OXFORD - YE OLD COLLEGE TOWN
University - History and Lots of Sightseeing
In
1071 the Norman lord Robert D'Oily built Oxford Castle, facing a troubled
time among the Saxons
in central England, but establishing Oxford as a major
city of its time. Oxford had been known as a center of learning from
medieval times for English clerics, drawing students from the varying
monastic orders around the British Isles and Europe, living in separate
houses, colleges, established for Domincans, Franciscans. Carmelites
and Augustinians. Since it’s beginnings Oxford University has become
the centerpiece of this city on the Thames evolved from these religious
learning institutions into one of the world’s most recognized and
revered.
Oxford
has also become a center for modern life. The streets can be filled
bumper to bumper with traffic in the morning rush hours (and sometimes
with students waiting for a dorm opening). Park and Ride lots have been
established around the city for the many commuters
from
the bucolic landscapes of Oxfordshire to London, and the city has formulated
a restrictive parking policy for the thonging tourists who come to visit
the historic sights or visit the students at the colleges.
Oxford Not Just Students
Oxford
has seen its share of calamities over the centuries. A fire leveled
the city in 1138, but the city’s oldest remaining building,
the Saxon Tower remains at the heart of the old village. The Black
Plague
devasted the population in 1348, allowing the University to aquire
a large amount of property. A visit to Trinity Chapel and the Dining
Dall
at Oxford will recall the student dinners at Hogwart's School from
the "Harry Potter" films, not to mention scenes from countless movies
of English school chaps throwing caps
in the
air
before going
off
to
world wars.
Magdalen
College is nearby. John Wycliffe as Master of Baliol College in the
1360's. was denounced as a heretic for his questioning the infallibility
of the
Pope. Wycliffe's
followers, known as Lollards, carried on the philosophical movement
he began.
Henry VIII took control of Christ Church from its founder, Cardinal
Wolsey and abolished the study of canonical law, instituting chairs
for Medicine,
Civil Law, Greek, Theology, and Hebrew. This marked the shift of the
University from its original monastic character to the present. Oxford
became a central player in the Catholic-Protestant struggles of the Reformation.
Bishops Latimer, Ridley, and Archbishop Thomas
Cranmer
were tried for heresy in Oxford. Latimer and Ridley were burned outside
Balliol College in 1555. The site of the burnings is marked by a cross
set in the pavement outside Balliol College, and commemorated by the
Martyr's Memorial at the corner of Broad and St. Giles.
Charles I
retreated to Oxford and stayed at Christ Church in the face of the
advancing roundheads
of Oliver Cromwell and after Charles lost
his head, Cromwell was made Chancellor of the University. Some of
Oxford's great architectural monuments date from the 18th century.
Queen's College was rebuilt, as was Magdalen Bridge and
Folly Bridge.
New structures from this period included the Radcliffe Camera and
Observatory, and the Clarendon Building. Oxford’s Carfax Tower
at the junction of Cornmarket and High Street, now the starting point
for walking tours of the city succumbed
to the
city’s growth in traffic as early as 1896 when much of the
church was demolished to make room for the street, only the tower
remains with
it’s 99 steps to a bird’s eye view of the old city. The
Museum of Oxford in Blue Boar Street nearby tells the story of the
City and
the University.
Park Your Car and Take the Bus
Park you rental car at
one of the city's outlying parking lots and take the bus. The “Hop
On – Hop
Off” double-decker
sight-seeing bus makes 20 stops around the central city and the park
and ride lots.
A
direct bus runs from Heathrow to Oxford from the airport’s
central bus terminal. © Bargain
Travel Europe
Best hotels and things to do in Oxford at TripAdvisor
Web Info
Oxford
Sight-Seeing
Get a Britrail Pass from RailEurope
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SEE ALSO:
HENLEY-ON-THAMES
ROWING
STEAM
TRAINS IN OXFORDSHIRE
DAY
TRIPS FROM LONDON
EUROSTAR CHUNNEL LONDON TO PARIS
