Oxford
Oxford is a city in central southern England. It is the county town of. Oxfordshire, and forms a district within the county. It has a population of just under 165, 000, of whom 153, 900 live within the district boundary. Oxford has a diverse economic base. Its industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing and a large number of information technology and science-based businesses. The city is known worldwide as a university town and home of the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the country and the English-speaking world. Buildings in Oxford demonstrate an example of every English architectural period since the arrival of the Saxons, including the iconic, mid-18 th-century Radcliffe Camera. Oxford is known as the "city of dreaming spires", a term coined by poet Matthew Arnold in reference to the harmonious architecture of Oxford's university buildings.
The Malmaison Hotel in Oxford Castle Oxford University Museum of Natural History The spires of Oxford facing Christ Church to the south (Christ Church Cathedral on the left and Tom Tower on the right)
History Oxford was first settled in Saxon times, and was initially known as "Oxenaforda", meaning "Ford of the Oxen"; fords were more common than bridges at that time. It began with the foundation of an oxen crossing in the early 900 AD period. In the 10 th century Oxford became an important military frontier town between the kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex and was on several occasions raided by Danes. Oxford was heavily damaged during the Norman Invasion of 1066. Following the conquest, the town was assigned to a governor, Robert D'Oyly, who ordered the construction of Oxford Castle to confirm Norman authority over the area. The castle has never been used for military purposes and its remains survive to this day. D'Oyly set up a monastic community in the castle consisting of a chapel and living quarters for monks (St George in the Castle). The community never grew large but it earned its place in history as one of the oldest places of formal education in Oxford. It is there that in 1139 Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote his History of the Kings of Britain, a compilation of Arthurian legends. In 1191, a city charter stated in Latin.
Geography Location Oxford is 24 miles (39 km) north-west of Reading, 26 miles (42 km) north-east of Swindon, 36 miles (58 km) east of Cheltenham and 43 miles (69 km) east of Gloucester, 30 miles (48 km) south-west of Milton Keynes, 38 miles (61 km) south-east of Evesham, 43 miles (69 km) south of Rugby and 50 miles (80 km) north-west of London. The rivers Cherwelland Thames (also sometimes known as the Isis locally) run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre.
Climate Oxford has a maritime temperate climate ("Cfb" by the Köppen system). Precipitation is uniformly distributed throughout the year and is provided mostly by weather systems that arrive from the Atlantic. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Oxford was − 16. 6 °C (2. 1 °F) in January 1982. The highest temperature ever recorded in Oxford is 35. 6 °C (96 °F) in August 2003 during the 2003 European heat wave. The average conditions below are from the Radcliffe Meteorological Station. It boasts the longest series of temperature and rainfall records for one site in Britain. These records are continuous from January, 1815. Irregular observations of rainfall, cloud and temperature exist from 1767.
Climate data for Oxford, UK Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °C (°F) 14. 7 (58. 5) 18. 5 (65. 3) 22. 1 (71. 8) 27. 1 (80. 8) 30. 6 (87. 1) 34. 3 (93. 7) 33. 9 (93. 0) 35. 6 (96. 1) 33. 5 (92. 3) 27. 3 (81. 1) 19. 0 (66. 2) 15. 2 (59. 4) 35. 6 (96. 1) Average high °C (°F) 6. 8 (44. 2) 7. 4 (45. 3) 10. 1 (50. 2) 13. 0 (55. 4) 16. 7 (62. 1) 19. 8 (67. 6) 21. 7 (71. 1) 21. 2 (70. 2) 18. 5 (65. 3) 14. 2 (57. 6) 9. 8 (49. 6) 7. 4 (45. 3) 13. 9 (57. 0) Average low °C (°F) 1. 4 (34. 5) 2. 5 (36. 5) 4. 3 (39. 7) 7. 2 (45. 0) 10. 2 (50. 4) 12. 2 (54. 0) 11. 9 (53. 4) 9. 8 (49. 6) 6. 8 (44. 2) 3. 8 (38. 8) 2. 1 (35. 8) 6. 1 (43. 0) Record low °C (°F) − 16. 6 (2. 1) − 16. 2 (2. 8) − 10. 9 (12. 4) − 4. 8 (23. 4) − 1. 8 (28. 8) 1. 3 (34. 3) 4. 4 (39. 9) 3. 5 (38. 3) − 0. 6 (30. 9) − 5. 1 (22. 8) − 8. 8 (16. 2) − 16. 1 (3. 0) − 16. 6 (2. 1) Precipitation mm (inches) 52. 6 (2. 071) 41. 0 (1. 614) 41. 1 (1. 618) 43. 9 (1. 728) 50. 6 (1. 992) 53. 3 (2. 098) 59. 5 (2. 343) 58. 3 (2. 295) 60. 3 (2. 374) 65. 3 (2. 571) 61. 8 (2. 433) 55. 8 (2. 197) 643. 5 (25. 335) Mean monthly sunshine hours 54. 3 70. 3 113. 3 151. 8 196. 9 191. 6 180. 3 138. 3 102. 8 64. 4 48. 8 1, 504. 3 Source: Radcliffe Meteorological Station (NB: Data from the period 1881– 2004)[19]
The University of Oxford is the oldest university in the English speaking world and one of the most famous and prestigious higher education institutions of the world, averaging five applications to every available place, and attracting 40% of its academic staff and 15% of undergraduates from overseas It is currently ranked as fifth-best university in the world, according to QS World Rankings behind its main UK rival, Cambridge, in first place. Oxford is renowned for its tutorial-based method of teaching, with students attending an average of one-hour tutorial a week. The Oxford Aviation Academy Piper PA-34 Seneca at Oxford Airport
The city centre As well as being a major draw for tourists (9. 1 million in 2008, similar in 2009), Oxford city centre has many shops, several theatres, and an ice rink. The historic buildings make this location a popular target for film and TV crews. The city centre is relatively small, and is centred on Carfax, a cross-roads which forms the junction of Cornmarket Street(pedestrianised), Queen Street (semipedestrianised), St Aldate's and The High. Cornmarket Street and Queen Street are home to Oxford's various chain stores, as well as a small number of independent retailers, one of the longest established of which is Boswells, which was founded in 1738. St Aldate's has few shops but has several local government buildings, including the Town Hall, the city police station and local council offices. The High (the word street is traditionally omitted) is the longest of the four streets and has a number of independent and high-end chain stores, but mostly University and College buildings. There are two small shopping centres in the city centre: The Clarendon Centre and The Westgate Centre is named for the original West Gate in the city wall, and is located at the west end of Queen Street. It is quite small and contains a number of chain stores and a supermarket. The Westgate Shopping Centre is to undergo a large and controversial refurbishment; the plans involve tripling the size of the centre to 750, 000 sq ft (70, 000 m 2), a new 1, 335 space underground car park and 90 new shops and bars, including a 230, 000 sq ft (21, 000 m 2) John Lewis department store. There is to be a new and improved transport system, a complete refurbishment of the existing centre and the surrounding Bonn Square area. The development plans include a number of new homes, and completion is expected in 2011, although this is being delayed due to the current financial climate. Blackwell's Bookshop is a large bookshop which claims the largest single room devoted to book sales in the whole of Europe, the cavernous Norrington Room (10, 000 sq ft).
View from Carfax Tower Aerial view of Oxford city centre. Photochrom of the High Street, 1890– 1900 Oxford Aviation Academy apron below a Fastlink aircraft climbing out of Runway 19
Education Schools Oxford is home to wide range of schools many of which receive pupils from around the world. There are two University choral foundation schools, Christ Church Cathedral School and New College School, established to educate the boy choristers of the chapel choirs, and have kept the tradition of single sex education. Magdalen College School was also a school for choristers but later became a grammar school and then independent school. St Edward's is another leading independent HMC member school and is the one of the few fully co -educational public schools in the county. Other independent schools in Oxford include Oxford High School, Rye St Antony School and Headington School (all girls only), St. Clare's, Oxford (coed, international school), Greene's Tutorial College (post-GCSE) and two prep schools, Dragon School and Emmanuel Christian School. Examination results in state-run Oxford schools are consistently below the national average and regional average. However, results in the city are improving with 44% of pupils gaining 5 grades A*-C in 2006. The city and its suburbs are served by two academies, three state schools and a voluntary-aided Catholic school.
Music Oxford, and its surrounding towns and villages, have produced many successful bands and musicians. The most notable Oxford act is Radiohead, who hail from nearby Abingdon, though other well known local bands include Supergrass, Ride, Swervedriver, Tal ulah Gosh and more recently, Young Knives, Foals and Stornoway. These and many other bands from over 30 years of the Oxford music scene's history feature in the documentary film Anyone Can Play Guitar. In 1997, Oxford played host to Radio 1's Sound City, with acts such as Bentley Rhythm Ace, Embrace, Spiritualized and DJ Shadow playing in various venues around the city.
Sport The town's leading football club, Oxford United, are currently in League Two, the fourth tier of league football, though they enjoyed some success in the past in the upper reaches of the league. They were elected to the Football League in 1962, reached the Third Division after three years and the Second Division after six, and most notably reached the First Division in 1985 – a mere 23 years after joining the Football League. They spent three seasons in the top flight, winning the Football League Cup a year after promotion. The 18 years that followed relegation in 1988 saw their fortunes decline gradually, though a brief respite in 1996 saw them win promotion to the new (post Premier League) Division One in 1996 and stay there for three years. They were relegated to the Football Conference in 2006, staying there for four seasons before returning to the Football League in 2010. They play at the Kassam Stadium (named after former chairman Firoz Kassam), which is situated near the Blackbird Leys housing estate and has been their home since relocation from the Manor Ground in 2001. The club's notable former managers include Ian Greaves, Jim Smith, Maurice Evans, Brian Horton and Denis Smith. Notable former players include John Aldridge, Ray Houghton, Tommy Caton, Matt Elliott, Nigel Jemson and Dean Whitehead. Oxford City F. C. is a semi-professional football club, separate from Oxford United. It plays in the Conference North, the sixth tier, and two levels on the pyramid below the Football League. Oxford City Nomads F. C. are another semi-professional football club, who ground share with Oxford City F. C. and play in the Hellenic league. A. F. C. Hinksey also play in Oxford.
From next season, Oxford RLFC will play in Rugby League's semiprofessional Championship 1, the third tier of British Rugby League. Oxford Harlequins RFC is the city's main. Rugby Union team and currently plays in the National League 3 South West. Following their promotion from The Championship after the 2011/2012 season, London Welsh RFC moved to the Kassam Stadium to fulfil the Premiership entry criteria regarding stadium capacity. In January 2013, the club stated its intention to continue their tenancy of the Kassam Stadium beyond the 2012/2013 season. Oxford Cheetahs motorcycle speedway team has raced at Cowley Stadium on and off since 1939. The Cheetahs competed in the Speedway Elite League and then the Speedway Conference League until 2007, when stadium landlords Greyhound Racing Association apparently doubled the rent. [citation needed] Speedway is not currently running in Oxford. There are several field hockey clubs based in Oxford. The Oxford Hockey Club (formed after a merger of City of Oxford HC and Rover Oxford HC in 2011) plays most of its home games on the pitch at Oxford Brookes University, Headington Campus, and also uses the pitches at Headington Girls' School and Iffley Road. Oxford Hawks has two astroturf pitches at Banbury Road North, by Cutteslowe Park to the north of the city. Oxford City Stars is the local Ice Hockey Team which plays at Oxford Ice Rink. There is a senior/adults’ team and a junior/children’s team. Oxford is also home to the Oxford City Rowing Club which is situated near Donnington Bridge.
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