Oxford
a city and county borough in England; capital of Oxford co., and seat of one of the most celebrated unibetween the Cherwell and the Thames, here called the Isis. Oxford, as a city of towers and spires of fine collegiate buildings old and new, of gardens, groves, and avenues of trees, is unique in England. The oldest building is the castle keep, built in the time of William the Conqueror, and still all but entire. Of the numerous churches the first place is due to the cathedral, begun about 1160, and chiefly in the late Norman style.
It not only serves as the cathedral of Oxford diocese, but also forms part of the collegiate buildings of Christ Church.
Other churches are St. Mary's, used as the University Church, with a noteworthy tower and spire (dating about 1400), St. Philip and St. James', a striking example of modern Gothic; All Saints' (18th century), with a Græco- Gothic spire; St. Giles' (12th and 13th building. Of the university buildings the most remarkable are Christ Church; Magdalen College, considered to be the most beautiful and complete of all; Balliol College, with a modern front (1867- 1869) and a modern Gothic chapel; Brasenose College; and New College (more than 500 years old), besides the Sheldonian Th Theater, Bodleian Library, Radcliffe Library, and other buildings belonging to the university. Pop. estimated (1918) 53,108.