City of Oxford

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Region: South East
Country: England

§ This page provides an overview of an officially designated city in the UK, bringing together various information to help you better understand this city.

Oxford’s city status dates to 1542 when Henry VIII created the Diocese of Oxford and designated a cathedral, with status reconfirmed in 1974; renowned for the University and scholarship as well as 20th-century motor manufacturing at Cowley, the city operates today as a non-metropolitan district under Oxfordshire County Council within the two-tier local government system.

City Council Status

Oxford City Council is a non-metropolitan district within Oxfordshire’s two-tier system; Oxfordshire County Council delivers county-level services.

Civic Honours: Lord Mayors & Lord Provost

Oxford was granted a Lord Mayoralty on 23 October 1962 (reconfirmed in 1974).

In the UK, city status and the dignity of Lord Mayor (or Lord Provost in Scotland) are separate honours, each granted by the monarch via letters patent. Of the 76 cities, 28 have a Lord Mayoralty and 4—Scotland’s four cities—have a Lord Provost; these titles don’t automatically follow from city status. A Lord Mayoralty exists in 24 cities in England, 2 in Wales, and 2 in Northern Ireland.

Only 24 cities in England have Lord Mayors: Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Canterbury, Chester, Coventry, Exeter, Kingston-upon-Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, the City of London, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, the City of Westminster, and York.

In the UK, a city is not defined by size or population but by formal status granted by the monarch, often through historical charters or, more recently, civic honours competitions. There are 76 officially recognised cities, some of which are relatively small compared to other urban areas. In contrast, local authority districts (361 in total) are administrative areas created for local government purposes and may include a mix of urban centres, suburbs, and rural communities. Within districts, there may be one or more towns, which generally refer to sizeable urban settlements but do not hold city status unless it has been formally granted. In practice, a city can exist within a district, and a district can cover multiple towns, showing the clear distinction between legal status, administrative boundaries, and everyday usage.

Cities in South East