Poet Matthew Arnold described Oxford as a 'City of dreaming spires', and as you approach from almost any direction, it's the spires you see first, as some of the most beautiful architecture in the world sits nestled in the heart of the English countryside.
Oxford is about 50 miles North West of London, on the Cherwell and the Thames. It has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900, who live amongst buildings which demonstrate every English architectural period since the arrival of the Saxons.
Oxford was heavily damaged during the Norman Invasion of 1066, after which the governor ordered a castle to be built, although it was never used for military purposes, and its remains can still be seen. Oxford's prestige was enhanced by its charter, granted by King Henry II , which gave its citizens the same privileges and exemptions as those enjoyed in London, and various important religious houses were founded in or near the city.
The University of Oxford is first mentioned in the 12th century. As the University took shape, friction 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, which eventually gave way to the individual colleges, the oldest of which is University College (1249) Balliol, (1263) and Merton (1264) The colleges at were supported by the Church in the hope of reconciling Greek Philosophy and Christian Theology , but the relationship was not an easy one. The Oxford Martyrs were tried for heresy in 1555 and subsequently burnt at the stake, on what is now Broad Street, for their religious beliefs and teachings.
During the English Civil War , Oxford housed the court of Charles I in 1642, after the king was expelled from London, and later housed the court of Charles II during the Great Plague of London in 1665-66.
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. The economy and society of Oxford underwent a huge transformation when William Morris established the Morris Motor Company to mass produce cars in Cowley , on the south-eastern edge of the city. By the early 1970s over 20,000 people worked in Cowley at the huge Morris Motors and Pressed Steel Fisher plants. Cowley suffered major job losses in the 1980s and 1990s during the decline of British Leyland , but is now producing the successful new Mini, for BMW on a smaller site.
One of Oxford's most famous students, Roger Bannister famously ran the first authenticated four-minute mile at the Iffley Road running track in Oxfordon 6 May 1954.
Oxford's second university, Oxford Brookes University , formerly the Oxford School of Art, then Oxford Polytechnic, based at Headington Hill , was given its charter in 1991.
It's hard to decide what to do first in this most magical of cities. Take tours of the bigger colleges, peer enviously into the smaller ones, or walk the streets carrying books and imagine you're in a scene from Brideshead Revisited , or Inspector Morse. Take in a lunchtime concert, a poetry reading or an exhibition in any one of the myriad venues all around the city, or roam around one of its churches, chapels or crypts, hoping to get lucky and hear a choir or organ rehearsal. Visit the Bodleian Library, or the beautifully redeveloped Ashmolean Museum, or hang around with students and bohemian types in the village-like streets of Jericho. Or wield your wallet in any one of the huge variety of shops, in search of anything from vintage dresses to evening gowns, from college scarves to Jimmy Choos, or from smart suits to luxury lingerie.
All year round, Oxford hosts events of all kinds. There's a lively theatre scene with mainstream productions at The Playhouse and a programme of big-name events at the Town Hall, as well as fringe productions both indoors and outdoors all year round. Don't miss Eights Week in June, when huge numbers of rowers converge in the river for a regatta, the notorious 'bumps' racing and plenty of socialising, and there's a thriving Literary festival in April, which draws an international audience and offers all things literary in venues all over the City.
Oxford has the usual mix of hotels of all sizes, from the historic Randolph and The Old Parsonage hotels, and newer boutique establishments, to the huge number of bed-and-breakfasts, pubs with rooms, and self-catering apartments. For a real taste of Oxford's academic life, it's often possible to rent rooms within the colleges between terms.
As you'd expect in one of Europe's busiest cities, there are new restaurants, clubs and bars springing up across Oxford all the time, and smart diners and clubbers rub shoulders with drinkers in the City's oldest pubs and watering holes. Lovers of fantasy fiction won't want to miss The Eagle and Child where CS Lewis used to hang out with JRR Tolkien.
All in all, Oxford has something for everyone. The surrounding countryside is studded with picturesque villages, and the City's position in the centre of the country means you're never far from a strong transport link to anywhere else. It's a city full of life, where all that's exciting about modern urban life is underpinned by the fascinating fabric of centuries past.
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