Editing Oxfordshire (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Oxfordshire}}
Oxfordshire was recorded as a county in the early years of the 10th century and lies between the [[River Thames]] to the south, the [[Cotswolds]] to the west, the [[Chilterns]] to the east and the Midlands to the north, with spurs running south to [[Henley-on-Thames]] and north to [[Banbury]].

Although it had some significance as an area of valuable agricultural land in the centre of the country, it was largely ignored by the Romans and did not grow in importance until the formation of a settlement at Oxford in the 8th century. [[Alfred the Great]] was born across the Thames in [[Wantage]], in the Vale of White Horse. The University of Oxford was founded in 1096, although its collegiate structure did not develop until later on. The university in the county town of [[Oxford]] (whose name came from [[Anglo-Saxon language|Anglo-Saxon]] ''Oxenaford'' = "ford for [[oxen]]") grew in importance during the Middle Ages and early modern period. The area was part of the Cotswolds wool trade from the 13th century, generating much wealth, particularly in the western portions of the county in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds. [[Morris Motors]] was founded in Oxford in 1912, bringing heavy industry to an otherwise agricultural county. The role of agriculture as an employer declined rapidly in the 20th century; currently{{when|date=October 2020}} under one per cent of the county's population are involved due to high mechanisation.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} Nevertheless, Oxfordshire remains a very agricultural county by land use, with a lower population than neighbouring Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, which are both smaller.

During most of its history, the county was partitioned as [[List of hundreds of England|fourteen divisions]] called [[hundred (division)|hundreds]], namely [[Bampton, Oxfordshire|Bampton]], [[Banbury (hundred)|Banbury]], [[Binfield]], [[Bloxham]], [[Bullingdon (hundred)|Bullingdon]], [[Chadlington (hundred)|Chadlington]], [[Dorchester (hundred)|Dorchester]], [[Ewelme]], [[Langtree (hundred)|Langtree]], [[Lewknor]], [[Pyrton]], [[Ploughley]], [[Thame (hundred)|Thame]] and [[Wootton, West Oxfordshire|Wootton]].

The [[Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry]], the main army unit in the area, was based at [[Cowley Barracks]] on Bullingdon Green, [[Cowley, Oxford|Cowley]].
[[File:Flag of Oxfordshire.svg|thumb|The flag which represents the historic county]]
The [[Vale of White Horse]] district and parts of the [[South Oxfordshire]] administrative district south of the River Thames were historically part of [[Berkshire]], but, in 1974, [[Abingdon-on-Thames|Abingdon]], [[Didcot]], [[Faringdon]], [[Wallingford, Oxfordshire|Wallingford]] and [[Wantage]] were added to the administrative county of Oxfordshire under the [[Local Government Act 1972]]. Conversely, the [[Caversham, Berkshire|Caversham]] area of [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]], now administratively in [[Berkshire]], was historically part of Oxfordshire, as was the parish of [[Stokenchurch]], now administratively in [[Buckinghamshire]]. The areas of [[Oxford]] city south of the Thames, such as [[Grandpont]], were transferred much earlier, in 1889.