Oxfordshire map

This hand painted Oxfordshire map shows the geography, history, nature, industry and much more!

My Oxfordshire map features historical characters, industries past and present, nature and geography, significant events, famous and vernacular buildings, as well as the rivers, railways and main roads. Clearly it’s not to scale. It's full of whimsy!

This painting was commended by the British Cartographic Society in 2015.

The painting is my interpretation of the county featuring things that I consider important.

Industry

 The car industry for example. Every car pictured on the map was built in the county, from the modern BMW Mini through to the Morris Oxfords and Abingdon’s gorgeous MGs. And racing cars too!

Oxfordshire’s important scientific heritage and world-leading technology industries are shown – from a strand of DNA to aeronautical engineering. I've shown older crafts and industries: quarrying, brewing, boat building, blanket-making, jam making and book binding.

History and people

What a cast of nationally important characters hail from Oxfordshire! I couldn’t include everyone, but from politics I chose John Hampden from the Civil War, who rears up fighting at the battle of Chalgrove field. And Winston Churchill, of course.

The county has produced a number of kings. The star of the show is Alfred the Great, Anglo-Saxon king of Wessex. He was a learned and merciful man who understood the value of education and the rule of law. And I couldn’t help sneaking in just over the border with Warwickshire, a Parliamentarian riding into the battle at Edge Hill.

My map of Oxfordshire painting also includes the ordinary folk just going about their business – dancing, fishing, walking, riding – through our extraordinarily ordinary (but no less beautiful for that) rolling landscapes of watermeadows, farmland, woods and gentle river valleys, all of which support a precious variety of species.

County flower

Did you know that the snake’s head fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) is the county’s official flower? 

Music

Music is very important to me and so it features strongly on my map.

• Beatle George Harrison lived near Henley for many years
• Opera at Garsington
• Cropredy folk festival
• Mike Oldfield recorded his 1973 album Tubular Bells just north of Kidlington 

Prehistory

Some of the very first elements I painted onto the map were Oxfordshire’s prehistoric features. The county is especially rich in ancient monuments.

The Ridgeway snakes its chalky way across the bottom of the map. And the spectacular Bronze Age White Horse is the highest point in the county at 856 feet. Less well-known are the Rollright stones, the Neolithic long barrow of Wayland’s Smithy, and the Iron Age hillfort of Blewburton. But now you know about them, so be sure to visit!

Oxfordshire has got the lot!