1st Earl of Oxford, 

 English statesman 



After Kneller 



OXFORD 



and writer of verse, also a spend- 

 thrift. Henry, the 18th earl, died 

 in 1625, when the great chamber- 

 lainship passed from the Veres. Au- 

 brey, the 20th earl, died in 1703, 

 and the title became extinct. 



In 1711 the statesman Robert 

 Harley was made earl of Oxford. 

 He was succeeded by his son Ed- 

 ward ( 1689-1741 ), who had no sons. 

 The 3rd earl was therefore a cousin, 

 Edward (d. 1755), in whose line the 

 title remained until the death of 

 Alfred, the 6th earl, in 1853, when 

 it became extinct. See Vere. 



Oxford, ROBERT HARLEY, IST 

 EARL OF (1661-1724). English 

 statesman. Born in London, 

 Dec. 5, 1661, 

 he entered 

 Parliament in 

 1689 as a 

 staunch Whig. 

 Coming soon 

 to the fore, 

 he carried 

 t h r o u gh the 

 Triennial Bill, 

 1694. He was 

 speaker 1701 

 - 5, and in 

 1706 was appointed a commissioner 

 for the union with Scotland, and 

 later in the year secretary of state 

 for the southern department. By 

 this time he had obtained influence 

 over Queen Anne. 



Assisted by his cousin, Abigail 

 Hill, afterwards Lady Masham 

 (q.v, ), he destroyed the Marl- 

 borough interest, and in 1710 

 became chancellor of the exchequer 

 and virtual prime minister. De- 

 spite the jealousy of the high 

 Tory ministers and the bitter 

 opposition of Marlborough and 

 Godolphin, secret negotiations 

 with France were begun in 1711, 

 and the peace itself was signed two 

 years later. Early in 1711 Harley 

 had been created earl of Oxford 

 and made lord high treasurer. 



In 1714 Bolingbroke, disap- 

 pointed by Harley's refusal to 

 further his schemes for a restora- 

 tion, began to plot against him, 

 and persuaded Anne, a month- 

 before she died, to dismiss her 

 minister. The next year Harley 

 was impeached for concluding the 

 French treaty, and was committed 

 to the Tower, where he remained 

 until 1717, when the impeach- 

 ment fell through, though he was 

 omitted from the Act of Grace. 

 Harley died in London, May 21, 

 1724. A man of wide literary tastes, 

 hi 1705 he began the collection of 

 books and MSS. which is famous as 

 the Harleian MSS. (q.v.). -See Life, 

 E. S. Roscoe, 1902. 



Oxford and Asquith, IST EARL 

 OF. Title assumed in 1925 by 

 H. H. Asquith (q.v.). 



5910 



Oxford and Cambridge Club. 



London social club. Founded in 

 1 830, Lord Palmerston being among 



Oxford and Cambridge Club, London. 

 The club bouse in Fall Mall 



its originators,, its first house was 

 in St. James's Square, where it re- 

 mained until a fin building was 

 erected for it at 71, Pall Mall. 

 The exterior is decorated with 

 notable bas-reliefs, and, within, the 

 library is a feature. Membership is 

 restricted to those connected with 

 the two universities. 



Oxford Canal. English canal, 

 connecting the Upper Thames with 

 the Midlands. The upper Cherwell 

 has been canalised to allow barges 

 drawing 3 ft. 8 ins. to reach Oxford 

 from the S. Staffs, coalfield ; grain 

 is collected at Banbury and trans- 

 ported to the Oxford flour- mil Is by 

 the canal, which was opened in 1790. 



Oxford House. Anglican set- 

 tlement in East London. Founded 

 in 1884 for members of Oxford 

 University, the house itself is in 

 Mape Street, Bethnal Green, E., 

 but its activities are spread over a 

 number of buildings in the locality. 

 An Anglican foundation, number- 

 ing Dr. Winnington-Ingram among 

 its heads, its clubs, etc., are unde- 

 nominational. Its work is carried 

 on by about 20 residents, and about 

 the same number of non-resident 

 workers. Young university men 

 who are about to take holy orders 

 spend a year here before passing on 

 to one of the theological colleges. 

 In connexion is a woman's settle- 

 ment called S. Margaret's House. 

 See University Settlement. 



Oxfordian Beds. In geology 

 name given to the lowest sub- 

 division of the Upper Jurassic 

 rocks. They are typical in Oxford- 

 shire, England, and are found in 

 most districts from Dorsetshire to 

 Yorkshire. See Jurassic. 



Oxford Movement. ~ Name 

 given to the movement for reform- 

 ing the life and worship of the 



OXFORDSHIRE 



Church of England that began 

 at Oxford in 1833. At that 

 time the Church in general was 

 in the state of lethargy into which 

 it fell during the 18th century, 

 and a number of Oxford men 

 conceived the idea of making 

 it more vigorous and powerful by 

 increasing the number of services, 

 reminding the clergy of their 

 varied duties, and rendering it 

 more than a mere adjunct of the 

 state. An essential feature was the 

 restoration of some of the cere- 

 monial of worship that had fallen 

 into disuse since the Reforma- 

 tion, and it was here that strong 

 opposition was aroused. It was also 

 called the Tractarian Movement 

 because its aims were set forth 

 in Tracts for the Times, a volume 

 by various writers first published 

 in 1834, while the adherents of the 

 movement were called High Church- 

 men or, by their foes, Ritualists. 

 See Church of England; Keble ; 

 Newman ; Pusey ; consult also The 

 Oxford Movement, R. W. Church, 

 1891 ; Secret History of the Oxford 

 Movement, W. Walsh, 5th ed. 1899 ; 

 Five Oxford Leaders, A. B. Donald- 

 son. 1900. 



Oxfordshire. South Midland 

 county of England, known some- 

 times as Oxon. Its area is 748 sq.m. 

 Of very irregular 

 shape, it is 

 bounded on the S. 

 by the Thames. 

 In theS.E. are the 

 Chiltern Hills, 

 reaching up to 700 

 ft., and near Ox- 

 Oxfordshire. Seal ford are some 

 lesser heights. 

 Spurs of the Cots- 



of the county 

 council 



wolds enter the county, but the 

 rest of it is undulating or flat. 

 The chief rivers, tributaries of the 

 Thames, are the Windrush, Cher- 

 well, Thame, and Evenlode. 



Oxfordshire is an agricultural 

 county, producing barley, wheat, 

 oats, and various vegetables, 

 while cattle, sheep, and pigs are 

 reared. Paper is made in several 

 villages. It is served by the 

 G.W., L. & N.W., and G.C. Rlys. 

 and the Oxford Canal. Oxford 

 is the county town ; other places 

 are Banbury, Henley-on-Thames, 

 Chipping Norton, Bicester, Thame, 

 and Witney.. Herein are historic 

 and picturesque places such as 

 Woodstock, Burford, Bampton, 

 and Dorchester, once the centre 

 of a great bishopric, Blenheim, 

 Great Tew, Nuneham, and Goring. 

 Broughton and Shirburn castles 

 are two great houses. 



Of religious houses there are 

 remains at Dorchester, Godstow, 

 and elsewhere. There are beautiful 

 churches at Bloxham, Langford, 



