Bicester
Bicester shown within Oxfordshire
Population	28,672 (2001)
OS grid reference	SP5822
District	Cherwell
Shire county	Oxfordshire
Region	South East
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BICESTER
Postcode district	OX25 - 27
Dialling code	01869
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Oxfordshire
Ambulance	South Central
European Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Banbury
List of places: UK • England • Oxfordshire

Coordinates: 51°54′N 1°09′W / 51.9, -1.15 Image File history File links Red_pog2. ... Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from the Latinised form Oxonia) is a county in the South East of England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire. ... Census 2001 is the name by which the national census conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday 29 April 2001 is known. ... The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ... The districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. ... Cherwell is a local government district in northern Oxfordshire, England. ... Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are one of the four levels of English administrative division used for the purposes of local government. ... Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from the Latinised form Oxonia) is a county in the South East of England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire. ... The region, also known as Government Office Region, is currently the highest tier of local government subnational entity of England in the United Kingdom. ... South East England is one of the nine official regions of England. ... Constituent countries is a phrase used, often by official institutions, in contexts in which a number of countries make up a larger entity or grouping, concerning these countries; thus the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has used the phrase in reference to the parts of former Yugoslavia... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This is an alphabetical list of the sovereign states of the world, including both de jure and de facto independent states. ... A post town is a required part of all UK postal addresses. ... UK postal codes are known as postcodes. ... The OX postcode area, also known as the Oxford postcode area[2], is a group of postal districts around Abingdon, Bampton, Banbury, Bicester, Burford, Carterton, Chinnor, Chipping Norton, Didcot, Kidlington, Oxford, Thame, Wallingford, Wantage, Watlington, Witney and Woodstock in England. ... +44 redirects here. ... There are a number of policing agencies in the United Kingdom. ... Thames Valley Police is one of the largest Home Office police services in England and the largest non-metropolitan one, covering 2200 sq mi (5,700 km²) and a population of 2. ... A Fire Appliance belonging to the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service The fire service in the United Kingdom has undergone dramatic changes since the beginning of the 21st century, a process that has been propelled by a devolution of central government powers, new legislation and a change to operational... The Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, is the Fire Service serving the county of Oxfordshire. ... The South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust is the authority responsible for providing NHS ambulance services in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Portsmouth, and Southampton, in the South East England region. ... This is a list of Members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom in the 2004 to 2009 session, ordered by name. ... The constituency within England. ... The United Kingdom House of Commons is made up of Members of Parliament (MPs). ... Banbury is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... List of cities in the United Kingdom List of towns in England Lists of places within counties List of places in Bedfordshire List of places in Berkshire List of places in Buckinghamshire List of places in Cambridgeshire List of places in Cheshire List of places in Cleveland List of places... This is a list of settlements in both the non-metropolitan shire and ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

Bicester (pronunciation (help·info); IPA /ˈbɪstɚ/) is a town in the Cherwell district of north-eastern Oxfordshire in England, with a population of 28,672 (2001 census). Cherwell is a local government district in northern Oxfordshire, England. ... Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from the Latinised form Oxonia) is a county in the South East of England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

It is currently one of the fastest growing towns in Oxfordshire. This growth has been favoured by its proximity to junction 9 of the M40 motorway linking it to Oxford, Birmingham and London. It is close to Banbury, Kidlington, Brackley, Buckingham, Oxford, and Witney. The M40 motorway is a motorway in the English transport network that connects London to Birmingham. ... This article is about the city of Oxford in England. ... This article is about the British city. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... , The modern Castle Quay Shopping Centre in Banbury alongside the Oxford Canal, with Banbury Museum in the background. ... Kidlington is a large village and civil parish in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom. ... Map sources for Brackley at grid reference SP5837 Brackley is a town in south Northamptonshire, England. ... Statistics Population: 11,572 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SP695335 Administration District: Aylesbury Vale Shire county: Buckinghamshire Region: South East England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Buckinghamshire Historic county: Buckinghamshire Services Police force: Thames Valley Police Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: South Central Post office... This article is about the city of Oxford in England. ... High Street in Witney. ...

History

Bicester has a history going back to Saxon times, and was recorded in the Domesday book. The name Bicester, deriving from the earlier forms Berncestre, Burencestre, Burcester, Biciter and Bissiter, means "The Fort of the Warriors" (the John Speed map of 1610 shows no less than four alternative spellings). The ruins of the Roman settlement of Alchester and the remains of an Augustinian priory lie 1.5 miles south-west of Bicester. It is Bernecestre in Phillimore and Co Ltd translation of the Doomsday book. Bicester could also be translated quite literally from Latin to mean "The 2 forts" from Bi-cester. For other uses, see Anglo-Saxon. ... This article is about the 11th century census. ... John Speed (1542-1629) was a historian, now best remembered as the cartographer whose maps of English counties are often found framed in homes throughout the UK. He was born at Farndon in Cheshire, and went into his fathers tailoring business where he worked until he was about 50... Alchester is a small settlement in Oxfordshire, two miles south of Bicester, near the village of Wendlebury. ...

Although Bicester is believed to have been established by the west Saxons in the sixth century the first authentic reference to it is in the Norman Domesday Book survey of 1086 when it is recorded as Berencestra, its two manors of Bicester and Wretchwick being held by Robert d'Oily who built Oxford Castle. By the thirteenth Century two further manors are mentioned, Bury End and Nuns Place, later known as Market End and Kings End respectively. The latter was acquired in 1584 by the Coker family. The Lord of the manor of Market End was the Earl of Derby who, by the end of the sixteenth century, had leased it to the inhabitants together with the market rights. A line drawing entitled Domesday Book from Andrew Williamss Historic Byways and Highways of Old England. ... The Earl of Derby is a title in the peerage of England. ...

Modern-day Bicester

Twinning

The town is twinned with Neunkirchen-Seelscheid near Bonn and Cologne in Germany and also with Canton des Essarts in the Vendée, between Nantes and Bordeaux in France. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. ... Cologne (German: , IPA: ; local dialect: Kölle ) is Germanys fourth-largest city after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than... Les Essarts is a commune of the Vendée département in France. ... Traditional city flag City coat of arms Motto: Favet Neptunus eunti (Latin: Shall Neptune favour the traveller) Location Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country Region Pays de la Loire Department Loire-Atlantique (44) Mayor Jean-Marc Ayrault  (PS) (since 1989) City Statistics Land area¹ 65. ... For other uses, see Bordeaux (disambiguation). ...

Military links

The town has a long-standing connection to the military. The British Army's largest ordnance depot - the Central Ordnance Depot of the Royal Logistic Corps (formerly the Royal Army Ordnance Corps) - is located just outside the town. The depot has its own internal railway system, the Bicester Military Railway. There is also a former Royal Air Force station, now Bicester Airfield. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Ordnance is a general term for a quantity of military equipment, usually specifying the ammunition for artillery, bombs, or other large weapons. ... The Royal Logistic Corps is the British Army corps that provides the logistic support for the Army. ... The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a British Army corps formed in 1918 by the merger of the Army Ordnance Department (AOD) and the Army Ordnance Corps (AOC). ... Bicester Military Railway,It was founded about 100 years agon along with army base. ... RAF redirects here. ... Bicester Airfield, formerly RAF Bicester, is an airfield on the outskirts of the English town of Bicester. ...

Social infrastructure

Rail links

The town has two railway stations: Bicester North and Bicester Town. Bicester North is served by Chiltern Railways train services between London (Marylebone) and Birmingham (Snow Hill). Bicester Town, located to the south of the town has a branch line service to Oxford and Islip which follows the old Varsity Line track between Oxford and Cambridge. Passengers bustle around the typical grand edifice of Londons Broad Street Station in 1865. ... Bicester North is the main railway station of Bicester, a town in north Oxfordshire, England. ... Bicester Town station is one of two railway stations serving the town of Bicester in Oxfordshire. ... Chiltern Railways is a train operating company in England. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Marylebone station or London Marylebone station is a National Rail and London Underground station in central London. ... A Midland Metro tram at Snow Hill Birmingham Snow Hill is a railway station and tram stop in the centre of Birmingham, England on the site of a much larger station which was built by the former Great Western Railway (GWR). ... A branch line is a relatively minor railway line which branches off a more important through route. ... Islip is a village in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. ... Varsity Line (or Oxford and Cambridge Line) is an informal name for the railway service which formerly linked the university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway and then British Railways. ...

Schools

Bicester is home to two secondary schools: Bicester Community College (BCC) and The Cooper School. There are also a number of primary schools (including Southwold Primary) in the locality. More Schools are set to be built as Bicester is projected to double in size from 30,000 to 60,000 in between 2007 and 2027. Bicester Community College is a mixed, multi-heritage, comprehensive school, with around 1200 students (including a sixth form). ...

Shopping

There are many local shops in the centre of Bicester. Bicester is also the location of the retail outlet Bicester Village Shopping Centre. On the Oxford edge of Bicester the large Wyevale Garden Centre boasts two restaurants and numerous other shops. A £70 million development of the Town Centre is due to take place from 2008 to include 15 restaurants, a cinema and numerous shops. The town is also often dubbed as 'Tesco Town' due to the fact that it has 6 tesco stores located in the town. Bicester Village Shopping Center is an outlet center in Bicester, Oxfordshire, for dozens of high-end shops, restaurants and cafés. ... , For other uses, see Tesco (disambiguation). ...

Churches

Bicester has numerous churches under the Churches Together banner such as St Edburg's Parish Church (Anglican); Emmanuel Church (Charismatic Anglican, meeting in Bure Park School); the Church of the Immaculate Conception (Roman Catholic); the Methodist Church; Orchard Baptist Fellowship (meeting in Cooper School); Elim Lighthouse Church (Pentecostal - meeting in the Methodist church); Bicester Community Church (meeting in the Salvation Army Church) and The Salvation Army itself. Not part of the Churches Together group are the Bicester Baptist Church (meeting in Southwold Community Centre) and Hebron Gospel Hall.

Trivia

• The trilogy Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson was based in the north east of Bicester. Some of the books' plot was set in the nearby villages of Juniper Hill, Hethe, Cottisford and Fringford.
• The charity Oxfam has its emergency warehouse within Bicester.

Lark Rise to Candleford was writen by Flora Thompson, it is a trilogy including the stories Lark Rise, Over to Candleford and Candleford Green. ... Flora Jane Thompson (December 5, 1876 – May 21, 1947) was an English novelist and poet famous for her semi-autobiographical trilogy about the English countryside, Lark Rise to Candleford. ... Oxfam International logo Oxfam International is a confederation of 13 organizations working with over 3000 partners in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice. ...

References

• Lawton, E.R. and Sackett, M.W., (1992), The Bicester Military Railway, Oxford Publishing Co., ISBN 0-86093-467-5
• Mitchell, V. and Smith, K., (2005), Country Railway Routes: Oxford to Bletchley, Middleton Press, ISBN 1-90447-457-8