Portal:Oxfordshire
The Oxfordshire Portal
Oxfordshire (/ˈɒksfərdʃər, -ʃɪər/ OKS-fərd-shər, -sheer; abbreviated Oxon) is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Gloucestershire to the west. The city of Oxford is the largest settlement and county town.
The county is largely rural, with an area of 2,605 km2 (1,006 sq mi) and a population of 691,667. After Oxford (162,100), the largest settlements are Banbury (54,355) and Abingdon-on-Thames (37,931). For local government purposes Oxfordshire is a non-metropolitan county with five districts. The part of the county south of the River Thames, largely corresponding to the Vale of White Horse district, was historically part of Berkshire.
The lowlands in the centre of the county are crossed by the River Thames and its tributaries, the valleys of which are separated by low hills. The south contains parts of the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills, and the north-west includes part of the Cotswolds; all three regions are Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The county's highest point is White Horse Hill (261-metre (856 ft)), part of the Berkshire Downs. (Full article...)
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Woodstock is a market town and civil parish, 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Oxford in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 3,100.
Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is next to Woodstock, in the parish of Blenheim. Winston Churchill was born in the palace in 1874 and buried in the nearby village of Bladon. Edward, elder son of King Edward III and heir apparent, was born in Woodstock Manor on 15 June 1330. In his lifetime he was commonly called Edward of Woodstock, but is known today as the Black Prince. In the reign of Queen Mary I, her half-sister Elizabeth was imprisoned in the gatehouse of Woodstock Manor. (Full article...)
Selected biography
Sir John Soane RA FSA FRS (/soʊn/; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the Royal Academy and an official architect to the Office of Works. He received a knighthood in 1831.
Soane's best-known work was the Bank of England (his work there is largely destroyed), a building which had a widespread effect on commercial architecture. He also designed Dulwich Picture Gallery, which, with its top-lit galleries, was a major influence on the planning of subsequent art galleries and museums. His main legacy is the eponymous museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields in his former home and office, designed to display the art works and architectural artefacts that he collected during his lifetime. The museum is described in the Oxford Dictionary of Architecture as "one of the most complex, intricate, and ingenious series of interiors ever conceived". (Full article...)
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Find references for: A420 road | Abingdon, Oxfordshire | Abingdon School | Anthony Kitchin | Banbury | Banbury mutiny | Bicester | Bicester Community College | Blowing Stone | Boris Johnson | Brakspear | Brenda Rawnsley | Chiltern Main Line | Clanfield F.C. | Colin Greenwood | Debagging | Deddington | Degrees of the University of Oxford | Edward, the Black Prince | Edward the Confessor | European route E5
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