Images of Oxford - paperback

Scholars still argue about the location of the oxen ford from which Oxford takes its name. The streams and tributaries of the Thames that thread their way through the city offer at least three possible contenders for the honour. 

But one thing is certain. Oxford was a thriving community long before wandering scholars established the university city whose dreaming spires bring tourists flocking from all over the world. 

The oldest building, the tower of the City Church in bustling Cornmarket Street, dates from early in the 11th century and the next oldest is the tower of Oxford Castle which William the Conqueror’s henchman, Robert D’Oilly, built in 1074. 

The townspeople welcomed the money of the students who began turning Oxford into a seat of learning in the 12th century. They were less keen on the students themselves. 

Friction between town and gown culminated in the famous St Scholastica’s Day riots in 1355, as a result of which the city was placed firmly under the University’s thumb. 

Apart from the English Civil War, when King Charles I had his court at Oxford, there it remained until the car magnate and philanthropist, Lord Nuffield, turned the quiet university town into a modern industrial city. 

The invention of photography came just at the right time to record the transformation and Oxford has been lucky enough to boast a succession of brilliant cameramen and women to cover every aspect. 

This book draws on the rich archive of their work at the Centre for Oxfordshire Studies. But the majority of the images come from the library of the Oxford Mail, Oxfordshire’s premier picture paper for the last 82 years. 

The result is a book which will delight local people and, indeed, anyone with an Oxford connection.