){kind=icon} | Historic House |
){kind=icon} | Castle |
){kind=icon} | Abbey/Priory/Cathedral |
Blenheim Palace - UNESCO World Heritage Site
Chiltern Hills - Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway - A heritage railway operated with steam and diesel locomotives
- Cholsey and Wallingford Railway
- Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens
- Cotswolds - Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- Didcot Railway Centre - Museum of the Great Western Railway
Greys Court
- Heythrop Hall -by Thomas Archer. Hotel Golf & Country Club
- Kelmscott Manor - Home of William Morris
-
.png)
Oxford
- Project Timescape - Visitor Centre near Wittenham Clumps
- The Ridgeway
- River and Rowing Museum
- River Thames
- Rousham House and Gardens
- Sulgrave Manor
- Thame Museum
- Uffington White Horse, Uffington Castle and Wayland's Smithy in the White Horse Hills
- Wallingford Museum
See also
- Oxford University (including links to the individual colleges).
- Oxford Canal
- Blewbury
Further reading
- Philip Powell - The Geology of Oxfordshire (Dovecote Press, 2005) ISBN 1-904349-19-6
External links
- Oxfordshire County Council
- Results of the 2005 county council election
- Oxfordshire Forum - The place to discuss Oxfordshire issues
- Thisisoxfordshire Oxfordshire news, sport & information
- Flags of Oxfordshire
- Visit South Oxfordshire
){kind=small} Ceremonial counties of England |
|---|
Counties of the Lieutenancies Act 1997
Bedfordshire •
Berkshire •
City of Bristol •
Buckinghamshire •
Cambridgeshire •
Cheshire •
Cornwall •
Cumbria •
Derbyshire •
Devon •
Dorset •
Durham •
East Riding of Yorkshire •
East Sussex •
Essex •
Gloucestershire •
Greater London •
Greater Manchester •
Hampshire •
Herefordshire •
Hertfordshire •
Isle of Wight •
Kent •
Lancashire •
Leicestershire •
Lincolnshire •
City of London •
Merseyside •
Norfolk •
Northamptonshire •
Northumberland •
North Yorkshire •
Nottinghamshire •
Oxfordshire •
Rutland •
Shropshire •
Somerset •
South Yorkshire •
Staffordshire •
Suffolk •
Surrey •
Tyne and Wear •
Warwickshire •
West Midlands •
West Sussex •
West Yorkshire •
Wiltshire •
Worcestershire
|
| Historic counties of England |
|---|
Counties that originate prior to 1889
Bedfordshire •
Berkshire •
Buckinghamshire •
Cambridgeshire •
Cheshire •
Cornwall •
Cumberland •
Derbyshire •
Devon •
Dorset •
Durham •
Essex •
Gloucestershire •
Hampshire •
Herefordshire •
Hertfordshire •
Huntingdonshire •
Kent •
Lancashire •
Leicestershire •
Lincolnshire •
Middlesex •
Monmouthshire •
Norfolk •
Northamptonshire •
Northumberland •
Nottinghamshire •
Oxfordshire •
Rutland •
Shropshire •
Somerset •
Staffordshire •
Suffolk •
Surrey •
Sussex •
Warwickshire •
Westmorland •
Wiltshire •
Worcestershire •
Yorkshire
|
The ceremonial counties of England are areas of England that are appointed a Lord-Lieutenant, and are defined by the government with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are one of the four levels of English administrative division used for the purposes of local government. Due to successive legislation, there are currently several types of administrative division at this level in existence.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics in 1999. Its boundaries include Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Area is the measure of how much exposed area any two dimensional object has. It is expressed in square units, and is calculated by adding together the areas of all the faces of the object.
..... Click the link for more information.
Area formulas
Note: For 2D figures, the surface area and the area are the same...... Click the link for more information.
List of Ceremonial counties of England by Area.
Rank County Area km²
1 North Yorkshire 8,654
2 Lincolnshire 6,959
3 Cumbria 6,768
4 Devon 6,707
5 Norfolk 5,371
6 Northumberland 5,013
7 Somerset 4,171
8 Suffolk 3,801
9 Sussex 3,783
..... Click the link for more information.
Rank County Area km²
1 North Yorkshire 8,654
2 Lincolnshire 6,959
3 Cumbria 6,768
4 Devon 6,707
5 Norfolk 5,371
6 Northumberland 5,013
7 Somerset 4,171
8 Suffolk 3,801
9 Sussex 3,783
..... Click the link for more information.
Orders of magnitude for area Conversion of units for area
1 E-30 m = 1 fm 1 E-24
..... Click the link for more information.
1 E-30 m = 1 fm 1 E-24
..... Click the link for more information.
Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units. 1 km² is equal to:
..... Click the link for more information.
- 1,000,000 m²
- 100 ha (hectare)
- 1 m² = 0.
..... Click the link for more information.
list of non-metropolitan counties of England by area.
It includes those non-metropolitan counties (also known as shire counties) with a two-tier county council structure and does not include metropolitan counties or unitary authorities.
..... Click the link for more information.
It includes those non-metropolitan counties (also known as shire counties) with a two-tier county council structure and does not include metropolitan counties or unitary authorities.
..... Click the link for more information.
Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). It is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
The Office for National Statistics coding system is a hierarchical code used in the United Kingdom for tabulating census and other statistical data.
..... Click the link for more information.
Authorities, wards, and census areas
..... Click the link for more information.
The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) is a geocode standard for referencing the administrative divisions of countries for statistical purposes. The standard was developed by the European Union, and thus only covers the member states of the EU in detail (see
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
population is the collection of people or organisms of a particular species living in a given geographic area or mortality, and migration, though the field encompasses many dimensions of population change including the family (marriage and divorce), public health, work and the
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
In physics, density is mass m per unit volume V—how heavy something is compared to its size. A small, heavy object, such as a rock or a lump of lead, is denser than a lighter object of the same size or a larger object of the same weight, such as pieces of
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
List of Ceremonial counties of England by Population. The figures are mid-year estimates for 2006 from the Office for National Statistics [1] .
Rank County Population Area
(in km²) Density
(people/km²)
1 Greater London 1,571
..... Click the link for more information.
By population
Rank County Population Area
(in km²) Density
(people/km²)
1 Greater London 1,571
..... Click the link for more information.
list of non-metropolitan counties of England by population.
It includes those non-metropolitan counties (also known as shire counties) with a two-tier county council structure and does not include metropolitan counties or unitary authorities.
..... Click the link for more information.
It includes those non-metropolitan counties (also known as shire counties) with a two-tier county council structure and does not include metropolitan counties or unitary authorities.
..... Click the link for more information.
Conservative Party
Leader David Cameron
Founded Historical 1671, Modern 1830
Headquarters 30 Millbank, London SW1
Political Ideology Conservatism
Liberal conservatism
Political Position Centre-right
..... Click the link for more information.
Leader David Cameron
Founded Historical 1671, Modern 1830
Headquarters 30 Millbank, London SW1
Political Ideology Conservatism
Liberal conservatism
Political Position Centre-right
..... Click the link for more information.
Affiliation Members
Labour Party
Conservative Party
Liberal Democrats
Democratic Unionist Party
Scottish National Party
Sinn Féin
Plaid Cymru
Social Democratic and Labour Party
Health Concern
RESPECT The Unity Coalition
..... Click the link for more information.
Labour Party
Conservative Party
Liberal Democrats
Democratic Unionist Party
Scottish National Party
Sinn Féin
Plaid Cymru
Social Democratic and Labour Party
Health Concern
RESPECT The Unity Coalition
..... Click the link for more information.
Anthony Brian Baldry, known as Tony Baldry, (born July 10, 1950) British politician, and is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Banbury.
Born in 1950, he was educated at the Leighton Park School and the University of Sussex.
..... Click the link for more information.
Born in 1950, he was educated at the Leighton Park School and the University of Sussex.
..... Click the link for more information.
Conservative Party
Leader David Cameron
Founded Historical 1671, Modern 1830
Headquarters 30 Millbank, London SW1
Political Ideology Conservatism
Liberal conservatism
Political Position Centre-right
..... Click the link for more information.
Leader David Cameron
Founded Historical 1671, Modern 1830
Headquarters 30 Millbank, London SW1
Political Ideology Conservatism
Liberal conservatism
Political Position Centre-right
..... Click the link for more information.
Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism.
If you are prevented from editing this page, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or .
..... Click the link for more information.
If you are prevented from editing this page, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or .
..... Click the link for more information.
Conservative Party
Leader David Cameron
Founded Historical 1671, Modern 1830
Headquarters 30 Millbank, London SW1
Political Ideology Conservatism
Liberal conservatism
Political Position Centre-right
..... Click the link for more information.
Leader David Cameron
Founded Historical 1671, Modern 1830
Headquarters 30 Millbank, London SW1
Political Ideology Conservatism
Liberal conservatism
Political Position Centre-right
..... Click the link for more information.
Evan Leslie Harris BM BCh MP (born 21 October 1965) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Oxford West and Abingdon.
..... Click the link for more information.
Education and professional career
..... Click the link for more information.
Liberal Democrats
Leader Vincent Cable (acting)
Founded 1988
Headquarters 4 Cowley Street
London, SW1P 3NB
Political Ideology Social liberalism
Political Position Centre Left [1] [2]
..... Click the link for more information.
Leader Vincent Cable (acting)
Founded 1988
Headquarters 4 Cowley Street
London, SW1P 3NB
Political Ideology Social liberalism
Political Position Centre Left [1] [2]
..... Click the link for more information.
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964, New York City)[2] is a British Conservative Party politician, journalist and former editor of The Spectator.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Conservative Party
Leader David Cameron
Founded Historical 1671, Modern 1830
Headquarters 30 Millbank, London SW1
Political Ideology Conservatism
Liberal conservatism
Political Position Centre-right
..... Click the link for more information.
Leader David Cameron
Founded Historical 1671, Modern 1830
Headquarters 30 Millbank, London SW1
Political Ideology Conservatism
Liberal conservatism
Political Position Centre-right
..... Click the link for more information.
Andrew David Smith (born February 1, 1952, near Reading) is a British politician for the Labour Party, and a former member of the Cabinet.
He is MP for Oxford East, which he won in 1987 from the Conservative Party.
..... Click the link for more information.
He is MP for Oxford East, which he won in 1987 from the Conservative Party.
..... Click the link for more information.
Labour Party
Leader Gordon Brown
Founded February 27, 1900
Headquarters 39 Victoria Street
London, SW1H 0HA
Political Ideology Democratic socialism (Official Position)
Social Democracy
Third Way
..... Click the link for more information.
Leader Gordon Brown
Founded February 27, 1900
Headquarters 39 Victoria Street
London, SW1H 0HA
Political Ideology Democratic socialism (Official Position)
Social Democracy
Third Way
..... Click the link for more information.
Edward Henry Butler Vaizey (born June 5, 1968) is a British Conservative commentator, politician and columnist. He was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for the constituency of Wantage on May 2005, with 22,394 votes.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Conservative Party
Leader David Cameron
Founded Historical 1671, Modern 1830
Headquarters 30 Millbank, London SW1
Political Ideology Conservatism
Liberal conservatism
Political Position Centre-right
..... Click the link for more information.
Leader David Cameron
Founded Historical 1671, Modern 1830
Headquarters 30 Millbank, London SW1
Political Ideology Conservatism
Liberal conservatism
Political Position Centre-right
..... Click the link for more information.
Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). It is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.