A Bit of Fun - Some Facts About Oxford You May Not Know!

How Oxford Got Its Name

Oxford was first settled in Saxon times, and was first known as "Oxenaforda", which meant "Ford of the Oxen" in ancient English.  The ford was founded sometime early in the century 900 AD.  In the 10th century Oxford was military frontier town between the kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex.

Oxford Facts

Following the Norman Invasion, the town was assigned a governor, Robert D'Oyly, who ordered the construction of Oxford Castle to confirm Norman authority over the area. D'Oyly set up a monastic community in the castle which became one of the oldest places of formal education in Oxford.

The 1517 sweating sickness epidemic was particularly devastating to Oxford where it killed half of its residents.

On 6 May 1954, Roger Bannister, a 25 year old medical student, ran the first four-minute mile at the Iffley Road running track in Oxford.

During the second world war, Adolf Hitler intended to make Oxford his capital city should his invasion of England prove successful.  For this reason, Oxford was not bombed during the war.

An Oxford University student is responsible for thwarting the Gunpowder Plot.  Francis Treasham of St John’s college was locked up in the Tower Of London for his efforts, where he died from a mysterious poisoning.

The Great Hall at Christ College is the inspiration for the Dining Hall at Hogwarts (of the Harry Potter films).  The actual staircase leading up to the Great Hall was used used for several scenes in the films.

Alice, from Alice in Wonderland was named after a young girl called Alice Liddell.  She was the daughter of a family friend of Charles Dodgson who taught at Christ Church College.  Charles Dodgson is better known under his pen name – Lewis Carrol.
After reading Alice In Wonderland, Queen Victoria requested that Carrol send her more of his books.  He sent her his most recent work – “The Syllabus of Plane Algebraical Geometry”.

The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford was the first in the world to be opened to the public in 1683.

Radcot Bridge at Oxford is the oldest bridge over the River Thames. It dates from around 1150, built by Cistercian monks.

Ever wondered why South Parade is actually North of North Parade? -  When Oxford was besieged by Oliver Cromwell in the English Civil War, North Parade was the King's Northern Front, whilst South Parade was Cromwell's Southern Front.

A Few Famous People From Oxford

Rowan Atkinson, comedian
HM King Abdullah II of Jordan
Sir Kingsley Amis, author
W H Auden, poet
Clement Attlee, UK Prime Minister, 1945-1951
Sir Roger Bannister, athlete
Zeinab Badawi, journalist
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web
Benazir Bhutto, Prime Minister of Pakistan (1988-90 & 1993-96)
J R R Tolkien, author
Sir Matthew Pinsent, four times Olympic Gold Medal winning rower
Dennis Potter, playwright
Philip Pullman, author
Hugh Quarshie, actor
Harold Macmillan, UK Prime Minister, 1957-63
T E Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia
C S Lewis, author
John Le Carre, author
Philip Larkin, poet
Natasha Kaplinsky,  presenter
Imran Khan, cricketer
Bill Clinton, President of the United States, 1992-2000
Hugh Grant, actor
Graham Greene, author
Professor Stephen Hawking, physicist

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