The Blue Badge Guide's Oxford Quiz Book

By Alexandra Jackson

Do you think you know Oxford? Do you want to know more? Either way, this is the book for you! Pit your wits against a local specialist Blue Badge Tourist Guide on a series of themed topics around Oxford, including fun but increasingly challenging questions on subjects both ancient and modern.

This is a welcome addition to a series of regional quiz books written exclusively by local, professional guides. Rigorously examined by the Institute of Tourist Guiding, the industry’s standard-setting body, Blue Badge Tourist Guides are world-renowned for their knowledge, interpretation skills and enthusiasm for their area.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Feb 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9780750995368

Alexandra Jackson

ALEXANDRA JACKSON is an Oxford-educated historian and a Blue Badge tour guide who enjoys sharing her love of Britain’s heritage. Before taking a career break to have four children, she was an investment analyst in the City and then a financial journalist. She has also ran a small bookshop. She has written a daily investment column for the Times newpaper and has also worked on the City pages of the Independent newspaper. She contributes regularly to her alumni magazine, The Marlburian Club Magazine. She lives 45 minutes away from the centre of Oxford.

Book preview

1

Town

When one thinks of Oxford, the ancient University of Oxford tends to take centre stage. Oxford is a good-sized city in its own right, with a well-established motor industry, a world-class publisher, a growing high-tech business park, numerous language schools and tutorial colleges, and a second flourishing university, Oxford Brookes. Its location on the Thames, on the crossroads of ancient trading routes, was the reason why it was settled in the first place, over 1,000 years ago. This, together with good schools of all types and plenty of open spaces, makes Oxford a popular place to live and work; and the vibrancy and economic input of its youthful population create a lively atmosphere. So most visitors should find their needs met, be they ancient or modern. There is scope for exploring, especially on foot, or, for those with less stamina, there is plenty to enjoy if you just want to stop and stare.

1. Which iconic car is assembled in Oxford?

a) BMW 3 Series

b) Mini

c) Land Rover Discovery

d) Fiat 500

2. Which international charity was founded in Oxford in 1942?

3. How many people lived in Oxford at the last (2011) census?

a) 85,000

b) 155,000

c) 180,000

d) 115,000

4. Name the newest railway station serving Oxford.

5. Which area of Oxford was built to house workers at the University Press?

6. Which green space in Oxford escaped having a ring road through it?

7. What was previously on the site of the Malmaison Hotel (opened in 2005)?

8. Why is Turl Street so called?

9. What are the Carfax Quarterboys?

10. Which four of these European cities are twinned with Oxford?

a) Heidelberg

b) Bologna

c) Grenoble

d) Thessaloniki

e) Perm

f) Bonn

g) Leiden

Illustration

Chapter 1 Answers

1. b) Mini. Car manufacture in Oxford dates back to Morris Motors, set up by William Morris, Lord Nuffield, in the early twentieth century. There have been many changes to the industry since then, with German BMW now manufacturing Minis on the Cowley site. Before World War One, Morris started repairing bicycles in his parents’ back garden and then moved to Longwall Street. A generous philanthropist, Lord Nuffield gave away over £30 million, founding a college and several medical establishments.

2. Oxfam was set up in 1942 at the University Church of St Mary by local businessman Cecil Jackson-Cole, and others, who were concerned about famine in Greece following its occupation by Axis powers during World War Two. The first Oxfam shop, selling second-hand clothes, opened on Broad Street in 1948.

3. b) 155,000. With two universities in the town, it’s not surprising that a third of Oxford’s population is aged between 18 and 24; that’s the highest proportion of young people of any place in the country. Oxford has been a popular place to live for over 1,000 years as it’s in the centre of the country, and on a crossing point on the River