History of Oxfordshire
Historically the area has always had some importance, containing valuable agricultural land in the centre of the country and the prestigious university in the county town of Oxford (whose name came from Anglo-Saxon Oxenaford = "ford for oxen").
[1] Throughout most of its history the county was divided into fourteen hundreds, namely Bampton, Banbury, Binfield, Bloxham, Bullingdon, Chadlington, Dorchester, Ewelme, Langtree, Lewknor, Pyrton, Ploughley, Thame and Wootton.
[1] The origin of the county of Oxford is somewhat uncertain; like other divisions of the Mercian kingdom, the older boundaries were entirely wiped out, and the district was renamed after the principal town.
[2] The destruction of houses in Oxford recorded in the Domesday Book may possibly be accounted for by the ravages of the rebel army of Eadwine and Morkcre on this occasion, there being no undisputed mention of a siege by William the Conqueror.
Glass was made at Benson and Stokenchurch in the reign of Henry VI, and the wool trade continued, though not in so flourishing a state, Witney retaining its fame in blanket making.
[2] The dissolution of the monasteries, though it affected the county greatly, caused no general disturbance, but the enclosure of common land in the early 16th century led to agricultural depression and discontent.
Every manor house in the district became an advanced work, and from Banbury in the north to Marlborough in the west and Reading in the south the walled towns formed an outer line of defence.
[2] For the campaign of 1643 the role of this strong position was to be the detention of the main parliamentary army until the royalists from the north and the west could come into line on either hand, after which the united royal forces were to close upon London on all sides, and in the operations of that year Oxfordshire successfully performed its allotted functions.
[2] In the campaign of Newbury which followed, the parliamentary troops under the Essex passed through north Oxfordshire on their way to the relief of Gloucester, and many confused skirmishes took place between them and Rupert's men.
The commanding situation of the city itself prevented any serious attempt at investment by dividing the enemy's forces, but material wants made it impossible for Charles to maintain permanently his central position.
Plans were continually resolved upon and cancelled on both sides, and eventually Essex headed for the south-west, leaving Sir William Waller to face the king alone.
In spite of the difficulties of the besiegers Charles was compelled to turn back to relieve the city, and the consequent delay led to the campaign and disaster of Naseby (14 June 1645).
[2] It is true that Abingdon with its parliamentary garrison was a standing menace, but the districts east of the Cherwell and Thames, and the triangle bounded by Oxford, Faringdon and Banbury, still retained its importance, until early in 1646 the enemy closed from all sides on the last stronghold of royalism.
The remains of Rycote (partly incorporated with a farmhouse) are of fine Elizabethan brick, and in the chapel attached to the manor there is remarkable Jacobean woodwork, the entire fittings of the church, including the canopied pews and altar-table, being of this period.
Others are Shirburn Castle, begun in 1377, but mainly Perpendicular of the next century; Stanton Harcourt, dating from 1450, with a gatehouse of 1540, a vast kitchen, and Pope's Tower, named from the poet, who stayed here more than once.
Mapledurham, on the Thames above Reading, is a fine Tudor mansion of brick; and Water Eaton, on the Cherwell above Oxford, is a singularly perfect Jacobean house of stone, with a chapel of the same period resembling pure Perpendicular.
[2] Other mansions in the county include Blenheim Palace, near Woodstock; the former Holton House (now replaced by a Georgian building), near Wheatley, was the scene in 1646 of the wedding of the Parliamentary Major General Henry Ireton and Bridget daughter of Oliver Cromwell.
[citation needed] There are also three fine spires in the north: Bloxham, Adderbury and King's Sutton (across the border in Northamptonshire), which are locally proverbial as typifying length, strength and beauty.
About 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Oxford there are Kidlington with a needle-like Perpendicular spire, and Islip, which, as the birthplace of Edward the Confessor, retains a connection with his Abbey of Westminster (the Dean and Chapter of which are lords of the manor and patrons of the living).
Ewelme church (Perpendicular) is remarkable for the tomb of Alice, Duchess of Suffolk (1475), with tracery and gilded canopy, and that of Sir Thomas Chaucer (1434), ornamented with enamelled coats of arms.
