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England Oxfordshire  Oxford

Guide to OXFORD (city) history, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.



History
Oxford is a city in central Southeast England. It is 51 miles north west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames (also sometimes known as the Isis locally from the Latinised name Thamesis) run through Oxford and meet south of the city center.

It is located on a flat alluvial plain, and the local area is extremely fertile.

The area has been settled from prehistoric times, and due to a beneficial climate, has been always populated with farms and orchards. Because of this, the city and region has always attracted the landed gentry, with the resulting proliferation of fine period edifices.

A number of Graded English manor houses and palaces are in the local area, and available for tourism. An example is Blenheim Palace and gardens, pictured below.



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. Therefore we can be assured that Oxford as a city is older than Cambridge (Bridge over the river Cam).

It began with the establishment of a river crossing for oxen around AD 900. In the 10th 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.

The community never grew large but it earned its place in history as one of Britain's oldest places of formal education.

Oxford's prestige was enhanced by its charter granted by King Henry II, granting its citizens the same privileges and exemptions as those enjoyed by the capital of the kingdom; and various important religious houses were founded in or near the city. A grandson of King John established Rewley Abbey for the Cistercian Order; and friars of various orders (Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites, Augustinians and Trinitarians) all had houses of varying importance at Oxford.

The University of Oxford is first mentioned in 12th century records. As the university took shape, tension between the hundreds of students living where and how they pleased led to a decree that all undergraduates would have to reside in approved halls. This led to a huge increase in building, resulting in the present organization of Colleges, each with its own dormitories.

During the English Civil War, Oxford housed the court of Charles I in 1642, after the king was expelled from London.

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.

Today, Oxford is one of the most diverse small cities in Britain: the most recent population estimates for 2005 showed that 27% of the population were from ethnic minority groups, including 16.2% from non-white ethnic minority ethnic groups