Oxford

/oks"feuhrd/, n.

1. 1st Earl of. See Harley, Robert.

2. a city in S Oxfordshire, in S England, NW of London: university, founded in 12th century. 116,600.

3. Oxfordshire.

4. a town in SW Ohio. 17,655.

5. a town in S Massachusetts. 11,680.

6. a town in N Mississippi, hometown of William Faulkner. 9882.

7. Also called Oxford Down. one of an English breed of large, hornless sheep, noted for its market lambs and heavy fleece of medium length.

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I

ancient Oxonia

City and administrative district (pop., 2001: 134,248), county seat of Oxfordshire, England.

Situated on the River Thames, the town is best known for the University of Oxford. First occupied in Saxon times as a fording point, it became a burg, built to defend the northern frontier of Wessex from Danish attack; it was first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of AD 912. Little remains of the town's Norman period of occupation. Oxford is generally known as the "City of Spires" because of its skyline of Gothic towers and steeples. Most of these 15th–17th-century buildings belong to the university. The city was the Royalist headquarters in the English Civil Wars. Its modern economy is varied and includes, in addition to educational services, printing and publishing industries and automobile manufacturing.

II

(as used in expressions)

Asquith Herbert Henry 1st earl of Oxford and Asquith

Harley Robert 1st earl of Oxford

Oxford English Dictionary The

Oxford movement

Oxford Edward de Vere 17th earl of

Oxford Provisions of

Oxford University of

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▪ England, United Kingdom

      city (district), administrative and historic county of Oxfordshire, England, best known for the University of Oxford, which is located within it.

      Situated between the upper River Thames (known in Oxford as the Isis) and the Cherwell, just north of their confluence, the town was first occupied in Saxon times as a fording point. Earlier peoples had spurned the valley lowlands in favour of the drier uplands to the north and south. Oxford eventually became a Thames burg, built to defend the northern frontier of Wessex from Danish attack. The first written mention of the town was in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (912), when it was observed that Edward the Elder “held Lurdenbryg [London] and Oxnaford and all the lands pertaining thereto.” Except for the Saxon Romanesque tower of St. Michael's Church in Cornmarket Street, little remains of the Saxon settlement at Oxford.

      Robert d'Oilly was appointed the first Norman governor of Oxford and was responsible for building Oxford Castle, of which all that remains is the motte (mound) and the tower of the Church of St. George in the castle. The site today is occupied by the local prison. Robert also built Oxford's first bridges (Magdalen, Folly, and Hythe). The Normans constructed a stone wall around the settlement. This wall enclosed an area of approximately 95 acres (38 hectares). Little now remains of it except for a few short sections, such as that standing in the grounds of New College. Established as a diocese in 1542, the first Oxford see was Osney Priory (destroyed), but in 1546 this designation was bestowed on St. Frideswide Priory, the “chapel” of Christ Church College and the smallest of all the cathedrals in England.

      Oxford is known as the “City of Spires” because of its beautiful skyline of Gothic towers and steeples. Most of these belong to the university, which is the oldest in England. The University of Oxford's (Oxford, University of) buildings were mostly built in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. The earliest colleges of Oxford were University College (1249), Balliol (1263), and Merton (1264). Each college is built around two or three quadrangles, with a chapel, hall, library, and walled gardens. After the university was founded in the second half of the 12th century Oxford remained a market town, but this function declined in importance from the 13th century on. The town's subsequent history became the history of the university, although there was always a certain antipathy between “town and gown.” This found its most violent expression in the Massacre of St. Scholastica's Day in 1355.

      In the English Civil War (English Civil Wars) Oxford's strategic importance made the city the Royalist headquarters to which the King retired after his defeats at Edgehill, Newbury, and Naseby. In May 1646 the Parliamentary commander in chief, Lord Fairfax, besieged the city, which finally surrendered to him on June 24th. The town became an important stagecoach junction point, and a considerable number of inns from the stagecoach era still exist. During the 18th century a canal network linking Oxford with various parts of the country was also developed, and in 1835 the Great Western Railway from London to Bristol was begun.

      In 1801 Oxford was still a small market town of about 12,000 persons, many of whom depended on the university for a livelihood, but by the beginning of the 20th century printing and publishing industries had become firmly established in the town, and the manufacture of preserves (especially marmalade) was also important. By 1901 there were about 50,000 people in Oxford. The English industrial magnate William Morris (later Lord Nuffield) started a motor-car industry at Cowley, just outside the city, and today this, together with associated heavy and electrical engineering enterprises, is the main industrial concern in the local economy. In 1926 a pressed-steel factory for car bodies was also set up in Cowley, and in 1929 the city's boundaries were extended to include this industrial quarter. Oxford Polytechnic, one of England's newest major institutions of higher education, was founded in 1970. Pop. (2004 est.) 145,100.

▪ Mississippi, United States

      city, seat (1837) of Lafayette county, northern Mississippi, U.S. It is situated about 75 miles (120 km) southeast of Memphis, Tennessee. Originating as a trading post, it was incorporated in 1837 and named for the English centre of learning, reflecting the townspeople's early desire for a university. The University of Mississippi (Mississippi, University of) (Ole Miss), chartered 1844, was opened there in 1848. During the American Civil War, the university served as a hospital, and the city was briefly occupied by Union forces in late 1862 and again in August 1864, when it was burned. In the fall of 1962 Oxford was torn by rioting over the enrollment of an African American student, James H. Meredith, at the University of Mississippi during the desegregation of the state educational system. The novelist William Faulkner (Faulkner, William), who was born in New Albany, 35 miles (56 km) northeast, lived in Oxford. Rowan Oak, his home from 1930 until his death in 1962, where he wrote his tales of Jefferson (Oxford) and Yoknapatawpha (Lafayette) County, is on Old Taylor Road. Manufacturing (appliances, electric motors, and wood products) and agriculture (cattle) are important economic activities. Sardis Lake and Holly Springs National Forest are located nearby. Pop. (1990) 9,984; (2000) 11,756.

▪ county, Maine, United States

      county, western Maine, U.S. It consists of a mountainous region bordered to the west by New Hampshire and to the north by Quebec, Canada. The Appalachian National Scenic Trail crosses the Maine–New Hampshire border along the Mahoosuc Range and traverses the northern part of the county via Old Speck, Baldpate, and Goose Eye mountains. The Androscoggin River bisects the county from west to east. Other waterways include the Swift, Saco, and Crooked rivers. Aziscohos, Kezar, and Upper Richardson lakes are among the largest lakes. Primary forest types are maple, birch, and beech, with stands of pine, spruce, fir, and aspen. Public lands include Grafton Notch State Park and White Mountain National Forest.

      The county was created in 1805 and named for Oxford, Massachusetts. The county seat is South Paris. Formerly an Abenaki Indian settlement known as Pequawket, Fryeburg was one of the state's first English farming communities. Rumford Falls on the Androscoggin River provided hydropower for Rumford's pulp and paper mills from the late 19th century. The town was the site of a planned community in the early 20th century. Other communities are Mexico, Norway, and Bethel. Sawmills, paper mills, and apple orchards contribute to the economy. Area 2,078 square miles (5,383 square km). Pop. (2000) 54,755; (2007 est.) 56,734.

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