Bicester
Bicester (pronounced "bister") is a town in the
Cherwell district of north-eastern
Oxfordshire in
England, with a population of 28,672 (2001 census).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 has a
branch line service to Oxford and
Islip.
Schools
Bicester is home to two secondary schools:
Bicester Community College (BCC) and
The Cooper School. There are also a number of different primary schools (including
Southwold Primary) in the locality.
Shopping
Bicester is also the location of the retail outlet
Bicester Village Shopping Centre and a small
Tesco store. There is a much larger Tesco in nearby
Aylesbury.
*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.
*Bicester was home to the first factories capable of mass-producing pornographic playing cards.
*
Bicester Town web portal*
OX26.info - Bicester Information*
The Best Of Bicester ... Find local Businesses, News and Events for Bicester*
TheCollinsHouse.com - Bicester links to local info, travel & maps.
