Oxford has been a university town for more than 900 years, and the colleges still shape the city: their quads, chapels and towers fill the centre, and the academic year sets its rhythm. Behind the honey-coloured stone there is also a Norman castle, a Georgian market and a long list of writers who found their stories here. Here are the facts and stories that make the city special.
10 fun facts about Oxford
- The oldest university in the English-speaking world: there was teaching in Oxford by 1096, and the university grew quickly after 1167, when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris.
- A university made of colleges: Oxford has 39 self-governing colleges plus a handful of permanent private halls, and every student belongs to one of them.
- A library you make a promise to: the Bodleian Library reopened under Thomas Bodley in 1602, and since an agreement of 1610 it has received copies of books published in Britain. New readers still promise not to bring into the library, or kindle there, any fire or flame.
- A round reading room: the Radcliffe Camera, designed by James Gibbs, opened in 1749 and has been part of the Bodleian since 1860.
- A bell that keeps Oxford time: every evening Great Tom, the bell in Christ Church's Tom Tower, rings 101 times at 9pm Oxford time, which is 9.05pm by the clock. Oxford lies west of Greenwich, and the college still keeps its own time for this tradition.
- Where Alice began: Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, taught mathematics at Christ Church, where Alice Liddell's father was dean. He first told the story that became Alice's Adventures in Wonderland on a boat trip on 4 July 1862.
- A tower older than the castle: St George's Tower at Oxford Castle was long thought to be Norman, but it is now generally believed to be a late Saxon watchtower from around 1020. The Norman castle around it was begun in 1071 by Robert D'Oyly.
- From prison to hotel: the castle site served as a prison until 1996. Today former cell blocks are part of a hotel, and you can take a guided tour of the medieval tower and the old prison wing.
- A market since 1774: the Covered Market opened on 1 November 1774 to move traders off the streets and under one roof. It began mainly as a meat market and has been listed since 2000.
- Singing at dawn: every 1 May at 6am, the choir of Magdalen College sings from the top of Magdalen Tower, and crowds gather on the bridge and the High Street below to listen.
The empress who escaped across the ice
In the 1140s England was torn by a civil war between King Stephen and his cousin, the Empress Matilda, who claimed the throne. In the autumn of 1142 Matilda was trapped in Oxford Castle while Stephen's army besieged it for about three months. In December, with supplies running out, she slipped away. Tradition says she was lowered from the castle on a rope at night, wrapped in a white cloak so she could not be seen against the snow, and crossed the frozen river on foot with only a few companions. The chroniclers of the time tell it differently, and one says simply that she left through a gate, but they agree on the ending: she reached Abingdon safely, and the castle surrendered the next day.
What to eat in Oxford
- The Covered Market: still the best place for lunch in the centre, with bakers, butchers, cafés and cake stalls under one roof.
- Oxford marmalade: Frank Cooper's Oxford Marmalade, a thick-cut orange marmalade, was first made in the city by Sarah Cooper in 1874.
- Oxford sausage: a traditional skinless sausage of pork and veal seasoned with herbs and lemon.
- Oxford Blue: a creamy blue cheese created in the 1990s, good with oatcakes or a ploughman's lunch.
- A pint in a historic pub: the Turf Tavern, reached through narrow alleys off Holywell Street and New College Lane, is one of the city's best-known old inns.
Good to know before you go
- Each college sets its own visiting times, many charge for entry, and some close to visitors during exams and college events.
- Parts of the Bodleian, including the Divinity School's interior and the old reading rooms, can only be seen on guided tours, which are worth booking ahead.
- For a view over the spires, climb the tower of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin or Carfax Tower. Punts can be hired at Magdalen Bridge in the warmer months.
- Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, where Winston Churchill was born in 1874, is a short bus ride north and makes an easy half-day trip.
Explore Oxford with World City Trail
Our Oxford scavenger hunt turns these sights into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around three hours, with about 42 minutes of walking. Along the way you visit Oxford Castle and Prison and the Covered Market.
At each stop you solve a puzzle and hear a short story, at your own pace. You can start whenever you like and play in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish or Dutch.
Play the Oxford scavenger hunt →
Facts checked in October 2026.