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This article is about the city in England. For the university, see University of Oxford. For
other uses, see Oxford (disambiguation).

Oxford
City and non-metropolitan district

Town Hall

Bridge of Sighs

Cathedral

Clarendon Building
 Sheldonian Theatre

Radcliffe Camera

Coat of arms
Nickname: City of dreaming spires
Motto(s): Latin: Fortis est veritas, lit. 'the truth is
strong'

Oxford shown within Oxfordshire

Coordinates: 51°45′7″N 1°15′28″W

Sovereign state United Kingdom
Country England
Region South East
County Oxfordshire
Founded 8th century
City status 1542
 Administrative HQ Oxford Town Hall
Government[1]
• Type Non-metropolitan district
• Body Oxford City Council
• Executive Leader and cabinet
• Control No overall control
• Leader Susan Brown (L)
• Lord Mayor Mike Rowley
• MPs Anneliese Dodds (L)
Layla Moran (LD)
Area[2]
• Total 18 sq mi (46 km2)
• Rank 248th
Population (2022)[3]
• Total 163,257
• Rank 126th
• Density 9,300/sq mi (3,580/km2)
Demonym Oxonian
Ethnicity (2021) [4]

• Ethnic groups show

List
Religion (2021)[4]
• Religion show
List
Time zone UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST) UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode areas OX1–4
Dialling codes 01865
GSS code E07000178
Website oxford.gov.uk

Oxford (/ˈɒksfərd/ ⓘ)[5][6] is a cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire,

England, of which it is the county town. Founded in the 8th century, it was granted city
status in 1542. The city is located at the confluence of the rivers Thames (locally known as
the Isis) and Cherwell. It had a population of 163,257 in 2022.[3] It is 56 miles (90 km) north-
west of London, 64 miles (103 km) south-east of Birmingham and 61 miles (98 km) north-
east of Bristol. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the
English-speaking world;[7] it has buildings in every style of English architecture since late
Anglo-Saxon. Oxford's industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing,
science, and information technologies.

History[edit]
Main article: History of Oxford
For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Oxford.

19th-century view of the High Street in Oxford

The history of Oxford in England dates back to its original settlement in the Saxon period.
Originally of strategic significance due to its controlling location on the upper reaches of
the River Thames at its confluence with the River Cherwell, the town grew in national
importance during the early Norman period, and in the late 12th century became home to
the fledgling University of Oxford.[8] The city was besieged during The Anarchy in 1142.[9]

During the Middle Ages Oxford had an important Jewish community, of which David of
Oxford and his wife Licoricia of Winchester were prominent members.[10]

The university rose to dominate the town. A heavily ecclesiastical town, Oxford was greatly
affected by the changes of the English Reformation, emerging as the seat of a bishopric
and a full-fledged city. During the English Civil War, Oxford housed the court of Charles I
and stood at the heart of national affairs.[11]

The city began to grow industrially during the 19th century, and had an industrial boom in
the early 20th century, with major printing and car-manufacturing industries. These
declined, along with other British heavy industry, in the 1970s and 1980s, leaving behind a
city which had developed far beyond the university town of the past.[12]

Geography[edit]
Physical[edit]
Location[edit]
Oxford's latitude and longitude are 51°45′07″N 1°15′28″W, with Ordnance Survey grid
reference SP513061 (at Carfax Tower, which is usually considered the centre). 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, 43 miles (69 km) east of Gloucester, 29 miles (47 km) south-west
of Milton Keynes, 38 miles (61 km) south-east of Evesham, 43 miles (69 km) south of Rugby
and 51 miles (82 km) west-north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames (also
sometimes known as the Isis locally, supposedly from the Latinised name Thamesis) run
through Oxford and meet south of the city centre. These rivers and their flood plains
constrain the size of the city centre.

Climate[edit]
Oxford has a maritime temperate climate (Köppen: Cfb). 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 −17.8 °C (0.0 °F) on 24
December 1860. The highest temperature ever recorded in Oxford is 38.1 °C (101 °F) on 19
July 2022.[13] The average conditions below are from the Radcliffe Meteorological Station. It
has 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 cover,
and temperature exist since 1767.[14]

The driest year on record was 1788, with 336.7 mm (13.26 in) of rainfall. The wettest year
was 2012, with 979.5 mm (38.56 in). The wettest month on record was September 1774,
with a total fall of 223.9 mm (8.81 in). The warmest month on record is July 1983, with an
average of 21.1 °C (70 °F) and the coldest is January 1963, with an average of −3.0 °C
(27 °F). The warmest year on record is 2014, with an average of 11.8 °C (53 °F) and the
coldest is 1879, with a mean temperature of 7.7 °C (46 °F). The sunniest month on record is
May 2020, with 331.7 hours and December 1890 is the least sunny, with 5.0 hours. The
greatest one-day rainfall occurred on 10 July 1968, with a total of 87.9 mm (3.46 in). The
greatest known snow depth was 61.0 cm (24.0 in) in February 1888.[15]

hideClimate data for Oxford (RMS),[a] elevation: 200 ft (61 m), 1991–2020 normals,
extremes 1815–2020
F M A S N D
Ja M A Ju O Ye
Month e a Jul u e o e
n ar pr n ct ar
b y g p v c
1 1 2 2 3 3 3 3 2 1 1
38. 38.
5. 8. 2. 7. 0. 4. 5. 3. 9. 8. 5.
1 1
9 8 1 6 6 3 1 4 1 9 9
Record high °C (°F) (10 (10
(6 (6 (7 (8 (8 (9 (9 (9 (8 (6 (6
0.6 0.6
0. 5. 1. 1. 7. 3. 5. 2. 4. 6. 0.
) )
6) 8) 8) 7) 1) 7) 2) 1) 4) 0) 6)
8. 8. 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 8.
Mean daily maximum °C 23. 15.
0 6 1. 4. 7. 0. 2. 9. 5. 0. 2
(°F) 1 0
(4 (4 3 4 7 7 5 4 1 9 (4
 6. 7. (5 (5 (6 (6 (73 (7 (6 (5 (5 6. (59
4) 5) 2. 7. 3. 9. .6) 2. 6. 9. 1. 8) .0)
3) 9) 9) 3) 5) 9) 2) 6)
1 1 1 1 1
5. 5. 7. 9. 7. 5.
2. 5. 18. 7. 5. 1. 11.
2 5 5 9 9 4
9 9 1 8 0 5 1
Daily mean °C (°F) (4 (4 (4 (4 (4 (4
(5 (6 (64 (6 (5 (5 (52
1. 1. 5. 9. 6. 1.
5. 0. .6) 4. 9. 2. .0)
4) 9) 5) 8) 2) 7)
2) 6) 0) 0) 7)
1 1 1
2. 2. 3. 5. 8. 8. 4. 2.
1. 13. 3. 0.
4 3 6 3 2 0 9 6 7.1
Mean daily minimum °C 1 1 0 7
(3 (3 (3 (4 (4 (4 (4 (3 (44
(°F) (5 (55 (5 (5
6. 6. 8. 1. 6. 6. 0. 6. .8)
2. .6) 5. 1.
3) 1) 5) 5) 8) 4) 8) 7)
0) 4) 3)
− − − − −
− − − −
1 1 1 0. 0. 1 1
5. 3. 3. 5. −1
6. 6. 2. 4 2.4 2 0. 7.
6 4 3 7 7.8
Record low °C (°F) 6 2 0 (3 (36 (3 1 8
(2 (2 (2 (2 (0.
(2 (2 (1 2. .3) 2. (1 (0
1. 5. 6. 1. 0)
.1 .8 0. 7) 4) 3. .0
9) 9) 1) 7)
) ) 4) 8) )
5 4 4 4 5 4 6 5 7 7 6
68
9. 6. 3. 8. 6. 9. 52. 1. 1. 3. 1. 6.
1.6
Average precipitation mm 6 8 2 7 9 7 5 7 9 2 5 1
(26
(inches) (2 (1 (1 (1 (2 (1 (2. (2 (2 (2 (2 (2
.83
.3 .8 .7 .9 .2 .9 07) .4 .0 .8 .8 .6
)
5) 4) 0) 2) 4) 6) 3) 4) 8) 1) 0)
1 1 1 1
Average precipitation 9. 9. 8. 9. 8. 9. 8. 11
2. 8.3 0. 1. 2.
days (≥ 1.0 mm) 4 1 9 6 0 0 6 7.7
1 9 3 2
1 1 2 1 1 1 1
6 8 7 5 1,6
Mean monthly sunshine 1 6 0 9 21 9 4 1
3. 1. 0. 7. 15.
hours 8. 5. 0. 7. 2.0 3. 5. 0.
4 9 8 6 5
2 6 3 1 3 3 2
Source 1: Met Office[16]
Source 2: University of Oxford[17]
1. ^ Weather station is located 0.7 miles (1.1 km) from the Oxford city centre.
 Map of Oxford
Districts[edit]
The city centre[edit]
The city centre is relatively small and is centred on Carfax, a crossroads which forms the
junction of Cornmarket Street (pedestrianised), Queen Street (mainly pedestrianised), St
Aldate's and the High Street ("the High"; blocked for through traffic). Cornmarket Street
and Queen Street are home to Oxford's chain stores, as well as a small number of
independent retailers, one of the longest established of which was Boswell's, founded in
1738.[18] The store closed in 2020.[19] St Aldate's has few shops but 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. The
historic buildings mean the area is often used by film and TV crews.

Suburbs[edit]
Aside from the city centre, there are several suburbs and neighbourhoods within the
borders of the city of Oxford, including:
• Barton
• Blackbird Leys
• Cowley
o Temple Cowley
• Iffley
o Littlemore
o Rose Hill
• Cutteslowe
• Headington
o New Marston
• Jericho
• North Oxford
o Park Town
o Norham Manor
o Walton Manor
• Osney
• Risinghurst
• Summertown
o Sunnymead
o Waterways
• Wolvercote
Green belt[edit]
Main article: Oxford Green Belt

Oxford Malmaison Hotel

Oxford is at the centre of the Oxford Green Belt, which is an environmental and planning
policy that regulates the rural space in Oxfordshire surrounding the city, aiming to prevent
urban sprawl and minimize convergence with nearby settlements. [20] The policy has been
blamed for the large rise in house prices in Oxford, making it the least affordable city in the
United Kingdom outside of London, with estate agents calling for brownfield land inside the
green belt to be released for new housing. [21][22][23] The vast majority of the area covered is
outside of the city, but there are some green spaces within that which are covered by the
designation, such as much of the Thames and river Cherwell flood-meadows, and the
village of Binsey, along with several smaller portions on the fringes. Other landscape
features and places of interest covered include Cutteslowe Park and the mini railway
attraction, the University Parks, Hogacre Common Eco Park, numerous sports grounds,
Aston's Eyot, St Margaret's Church and well, and Wolvercote Common and community
orchard.[24]