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A Short History of Oxford |
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Although there has been human habitation in Oxford for thousands of years the city did not rise to any importance until Saxon times when according to legend King Alfred the Great personally founded the University. Also during this period a Saxon abbey was built on the present day site of Christ Church Cathedral.
The Normans established their presence in Oxford when Lord Robert D'Oily built Oxford Castle in 1071 and it was sometime in the late 11th or early 12th century that Oxford University started to become a centre of religious study. The University was firmly established by the 13th century and it was at Baliol College in the 1360s that John Wycliffe and his Lollard followers published anti-papist works.
The Tudor period was marked in Oxford by Henry VIII who started the movement of the University away from its religious beginnings with the introduction of studies in medicine, law and Greek amongst others. His catholic daughter, Mary, also made her mark in the city by burning many prominent church leaders, such as Thomas Cranmer, at the stake in her attempt to reduce the Anglican reform started by Henry.
Oxford played a large part in the English Civil War as King Charles made the city his main base and the colleges supplied much financial support for the Royalist army. The 18th and 19th century saw increased building activity in the city with the construction of the Bluecoat school, the Radcliffe Infirmary and the rebuilding of the Magdalen bridge.
Transport was also improved with the cutting of a canal to the Midlands and a railway linking the city to London. In the twentieth century Oxford became well known as a centre for car manufacturing when Morris opened a factory in the city. Today the main industies are still car making as well as publishing and biotechnology. The population is currently 121000.
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