©xcnfell, height, on NAY. border of Lancashire, 4
miles NE. of Coniston.

©xenfoord Castle, seat of the Earl of Stair, Cranston
par., Edinburghshire, on r. Tyne, 4 m. SE. of Dalkeith.

Oxenhall, par. and seat, Gloucestershire, 14 m. NAY.
of Newent, 1887 ac., pop. 231; here the Hereford and
Gloucester Canal passes through a tunnel 6576 ft. long.

Oxenliolme Junction, ry. sta., AYestmorland, 2
miles SE. of Kendal.

Oxenhope, small town and eccl. dist. with ry. sta.,
Bradford par., N. div. AYest-Riding Yorkshire, 5 miles
SAY. of Keighley—dist., pop. 2860; town, pop. 2443;
P.O.; is a growing place, and has stone quarries and
worsted mfrs. The town is a local government district.

Oxenton, par., Gloucestershire, 44 miles SE. of
Tewkesbury, 1050 ac., pop. 136.

Oxford, parl. and mun. bor., city, market town, and
county town of Oxfordshire, chiefly in Oxfordshire but
partly in Berks, between the rivers Cherwell and
Thames, or Isis, 27 miles NW. of Reading and 63 from
London by rail—parl. bor., 4557 ac., pop. 40,837; mun.
bor., 2779 ac., pop. 35,264; town, pop. 39,186 ; 4 Banks,
7 newspapers. Market-days, Wednesday and Saturday.
As a great seat of learning Oxford has for centuries up-
held a high celebrity throughout the world. It has
also a history of great interest and importance. Already
in the 9th century (under the names of Oxnaford,
Oxenford, and Ousford) it appears as an ancient
academy of learning; it was twice besieged by the
Danes, and was eventually surrendered to Sweyn in
1013 ; was stormed by AVilliam the Conqueror in 1067,
and by King Stephen in 1142; and was the meeting-
place of the “ Mad Parliament ” in 1264. In its subse-
quent history the chief events include the fearful
“ town and gown ” disturbance in 1354 ; the preaching
of AVickliffe in the reign of Edward III.; the martyr-
dom of Ridley, Latimer, and Cranmer in the reign
of the “Bloody Mary;” the “Black Assize” of 1557 ;
the city’s adherence to the cause of Charles I., and
its siege by Fairfax; and the Jacobite riots of 1715.
Oxford is not a trading town, and has no manufactures
of special importance. Business is generally supported
by supplying the wants of the University, which now
comprises 21 colleges and 4 halls. The oldest college is
University College, founded, according to tradition, by
Alfred the Great, while the most recent is Keble Col-
lege, founded in 1868. The total revenues of the
University are computed to reach £460,000. There are
44 professors—Theology, 7 ; Law, 4; Natural Science,
including Medicine and Mathematics, 13 ; and Arts, 20.
The total number of undergraduates is about 2600. Con-
nected with the University are the following institutions:
—the Bodleian Library (founded about 1602) with over
300,000 vols., the Ashmolean Museum, the Taylor In-
stitution, University Galleries, Ruskin Drawing School,
University Museum, Radcliffe Library, and the Univer-
sity Observatory. Oxford, besides its University, is
celebrated for its splendid buildings. Christ Church
Cathedral is a Norman and Early English edifice. The
‘ ‘ Martyrs Monument ” is a memorial to the memory of
Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley. Oxford University
returns 2 members to Parliament. Oxford City returns
1 member ; it returned 2 members until 1885.

Oxfordshire, south-midland co. of England, bounded
N. by AVarwickshire and Northamptonshire, E. by
Bucks, S. by Berks, from which it is separated by the
Thames, and AY. by Gloucestershire ; greatest length,
60 miles ; greatest breadth, 30 miles; area, 483,621 ac.,
pop. 179,559. Most of the co. is level, but there are
gentle undulations of surface, rising to 836 ft. at Broom
Hill in the NW., which is the highest point of land.
In the S. the Chiltern Hills stretch across the co. from
Bucks to Berks. The chief rivers are the AVindrush,
Evenlode, Cherwell, and Thame, all being tributaries
of the Thames, or Isis, which flows for about 70 miles
along the S. border of the co. The Oxford Canal, in
conjunction with the Coventry Canal, connects the
Thames with the Severn, Mersey, and Trent. The soil
is a light loam, which is exceedingly fertile and in a
high state of cultivation, agriculture receiving so much
attention that the co. is justly held to be one of the
most productive districts in England. (For agricultural
statistics, see Appendix.) Excepting the N. district,

Gazetteer of the British Isles, Statistical and Topographical, by John Bartholomew, F.R.G.S.

Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, 1887. Public domain image from Gedcomindex.com