Cherwell

Cherwell, district, administrative and historic county of Oxfordshire, south-central England. Banbury, in the north, is the administrative centre.

The River Cherwell and the Oxford Canal extend north from Oxford city and bisect the district. Predominantly rural, Cherwell is a lowland area bordering the limestone Cotswolds uplands on the west and the North Oxfordshire Heights on the north. It has experienced industrial, residential, and commercial growth in the urban areas of Banbury, Bicester, and Kidlington. Cereals (including wheat, barley, and oats), beef and dairy cattle, and sheep are raised throughout the district.

Banbury is a market centre for wool and cattle and has industries that manufacture machinery and rolled aluminum. Although most of Banbury’s older buildings have been razed rather than renovated, the ruins of a 12th-century castle and 17th-century half-timbered houses remain. Bicester, a cattle-marketing parish traditionally known for foxhunting, is located in the Vale of Aylesbury in central Cherwell. Kidlington, immediately north of Oxford, experienced residential growth in the 1950s and ’60s. Area 228 square miles (590 square km). Pop. (2001) 131,785; (2011) 141,868.