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  ounty of south central England. 
 Oxfordshire County Council - Oxford City Council -
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 owns and cities |
Oxford (administrative headquarters), Abingdon, Banbury,
Goring, Henley-on-Thames, Wallingford, Witney, Woodstock, Wantage, Chipping Norton, Thame |
 rea |
2,610 sq. km / 1,007 sq. miles |
 opulation |
590,200 (1994) |
| opography |
Oxfordshire is bounded to the south by Swindon, West
Berkshire, Reading and Wokingham, to the east by Buckinghamshire, to the Northeast by
Northamptonshire, to the Northwest by Warwickshire, and to the west by Gloucestershire.
The county was considerably increased in size by transfers from Berkshire (as it then was)
at the time of local government reorganisation in April 1974. River Thames and tributaries
(the Cherwell, Evenlode, Ock, Thame, and Windrush); Cotswold Hills (in the north) and
Chiltern Hills (in the southeast) |
| ommerce |
Agriculture: cereals, sheep, dairy farming
Industries: agricultural implements (at Banbury); aluminium (at Banbury) ; bricks; cars
(Cowley); cement; iron ore (in the north); high technology industries; medical electronic
equipment; paper; publishing; nuclear research (Harwell); biotechnology |
 amous people |
William Davenant, Flora Thompson, Winston Churchill, William
Morris |
| ttractions 
Henley on Thames
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Oxford is part of man's cultural heritage. Within one square
mile there are 653 listed buildings.
The picturesque villages which line the peaceful stretch between Abingdon and Goring of
the river Thames. Vale of the White Horse (with a chalk hill figure 114 m / 374 ft, below the
hill camp known as Uffington Castle); Oxford University; Blenheim Palace (a World Heritage
site), Woodstock (started in 1705 by Vanbrugh with help from Nicholas Hawksmoor, completed
in 1722), with landscaped grounds by Capability Brown; early 14th-century Broughton
Castle; Rousham Park (1635), remodelled by William Kent (1738-40), with landscaped garden;
Ditchley Park, designed by James Gibbs in 1720; Europe's major fusion project JET (Joint
European Torus) at the UK Atomic Energy Authority's fusion laboratories at Culham; the
Manor House, Kelmscott (country house of William Morris, leader of the Arts and Crafts
movement); Henley Regatta
Oxford was the chief stronghold of the Royalists during the Civil War (1642-46), and
was the scene of many battles. There are several prehistoric remains in Oxfordshire,
including the Rollright stones, and the Devil's Quoits. There are also several Roman
villas, such as North Leigh. Few old monastic buildings or castles remain, the most
important being the abbey church at Dorchester-on-Thames, and the castles at Shirburn and
Broughton, near Banbury. There are remains of famous houses at Greys Court, Minster
Lovell, and Rycote. Churches of note include those in Oxford itself, and those at
Adderbury, Iffley, and Minster Lovell. |
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