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Bicester

Bicester is a historical market town, garden town, and civil parish in the Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in south-central England that also comprises an eco town development at North West Bicester and a self-build village at Graven Hill. Its local market continues to thrive and is now located on Sheep Street, a very wide pedestrian zone in the conservation area of the town. Bicester is also known for Bicester Village, a nearby shopping centre. In 2024 Bicester elected its first Green Party mayor.

Bicester has expanded rapidly in recent generations due to the town's picturesque historical town centre, garden town, independent and high-street shops, restaurants, and excellent rail connections to Oxford and its imminent connection to Cambridge, as well as rail links to Birmingham and London. It is similarly proximate to Brackley, Buckingham, Banbury, Milton Keynes, and Aylesbury. A considerable volume of high quality and environmentally friendly housing stock has been constructed recently, in particular at the Elmsbrook eco-town and the self-build homes at Graven Hill. Its flat topography and compact size is suited to walking and cycling, which, together with an active cycle campaign, has attracted a significant focus on developing improved active travel infrastructure, including the majority of a recent £14 million central government award to Oxfordshire County Council dedicated to safer walking and cycling.

Bicester has its own town council. In 2014 the government, in concert with the local planning authority, planned for Bicester to become a garden city on the basis of the size of its buffers, and distance from the Metropolitan Green Belt as well as to accommodate the demand of commuters to London and Oxford. Up to 13,000 new homes will be built.

Toponymy
There are several theories about the origin of the name Bicester. It may be derived from a personal name Beorna and it may mean the 'Fort of the Warriors' or be Latin for Bi-cester, which means 'two forts'. (A Roman fortress at Alchester is 2 mi southwest of the town, and Chesterton village is on the course of Akeman Street, the Roman road between Watling Street and Cirencester, about 1 mi northwest of Alchester Roman Town.) Bicester has been in use since the mid 17th century and derives from earlier forms including Berncestre, Burencestre, Burcester, Biciter and Bissiter; the John Speed map of 1610 shows four different spellings and historian G. H. Dannatt found 45 variants in wills of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Early history

Bicester lies close to the junction of two Roman Roads, Akeman Street an east–west route between St Albans and Cirencester and a north–south route between Dorchester and Towcester, which lies under Queens Avenue. A Roman fortress at Alchester is 2 mi southwest of the town. The West Saxons established a settlement in the 6th century at a nodal point of these ancient routes.

St Edburg’s Church in Bicester was founded as a minster, perhaps in the mid 7th century after St Birinus converted Cynegils King of the West Saxons following their meeting near Blewbury. The site was just east of the old Roman road between Dorchester and Towcester that passed through the former Roman town at Alchester. The earliest church was probably a timber structure serving the inhabitants of the growing Saxon settlements on either side of the river Bure, and as a mission centre for the surrounding countryside. Archaeological excavations at Procter's Yard identified the ecclesiastical enclosure boundary, and a large cemetery of Saxon graves suggesting a much larger churchyard has been excavated on the site of the Catholic Church car park almost opposite St. Edburg's.

The first documentary reference is the Domesday Book of 1086 which records it as Berencestra, its two manors of Bicester and Wretchwick being held by Robert D'Oyly who built Oxford Castle. The town became established as twin settlements on opposite banks of the River Bure, a tributary of the Ray, Cherwell and ultimately the River Thames.

By the end of the 13th century, Bicester was the centre of a deanery of 33 churches. The remains of an Augustinian priory founded between 1182 and 1185 survive in the town centre. It is unclear when St Edburg's Church was rebuilt in stone, but the 12th century church seems to have had an aisleless cruciform plan. Earliest surviving material includes parts of the nave north wall including parts of an originally external zigzag string course, the north and south transepts and the external clasping buttresses of the chancel. The triangular-headed opening at the end of the north wall of the nave was probably an external door of the early church. Three great round-headed Norman arches at the end of the nave mark the position of a 13th-century tower.

The Augustinian Priory was founded by Gilbert Bassett around 1183, and endowed with land and buildings around the town and in other parishes including 180 acre and the quarry at Kirtlington, 300 acre at Wretchwick (now called), 135 acre at Stratton Audley, and on Gravenhill and Arncott. It also held the mill at Clifton and had farms let to tenants at Deddington, Grimsbury, Waddesdon and Fringford. Although these holdings were extensive and close to the market at Bicester, they appear to have been poorly managed and did not produce much income for the priory.

The priory appropriated the church in the early 13th century. The church was enlarged by a south aisle, and arches were formed in the nave and south transept walls linking the new aisle to the main body of the church.

A further extension was made in the 14th century when the north aisle was built. The arched openings in the north wall of the nave are supported on thick octagonal columns. The Perpendicular Gothic north chapel (now vestry) is of a similar date, on the east wall are two windows. The chapel originally had an upper chamber used later for the vicars' grammar school, accessed from an external staircase which forms part of the north eastern buttress.

In the 15th century, the upper walls of the nave were raised to form a clerestory with square-headed Perpendicular Gothic windows. The earlier central tower and its nave arch was taken down and the nave roof rebuilt (the present roof is a copy of 1803). The columns of the north arcade were undercut making them appear very slim and the capitals top heavy. In the east bay of the nave, there is carved decoration probably forming part of a canopied tomb originally set between the columns. The west tower was built in three stages, each stage marked by a horizontal string course running round the outside. The construction would have taken several years to complete. The battlements and crockets on the top of the tower were replaced in the mid 19th century.

The priory church was built around 1200, and enlarged around 1300 in association with the construction of the Purbeck marble tomb of St Eadburh. This may have been the gift of the priory's patron Henry de Lacy, 3rd Earl of Lincoln. The walled rectangular enclosure of the priory lay just south of the church. The gatehouse was on the site of 'Chapter and Verse' Guesthouse in Church Lane. The dovecote and houses in Old Place Yard lie within the central precinct. St Edburg's House is built partly over the site of the large priory church. This was linked by a cloister to a quadrangle containing the refectory, kitchens, dormitory and prior's lodging. The priory farm buildings lay in the area of the present church hall, and these had direct access along Piggy Lane to land in what is now the King's End estate.

Early charters promoted Bicester's development as a trading centre, with a market and fair established by the mid 13th century. By this time two further manors are mentioned, Bury End and Nuns Place, later known as Market End and King's End respectively.

Military history
The town has a long-standing connection with the military. Ward Lock & Co's 'Guide to Oxford and District' suggests that Alchester was 'a kind of Roman Aldershot'. During the Civil War (1642–49) Bicester was used as the headquarters of parliamentary forces. Following the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars from 1793, John Coker, the manorial lord of Bicester King's End, formed an 'Association for the Protection of Property against Levellers and Jacobins' as an anti-Painite loyalist band providing local militia and volunteer drafts for the army. When Oxford University formed a regiment in 1798, John Coker was elected Colonel.

Coker's Bicester militia had sixty privates, and six commissioned and non-commissioned officers led by Captain Henry Walford. The militia briefly stood down in 1801 after the Treaty of Amiens. But when hostilities resumed after 1804 invasion anxiety was so great as to warrant the reformation of the local militia as the Bicester Independent Company of Infantry. It had double the earlier numbers to provide defence in the event of an invasion or Jacobin insurrection. The Bicester Company was commanded by a captain, with 2 lieutenants, an ensign, 6 sergeants, 6 corporals and 120 privates. Their training and drill were such that they were deemed 'fit to join troops in the line'. The only action recorded for them is in 1806 at the 21st birthday celebrations of Sir Gregory O Page-Turner when they performed a feu de joie 'and were afterwards regaled at one of the principal inns of the town'.

Later history
The Lord of the Manor of Market End was the 1st Earl of Derby Sir Thomas Stanley, who had married Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII. Sir Thomas placed the crown on the head of the new King Henry VII at the Battle of Bosworth, as the step-father of Henry VII he was granted many manors. In his will of 1593, the 4th Earl of Derby, Sir Henry Stanley, bequeathed the manor to his second son Sir William Stanley of Lathom, Lancashire. Fate made William the 6th Earl of Derby in 1594 when his older brother Ferdinando, the 5th Earl, mysteriously died. In 1597, the 6th Earl sold a 9,999-year lease to 31 principal tenants. This in effect gave the manorial rights to the leaseholders, 'purchased for the benefit of those inhabitants or others who might hereafter obtain parts of the demesne'. The leaseholders elected a bailiff to receive the profits from the bailiwick, mainly from the administration of the market and distribute them to the shareholders. From the bailiff's title the arrangement became known as the Bailiwick of Bicester Market End. By 1752, all of the original leases were in the hands of ten men, who leased the bailiwick control of the market to two local tradesmen.

A fire in 1724 had destroyed the buildings on the eastern side of Water Lane. A Nonconformist congregation was able to acquire a site that had formerly been the tail of a long plot occupied at the other end by the King's Arms. Their chapel built in 1728 was 'surrounded by a burying ground and ornamented with trees. At the southern and downstream end of Water Lane, there were problems of pollution from animal dung from livery stables on the edge of town associated with the London traffic.

Edward Hemins was running a bell-foundry in Bicester by 1728 and remained in business until at least 1743. At least 19 of his church bells are known to survive, including some of those in the parishes of Ambrosden, Bletchingdon, Piddington and Wootton in Oxfordshire and Culworth in Northamptonshire.

King's End had a substantially lower population and none of the commercial bustle found on the other side of the Bure. The manorial lords, the Cokers, lived in the manor house from 1584. The house had been rebuilt in the early 18th century remodelled in the 1780s. The park was enlarged surrounded by a wall after 1753 when a range of buildings on the north side of King's End Green were demolished by Coker. A westward enlargement of the park also extinguished the road that followed the line of the Roman road. This partly overlapped a pre-1753 close belonging to Coker. The effect of the enlargement of the park was to divert traffic at the Fox Inn through King's End, across the causeway to Market Square and Sheep Street before returning to the Roman road north of Crockwell.

The two townships of King's End and Market End evolved distinct spatial characteristics. Inns, shops and high status houses clustered around the triangular market place as commercial activity was increasingly concentrated in Market End. The bailiwick lessees promoted a much less regulated market than that found in boroughs elsewhere. Away from the market, Sheep Street was considered 'very respectable' but its northern end at Crockwell was inhabited by the poorest inhabitants in low quality, subdivided and overcrowded buildings. By 1800, the causeway had dense development forming continuous frontages on both sides. The partially buried watercourses provided a convenient drainage opportunity, and many houses had privies discharging directly into the channels. Downstream, the Bure ran parallel with Water Lane, then the main road out of town towards London. Terraces of cottages were built backing onto the brook, and here too these took advantage of the brook for sewage disposal, with privies cantilevered out from houses over the watercourse. Town houses took their water from wells dug into the substrate which became increasingly polluted by leaching of waste through the alluvial bed of the Bure.

Until the early 19th century, the road from the market place to King's End ran through a ford of the Bure brook and on to the narrow embanked road across the boggy valley. The causeway became the focus for development from the late 18th century as rubbish and debris was dumped on each side of the road to form building platforms. Minor channels of the braided stream were encased and culverted as construction proceeded.

During the First World War, an airfield was established north of the town for the Royal Flying Corps. This became a Royal Air Force station, and is now Bicester Airfield, the home of Windrushers Gliding Club, which was absorbed into the military gliding club previously based there, to re-emerge in 2004 when the military club left the airfield. There is now a campaign by the BCH to turn the RAF centre into a museum. An epitome of historical Royal Air Force (RAF) locations in the UK, RAF Bicester represents the most comprehensive portrayal of bomber airfield advancements up until 1939. Notably, it stands as the best-maintained of the bomber bases, a key component of Sir Hugh Trenchard's RAF expansion strategy starting in 1923.

The MoD's largest ordnance depot at MoD Bicester is just outside the town. The depot has its own internal railway system, the Bicester Military Railway.

Geography
Bicester is in north Oxfordshire, 11 mi east-northeast of Oxford, near the Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire boundaries.

Areas and suburbs
There are 5 electoral wards, North, East, South, West and Town as defined by the town council. The areas of Bicester include:

• # Highfield

• # Woodfield

• # King's End

• # Bure Park

• # Glory Farm

• # Southwold

• # Langford Village

• # Kingsmere (new housing development)

• # Elmsbrook (new housing development, eco-town)

• # Graven Hill (new housing development)

• # New Langford

Climate
Bicester experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.

Architecture
The vernacular buildings of the town have features of both the Cotswold dip slope to the northwest and the Thames Valley to the southeast. The earliest surviving buildings of the town are the medieval church of St Edburg; the vicarage of 1500 and two post Dissolution houses in the former Priory Precinct constructed from reused medieval material. These buildings are mainly grey oolitic limestone, from the Priory Quarry at Kirtlington, 5 mi west on Akeman Street, some ginger lias (ironstone) comes from the area around Banbury and white and bluish grey cornbrash limestone was quarried in Crockwell and at Caversfield 2 mi to the north.

Early secular buildings were box framed structures, using timber from the Bernwood Forest. Infilling of frames was of stud and lath with lime render and limewash. Others were of brick or local rubble stonework. The river valleys to the south and east of the town were the source of clay for widespread local production of brick and tile. In the 18th and 19th centuries the Page-Turners had brick fields at Wretchwick and Blackthorn which operated alongside smaller producers such as farmer George Coppock who produced bricks as a sideline. Local roofing materials included longstraw thatch, which persisted on older and lower status areas on houses and terraced cottages. Thatch had to be laid at pitches in excess of 50 degrees. This generated narrow and steep gables which also suited heavy limestone roofs made with Stonesfield slate or other roofing slabs from the Cotswolds. The other widespread roofing material was local red clay plain tiles. 19th century bulk transport innovations associated with canal and railway infrastructure allowed imports of blue slate from North Wales. These could be laid at much more shallow pitches on fashionable high status houses.Apart from imported slate, a striking characteristic of all of the new buildings of the early 19th century is the continued use of local vernacular materials, albeit in buildings of non-vernacular design. The new buildings were constructed alongside older wholly vernacular survivals and sometimes superficially updated with fashionable applied facades, fenestration or upper floors and roofs.

Road
The town's nearest motorway is the M40 motorway, which is served by junction 9 to the south, an interchange with the A34 towards Oxford and the A41 for Bicester and Aylesbury. Bicester has a ring road which is made up of the A41, A4095, A4421 and the newly completed Vendee Drive which forms part of the B4030.

Rail
Bicester benefited from the Railway Mania of the 1840s. The Buckinghamshire Railway was fully opened between Bletchley and Oxford on 20 May 1851, running through the eastern side of Bicester, with "a neat station at the bottom of the London road" being opened on 1 October 1850 to serve the town. Bicester's first fatal railway accident occurred at this station on 6 September 1851. Six people were killed and 18 injured. The station was renamed Bicester London Road station in March 1954 and Bicester Town station in May 1987.

The Great Western Railway sought to shorten its mainline route from London Paddington to Birmingham Snow Hill and, in 1910, opened the Bicester cut-off line through the north of the town, to complete a new fast route between the two cities and a large railway station on Buckingham Road named Bicester North, which was opened on 1 July 1910. The final slip coach on the British Railways network was "slipped" at Bicester North on 10 September 1960.

The Bletchley - Oxford line was closed on 1 January 1968, but partly reopened on 11 May 1987, when a shuttle service was instituted between Bicester Town and Oxford. The line towards Bletchley remains closed. In 2011, funding for East West Rail was approved, with a plan to restore passenger services between Oxford and Bletchley via Bicester in 2017, then continuing to Milton Keynes Central or Bedford. A further proposal was to extend the route through Cambridge as far as Ipswich and Norwich, but that did not materialise. At the end of 2017, the Department for Transport announced further government funding and a private company to build and operate the line by 2025.

Bicester has also benefited from the Chiltern Evergreen 3 project, which created a new mainline allowing trains to run from London Marylebone to Oxford via Bicester. The station was completely rebuilt and, despite objection by some local residents, renamed Bicester Village, after a large retail centre nearby. The station opened in October 2015.

The London to Birmingham line was run down in the 1970s. With the threat of partial closure, stretches of the line singled and trains rerouted into London, Marylebone. Following privatisation, Chiltern Railways was awarded the franchise. It reinstated the double track and considerably boosted the number of services, resulting in a substantial increase in patronage.

Bus
Stagecoach East route X5 links Bicester with Bedford, Milton Keynes and Oxford. Stagecoach in Oxfordshire buses link Bicester with Oxford, Banbury, Brackley, Headington, HM Prison Bullingdon and some local villages. Grayline and Hallmark Connections provide some local bus services, and Langston & Tasker runs a limited service between Bicester and Buckingham. In late 2022 Diamond Bus South East, who had acquired Hallmark Connections, announced that service 250 which connected Bicester with Oxford via a number of villages would cease operating on Saturday 11 February 2023. A partial replacement will be provided by new Grayline service 24 from Monday 13 February 2023.

Air
Bicester is within an hour's drive of three major airports and 8 mi from Oxford Airport. Luton Airport is the nearest major airport, 43 mi by road, taking around 1 hour 5 minutes. Due to the town's location beside the M40 motorway, it is a slightly shorter journey time of 51 minutes to Heathrow Airport which is 54 mi away and 54 minutes to Birmingham Airport which is 52 mi away. Bicester Airfield, available for private flights, is located adjacent to the town of Bicester to the north.

Governance
Bicester Town Council was established following local government reform in 1974. It is part of a three-tier system of local government, alongside Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire County Council. Each authority is responsible for delivering different services.

Town Council
Bicester Town Counci has its offices in the Garth in Garth Park.

Residents associations
Bicester has several active residents' associations including: Bure Park Residents' Association; Langford Village Community Association; Priory Lane Residents' Association, Derwent Green Residents Group and Bicester Parkland View Residents' Association.

Schools
Bicester has three secondary schools: The Bicester School, the Cooper School, and Whitelands Academy. There are a number of primary schools including: Langford Village Primary; Glory Farm Primary School; Southwold; Brookside Primary School; St Edburg's; Five Acres; Longfields; St Mary's Primary School; King's Meadow, Bure Park Primary and Gaglebrook Primary School. The new Kingsmere development (south of Bicester) is due to create a two-form primary school.

Media
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South and ITV Meridian. Television signals are received from the Oxford TV transmitter.

Bicester’s local radio stations are BBC Radio Oxford on 95.2 FM, Heart South on 102.6 FM, Capital Mid-Counties on 107.6 FM, Jack FM on 106.4 FM, and community based radio station 3Bs Radio that broadcast to the town as well as Buckingham and Brackley.

The Bicester Advertiser is the town’s weekly local newspaper.

Sport and leisure
Bicester and North Oxford Cricket Club play at Akeman Street, Chesterton. It was formed in 1996 from a merger of Bicester Town, (founded in 1871) and the North Oxford Cricket Clubs which until 1929 shared the Oxford Road ground with the town's football club. As of 2014 season, the senior teams play in the Cherwell League. Bicester Rugby Club was founded in 1947, originally playing on land provided by the King's Head pub. The club is presently based at the Akeman Street Ground. The senior teams play in the Berks/Bucks & Oxon Premier

Bicester Town Football Club was founded in 1896 and until the 2010–11 season played in the Hellenic League. Bicester Colts F.C. organises teams from ages 5 through to 17 at facilities based at Akeman Street, Chesterton. Bicester Blue Fins Amateur Swimming Club was established in 1950 and has been based at Bicester Leisure Centre since 1971. Bicester Blue Fins is 'SWIM 21' accredited and affiliated to the Oxfordshire & North Buckinghamshire ASA and the ASA South East Region.

The Bicester Leisure Centre, which opened in 1970, comprises swimming pool, fitness, gym facilities and all-weather pitches. Other popular sports and pastimes include tennis, which is played at the Bicester Tennis Club based at the Garth. It is affiliated to the Oxfordshire and Thames Valleys LTAs. Lawn bowls is organised by the Bicester Bowls Club which was founded in 1862 and since 1951 has been at the Garth. There are two 18-hole golf courses, at the Bicester Hotel and Bicester Country Club. The traditional game of Aunt Sally, widespread in Oxfordshire, is popular in the town and is organised under the auspices of the Bicester and District Aunt Sally League.

Bicester Town Council provides a wide range of sport and leisure facilities for local residents and sports team on sites at Pingle Field and Sunderland Drive

Shopping
The historic shopping streets, particularly Sheep Street and Market Square, have a range of independent and national shops together with cafés, pubs and restaurants. Sheep Street is now pedestrianised, with car parks nearby. There are weekly markets on Fridays in the town centre along with farmers' markets and an occasional French market. A £70 million redevelopment of the part of the town centre, originally planned to start in 2008, was delayed by the onset of the credit crunch; Sainsbury's developed the project itself, commencing in January 2009. The development, since named Pioneer Square, is now complete and opened on 9 July 2013, offering a Sainsbury's supermarket, 7 screen Vue Cinemas and many smaller retail units and restaurants such as Nando's and Prezzo. In early 2023, Cherwell District Council announced plans to pedestrianise the Market Square to create a continental style plaza.

South of Bicester, beyond Pingle Field, is discount brand outlet Bicester Village, and beyond that is Bicester Avenue Home & Garden Centre, one of the largest garden centres in the UK.

Churches
Most churches in Bicester belong to an informal local group Churches in Bicester. This enables them to work together and share responsibilities, for example the Bicester Food Bank and the Bicester Refugee Support Group.

Member churches include: Journey Communities (Pioneers in missional church); St Edburg's Parish Church (Church of England); Emmanuel Church (Church of England, which meets in a modern building at Barberry Place); Bicester Community Church (meeting in the Salvation Army Hall); Bicester Methodist Church; The Church of the Immaculate Conception (Roman Catholic); Elim Lighthouse Church (Pentecostal – meeting in Bicester Methodist Church); Orchard Baptist Church (meeting in Cooper School); and the Salvation Army. Churches independent of Churches in Bicester are: Bicester Baptist Church (meeting in Southwold Community Centre); and Hebron Gospel Hall.

Future development
Bicester is in the midst of several construction projects the most recent of these completed being the new Tesco superstore which replaces the former site in Pingle Drive. The 5181 m2 Pingle Drive site will be used to expand the Bicester village outlet centre by an additional quarter in size.

On 1 December 2014, it was announced that Bicester had been chosen as the site for the British government's second new garden city. Up to 13,000 new homes could be built in the town, as part of plans to help deal with the UK's housing shortage. The former Bicester Town railway station was reopened as Bicester Village Station, to serve the expanded population as part of rail plans previously detailed by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. The station will also serve the planned East West Rail Project, connecting Oxford to Cambridge, via Milton Keynes and Bedford.

In accordance with the award of garden town status, the 6,000 home Eco-Town development has been constructed at Elmsbrook, to the northwest of Bicester. These comprise homes constructed with high environmental standards and environmentally friendly technology such as photovoltaic electrical panels, rainwater harvesting, and district heating. The first residents moved into the Eco-Town development in May 2016.

Similarly, 1,585 homes (phase 1) and 709 homes (phase 2) have been built in the southwesterly development named Kingsmere. Cherwell District Council established a self-build neighbourhood at the former Ministry of Defence estate at Graven Hill, to the south of Bicester, delivered through a wholly owned subsidiary company, the Graven Hill Village Development Company. 1,900 homes were due to be built, the majority to be self-build homes with the intention of offering an alternative to the mass build volume units being constructed in the rest of the town. The first ten self-builders were featured on the Channel 4 television show Grand Designs: The Street. However, controversy has arisen through the company's recent decision to pivot to constructing mass build volume units itself, marketed as 'custom build', with residents complaining that the company is now delivering 'volume build, identikit, energy inefficient' units.

Twin towns

 * 🇩🇪 Germany Neunkirchen-Seelscheid
 * 🇵🇱 Poland Czernichów
 * 🇫🇷 France Canton des Essarts

Notable residents and natives

 * Albert Freeman Africanus King, (born in a hospital) doctor who took care of Abraham Lincoln when he was shot
 * John Dunkin (1782–1846), topographer and local historian, who wrote comprehensive history of Bicester and the surrounding villages – The History and Antiquities of Bicester and The History and Antiquities of the Hundreds of Bullingdon and Ploughley
 * Tim Harvey, racing driver and TV-commentator.
 * Jenson Button, racing driver
 * Isla St Clair, singer and broadcaster
 * Andy Gomarsall, played Rugby Union for Bicester until 1993 and for England
 * Ian Paice, drummer with rock group Deep Purple. Brought up in King's End
 * Alun Howkins, born and brought up in the town. Professor of history at Sussex University. Wrote and presented the BBC TV series Fruitful Earth
 * Sam Long, professional footballer for Oxford United

title: Bicester


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Alien Syndrome

Alien Syndrome (エイリアンシンドローム) is a run and gun video game developed by Sega and released in arcades in 1987, and later ported to the Master System in 1988. The game utilizes a side-scrolling feature that allows the player to take control of either a male (Ricky) or female (Mary) soldier whilst hunting aliens and saving hostages before they run out of time.

Alien Syndrome released with a strong opening, becoming one of Sega's best-selling video games for the Master System. It received generally positive reviews, with praise towards the gameplay, character designs, sounds, and horror-themed gameplay. It was included as a bonus game in the Genesis compilation game, Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (2009). A sequel of the same name was released in 2007 to a strong negative response from critics.

Gameplay

Two players control two soldiers, named Ricky and Mary, who fight their way through large eight-way scrolling levels while rescuing their comrades who are being held by aliens. At the beginning of each level, a time bomb is set onboard the infested ship, the players must complete their task before time runs out and the ship is destroyed. After they have rescued a certain number of hostages, the exit opens and they can pass through it in order to fight the end-of-level guardian. If this monstrosity is defeated before times runs out, they are then able to move onto the next stage. Once all seven levels are completed, the game starts over again with more aggressive aliens, and less time on the countdown to complete the levels. Alien Syndrome features two player simultaneous gameplay and pickups which assist the player, including better weapons and maps of the current level.

Ports
In 1988, the game was ported to the Master System, MSX, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System (published by Tengen without a Nintendo license). Later, the game was ported to the ZX Spectrum (1989), Game Gear (1992), and X68000 (1992).

Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Alien Syndrome on their May 15, 1987 issue as being the third most-successful table arcade unit of the month. The original arcade version of the game was reviewed in the July 1987 issue of Computer and Video Games, where Clare Edgeley described it as "one of the most gripping games" she "played in months", praising the Aliens-like horror atmosphere, chilling sounds, special effects, graphics and gameplay. She stated it was "the first time the atmosphere and sheer addictiveness of a shoot 'em up has transported me to another planet" and concluded that it "is fantastic".

The Master System version of the game was reviewed in Console XS magazine, giving it an 85% score. It was reviewed in 1989 in Dragon, getting two out of five stars.

Reviews

 * Computer and Video Games (Apr, 1988)
 * Power Play (Feb, 1988)
 * The Games Machine (Mar, 1988)
 * Sega Power (Dec, 1993)
 * ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) (May, 1988)

Legacy
The game was also converted to polygonal graphics for the PS2 as part of the Sega Ages re-release program and included in the US version of the Sega Classics Collection (it was removed from the European version to receive a lower age certificate). This version has updated controls, adding the use of both analog sticks, similar to that seen in Sheriff, Robotron: 2084 and Smash TV. The original arcade game was also included as an unlockable in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection.

A sequel of the same name, Alien Syndrome, was released for Wii and PSP on July 24, 2007.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Alien Syndrome


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Sömmerda (district)

Sömmerda (German: Landkreis Sömmerda) is a Kreis (district) in the north of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the districts Kyffhäuserkreis, the Burgenlandkreis in Saxony-Anhalt, the district Weimarer Land and the district-free city Erfurt, and the districts Gotha and Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis.

History
The district Sömmerda was created in 1952. In 1994, the districts of Thuringia were reorganized, and the district Sömmerda was enlarged significantly by adding municipalities from the dissolved districts Artern and Erfurt-Land.

Geography
The main river in the district is the Unstrut. The nearby town of Kölleda is known locally as the Peppermint City because of its long history of growing aromatic and medicinal herbs.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms shows the three historic states which Sömmerda belonged to in the past. In the left is the Saxon symbol, to the right is the lion as symbol of Thuringia, and in the bottom is the Wheel of Mainz as the symbol of Mainz.

title: Sömmerda (district)


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Grips-Theater

The Grips-Theatre in Berlin (official name: GRIPS Theater) is a well-known and well-respected emancipatory children's and youth theatre, located at Altonaer Straße at Hansaplatz in the Hansaviertel in Berlin's Mitte district. It is "the first theatre worldwide to deal sociocritically with the lives and living conditions of children and young people and to incorporate this in original humorous and musical plays". It has gained a national and international reputation, not least due to its former artistic director Volker Ludwig's musicals for adults, such as its evergreen Linie 1, Café Mitte or the adaptation of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. GRIPS' plays have been re-staged over 1,500 times in some 40 languages around the world.

Origins
In 1966, a children's theatre was formed at the Berlin Reichskabarett, "a student group that created programs and satirical sketches interspersed with topical songs". , who would go on to serve as the GRIPS-Theatre's artistic director for nearly four decades, was one of the authors and co-founders of the group, which defined itself as part of the Außerparlamentarische Opposition (German for extra-parliamentary opposition), a political protest movement in West Germany during the latter half of the 1960s and early 1970s, which formed a central part of the German student movement. In the summer of 1966, the group began performing plays for children on weekends, starting with the satirically reworked fairy tale The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs.

Gradually, the group performed more and more plays for children to provide an alternative to the fairy tale plays that were a staple of children's theatre at the time. Instead, the group developed plays written expressly for children and dealing with issues faced by children, which fairy tale plays addressed only insufficiently or not at all. In 1968, Volker Ludwig and his brother, the caricaturist, wrote the first of these plays, titled "The Journey to Pitschepatsch" (Die Reise nach Pitschepatsch). It features a girl protagonist, named Millipilli, who travels to a far-away island to save Santa Claus's tree, which wilts away after being neglected by the adults.

In 1969, the group agreed to develop children's plays that would include more elements of social critique. This resulted in the first sociocritical children's play, titled "Stokkerlok und Millipilli", also written by Ludwig and Hachfeld. The play follows a little boy named Maximilian who blackmails his family and surroundings into child-friendly behaviour with an ear-piercing whistle. "Stokkerlok und Millipilli" is considered the GRIPS-Theatre's first play and became a great success. Theatres across Germany staged performances of the play, which was also adapted by theatres in other countries. In 1969, it was awarded the, conferred by the Berlin government.

The then relatively new concept of a modern children's theatre with a sociocritical background wasn't welcomed by everyone, particularly not by conservative circles. The theatre faced significant criticism for its child protagonists who were often barefaced and disrespectful towards adults. However, an emphasis on children's emancipation and child rights was entirely intended by the authors. The children's theatre's ensemble cast frequently interviewed the children and youths attending their performances to learn what issues were on their minds. A recurring topic were gender roles, including the then-typical path of girls becoming housewives instead of pursuing a career, and in the 1970s, the troupe developed more and more plays dealing with that subject.

Split
In 1971, some of the actors split from the troupe and formed the children's theatre to develop a sex education play for children. The premiere of "You don't talk about that!!! A play for sexual education" (Darüber spricht man nicht!!! Ein Spiel zur Sexualerziehung) in 1973 created public uproar. The actors used sexual taboo words and taught "children not to be ashamed of their bodies and their bodily functions." Whereas in West Berlin, the municipal government recommended it for elementary school classes despite harsh criticism from conservatives, "Bavarian teachers were not allowed to attend the play with their children".

The name GRIPS
In 1972, the children's theatre's move into the Forum Theatre at Kurfürstendamm triggered a name change, with the troupe choosing the name Grips, a colloquial German term describing one's ability to understand quickly, to symbolise that thinking is fun. Volker Ludwig is quoted as saying, "[Grips is] not to give up, always have faith in that last grain of common sense, and – hardest of all – try and develop some kind of positive outlook." The graphic designer and children's book author designed the matching logo: a black face with a big nose, peeking out from inside a cardboard box bearing the word GRIPS.

Move to Hansaviertel
In 1974, the theatre moved to its current location at Hansaplatz in the southern part of the Hansaviertel, a post-war modernist housing development. The building was designed by German architects Ernst Zinsser and Hansrudi Plarre as part of the Interbau housing development, constructed for the International Architecture Exhibition in 1957. Before the GRIPS moved in, the venue housed the "Bellevue" cinema. The GRIPS opened first opened at the new location on 30 September 1974. The premises were remodelled in accordance with the vision of the troupe. As it had been at the Forum Theatre, the stage was surrounded by benches, placing the actors in the middle of their audience. To this day, it remains possible to place the audience on all four sides of the stage, although one side is usually used as backdrop. As the stage isn't raised, visitors in the first row are at the same level as the actors. The theatre has a capacity of 360-400 people. The entrance is adorned with a mosaic of caricatures by Rainer Hachfeld. As the building is integrated into the U-Bahn station Hansaplatz, theatregoers can easily reach the GRIPS by public transport.

First plays for youth
While the troupe had rather focused on children's plays at first, it subsequently aimed to include problems that teenagers face into its concept. Following the success of "Gosh, Girl!" (Mensch Mädchen!), a children's play about gender roles, the GRIPS premiered its first youth play in the autumn of 1975. Titled "That's incredible!" (Das hältste ja im Kopf nicht aus), it dealt with problems faced by general school students.

Anti-GRIPS campaign
Although its first youth play earned the troupe its next Brother Grimm Award, 1975 also marked the start of a public political debate about its plays and a smear campaign against their theatre. The Berlin chapter of the Christian Democrat Party, then in opposition, labelled the actors as communists who would corrupt children and claimed that the youth play's "unwholesome language" incited young people to acts of violence. In May 1975, the town councillor for youth in Berlin's Steglitz district, Klaus Dieter Friedrich, banned a guest performance of Mensch Mädchen! not because of the play itself but because "members of the GRIPS Theatre moved in the city's communist circles". Journalists of the powerful Springer publishing house, which controls the largest share of the German market for daily newspapers, also attacked the theatre. The Berliner Morgenpost wrote that GRIPS' plays were rearing "a load of political psychopaths, poor devils who would one day be their own destruction, having destroyed other things on the way". Ludwig recalled the time in an interview with Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel. "Starting in 1975, the Christian Democrats ran an anti-GRIPS campaign. For three years, they forced its parliamentary group to vote in favour of withholding funds from Grips and not allowing school classes to visit us. At the time, I was labelled Stalinist, Maoist and child abuser. The Springer press wrote I destroyed children's souls. That continued until in 1981, when a Christian Democrat, [Richard von] Weizsäcker, was elected mayor. He was extremely embarrassed by it all. 'Nobody will outshine us in terms of liberality,' he had someone communicate to me. And then the whole spook was over." The attacks had the opposite effect to the intended and helped raise awareness of the GRIPS-Theatre, whose shows were sold out almost every night. In 1981, the GRIPS' youth play "Everything is Plastic" (Alles Plastik) reignited the debate about the theatre as the play, which dealt with the apathy and no-future mentality of teenagers, included references to the struggle of the squatters in Berlin in 1981.

Plays for adults
In 1980, the GRIPS presented a play for adults. A Story of the Left (Eine linke Geschichte), performed at the GRIPS to this day, deals with three students who meet in 1966 at a rally against the American War in Vietnam. The play follows their political development amidst the German student movement and the German Autumn, a set of terror events in West Germany in late 1977. The play was continuously updated to incorporate more recent historic events, including the German reunification. Since autumn 2007, however, the repertoire reverted to the play's original version.

Linie 1
In 1985, Volker Ludwig wrote the musical Line 1 (Linie 1). The title refers to Berlin's subway line U1. The music was written by German musician and composer, a longtime friend of Ludwig, and the rock band No Ticket (Thomas Keller, George Kranz, Axel Kottmann, Michael Brandt, Richard Wester, Matthias Witting). The musical premiered on 30 April 1986 and became the biggest success of the GRIPS-Theatre.

The story follows a young woman who runs away from her provincial hometown and ends up at Berlin's notorious Zoo station, searching for a rock musician who got her pregnant on a one-night stand. She gets stuck in underground line 1 and encounters a kaleidoscope of urban characters and their fates. According to the GRIPS, "it's a show, a drama, a musical about living and surviving in a large city, hope and adaptation, courage and self-deceit, to laugh and cry at, to dream, and to think about oneself." As its other plays, Linie 1 includes sociocritical elements, but it also serves as an amusing portrait of Berlin's society before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The success of Linie 1 also had its drawbacks. Due to the production's considerable costs, ticket sales no longer covered the theatre's expenses. However, after Volker Ludwig mentioned on a talk show that the theatre would have to close without additional support, the government eventually increased its subsidies. Initially, Germany's main stages ignored Linie 1, but when the Stuttgart State Theatre successfully ran the musical, other theatres followed suit. Linie 1 became known nationwide after several of its songs were performed on satirical TV show Scheibenwischer (windshield wipers). The show's creator, German satirist, actor and author Dieter Hildebrandt, later had a cameo appearance in the 1988 film version of the musical.

For years, Linie 1 was the most-played German production and it remains the second-most successful musical after Bertolt Brecht's Threepenny Opera. In 1987, the musical's author Volker Ludwig was awarded the Mülheimer Dramatikerpreis (English: dramatist award of Mülheim), considered Germany's leading theatre award.

To this day, the musical has been performed at over 150 German-language theatres and adapted by theatres in 15 countries, including Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, India, Lithuania, Namibia, the Netherlands, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Yemen. In Barcelona ("Linea Roja"), Hong Kong ("Island Line"), Kolkata ("Chord Line"), Seoul ("Seoul Linie 1"), Vilnius ("Rule No. 1: It is forbidden to dream of Vilnius"), Windhoek ("Friends 4Eva") and Aden ("Mak Nazl"), the original play was adapted to the respective cities and retained the original music (expect for Hong Kong).

In, a young Chinese Korean woman from Yanbian comes to Seoul, travelling back and forth between the Seoul Station and the Cheongnyangni 588 red light district. The Nazi widows of the original play become widows of former military big shots. This Korean version, adapted by Kim Min-ki, became even more successful than the original in Berlin. While the GRIPS put on its 1,800th performance of Linie 1 in October 2017, Seoul Line 1 was performed over 4,000 times during the 13 years the musical belonged to the Hakchon Theatre's repertoire.

In the Namibian version, a German girl arrives in Windhoek searching for a Namibian musician she met while he was playing in Germany. She travels all over Namibia with various typical means of transport, such as minibus taxis and a donkey cart. The Wilmersdorf widows in this version are widows of former Boers still dreaming of white supremacy in Africa.

GRIPS today
Since 1992, the GRIPS owns a so-called 'studio and rehearsal stage' in addition to the theatre at Altonaer Straße. Until 2009, smaller productions were staged at the Schiller-Theater Werkstatt (workshop), but since then, the GRIPS Podewil at Klosterstraße. Usually, the GRIPS releases at least four new plays and stages 300 performances per year.

When Volker Ludwig left his post as the GRIPS' artistic director at the end of the 2011/2012 season, he appointed Stefan Fischer-Fels as his successor who had previously worked at the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus. Due to differences in opinions, Ludwig and Fischer-Fels agreed on a premature termination of the contract in 2015, which saw Fischer-Fels returning to the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus. He was succeeded by in-house theatre pedagogue Philipp Harpain. Until the end of the 2016/2017 season, Ludwig remained in his role as the GRIPS' managing director before turning this post over to Harpain, too, on his 80th birthday.

At his departure, author and theatre critic Rüdiger Schaper paid tribute to Ludwig. "Berlin has made several contributions to world theatre. Volker Ludwig and the Grips belong into that category. […] A miracle. What luck to have been able to witness it."

Actors
Several of the GRIPS-Theatre's cast have gone on to successful careers in TV and film, including Dieter Landuris, Petra Zieser, Heinz Hoenig, Axel Prahl, Julia Blankenburg, Nadine Warmuth, and Mathias Schlung. Veteran ensemble members and Thomas Ahrens have been with the GRIPS since 1969 and 1975, respectively. Lehmann accomplished the outstanding achievement of participating in every performance of Line 1 since its premiere in 1986. Since 1981, Lehmann also serves as head of the Fritz Kirchhoff School, the oldest state-recognized private drama school in Berlin.

Musician
Axel Kottmann, George Kranz and Matthias Witting, who joined the ensemble between 1978 and 1986, formed the band Zeitgeist from 1980 to 1983. In addition, Kranz is a successful solo musician, best known for his song Din Daa Daa (Trommeltanz). In 1986, the year Line 1 premiered, Thomas Keller, Michael Brandt and Richard Wester joined. Together, the six musicians participated in composing and arranging the music of the musical, which they performed as rock band No Ticket. All but Wester are performing at the GRIPS to this day.

title: Grips-Theater


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Tommy Sheridan

Thomas Sheridan (born 7 March 1964) is a Scottish politician who served as convenor of Solidarity from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as convenor of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) from 1998 to 2004 and as co-convenor of Solidarity from 2006 to 2016. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region from 1999 to 2007.

Sheridan was active as a Militant entryist in the Labour Party until 1989 when Labour expelled him, and became a member of Scottish Militant Labour (SML), which eventually became the core of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP). He was a prominent campaigner against the Poll tax (officially known as the Community Charge) in Scotland, and was jailed for six months for attending a warrant sale in 1991 after Glasgow Sheriff Court had served a court order on him banning his presence. He was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as a Glasgow representative and re-elected in 2003 despite, in 2000 and 2002, being jailed over the non-payment of fines levied in connection with breach of the peace convictions resulting from his actions at demonstrations against the presence of the nuclear fleet at the Faslane Naval Base.

In 2006, in the case of Sheridan v News International, he won an action for defamation against the News of the World and was awarded £200,000 damages. The following year, he was charged with perjury for having told lies to the court in his defamation case. In the following weeks, six of his relations and colleagues were also charged. In October 2010, he appeared together with his wife Gail at a trial for perjury. On 23 December 2010, Sheridan was convicted of perjury, and on 26 January he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. The charges against his wife were withdrawn. In the light of the News of the World phone hacking affair, the Crown Office was ordered to reassess the case in 2011. Sheridan left prison in January 2012 under automatic early release rules.

Early life
Sheridan's mother was Alice Sheridan, a political activist who stood as a candidate for political groups involving her son.

Sheridan, raised in Roman Catholic faith, attended St Monica's Primary (Pollok) and Lourdes Secondary before studying at the University of Stirling, where he received a degree in economics. He obtained a MSc in Social Research at the University of Strathclyde in 2008. He studied law at Strathclyde Law School, on the two-year fast track degree, graduating in 2015. He also played football at Junior level with Larkhall Thistle, Benburb, East Kilbride Thistle, Baillieston Juniors and St Anthony's.

Early activism
Sheridan became a member of the Militant group while a student at Stirling University in around 1983, after being active in a broad-based anti-Trotskyist group including Liberals and Communists as well as Labour Party members. After graduation, he went to Cardonald College as a typing student as part of an (unsuccessful) effort on the part of Militant to recruit Scottish Labour Students in further education colleges. The Labour Party, led by Neil Kinnock at the time, found that Militant contravened the Labour Party constitution, and Sheridan himself was expelled from the Labour Party in 1989 for "bringing the party into disrepute".

From within Militant, he was the public face of a mass non-payment campaign against the Community Charge in Scotland (where it was introduced a year earlier than other parts of the UK "as an experiment"). The campaign involving the refusal to pay the tax, together with resistance to warrant sales which local councils held to try to recoup the money, was ultimately successful and Sheridan became a popular political figure. Sheridan denounced those who fought the police in the large-scale riot against the poll tax in London – which took place on 31 March 1990, the day before the tax was introduced in England and Wales – and publicly threatened to "name names". The police widely advertised for people to tell them the names of alleged rioters, and partly as a result of police acting on such information, over 100 individuals were jailed. With Joan McAlpine, he published A Time to Rage which chronicled the anti-poll tax movement of the late-1980s and early-1990s. McAlpine has since written about the Sheridan she became close to, with reference in particular to the defamation case.

As the highest profile Militant member in Scotland, Sheridan was a leading figure in the group's split in the early-1990s. Emboldened by the success of the campaign against the poll tax, many Militant members – particularly in Scotland – argued for the abandonment of entryism and for the creation of Scottish Militant Labour and Militant Labour in England and Wales as separate political parties.

The argument was resolved when Sheridan and his supporters won a vote at a special conference held in Bridlington in October 1991, defeating the faction around Militant founder Ted Grant who argued against abandoning the Labour Party. The result was a split in the Militant in what has become known as the 'Scottish Turn'; Scottish Militant Labour had gained six councillors in Glasgow by 1993, including Sheridan. With a strong Scottish National Party (SNP), Scottish Militant Labour argued in favour of founding a new, left-wing political party. Discussions were held with other left-wing and Scottish republican groups and a new group was formed in 1996 known initially as the Scottish Socialist Alliance. In 1998, the new Scottish Socialist Party was formed from the SSA. Differences over political strategy and priorities within the Committee for a Workers' International (CWI) soon surfaced, especially on the issue of Scottish independence, leading to a split within the CWI and Sheridan along with the majority of Scottish supporters left the organisation.

Sheridan fought two elections while in prison, coming second in the Pollok constituency at the 1992 general election, gaining nearly 20%, a result ahead of three candidates, but behind the elected Labour Party MP. A few weeks later he won the Pollok ward on Glasgow District Council. He contested the European Parliament election in 1994 as the SML candidate in Glasgow, and came third with 8% of votes cast.

Election to the Scottish Parliament
Sheridan was a leading figure in negotiations to establish the Scottish Socialist Alliance in 1996, which evolved into the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) in 1998. He became the convenor of the party and was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as a Glasgow representative and re-elected in 2003. Together with Alan McCombes he published Imagine, an outline of the principles of socialism for a modern era.

Sheridan was active in implementing long-needed changes in Scottish law, including the Abolition of Poindings and Warrant Sales Act 2001, which he introduced as bills in Holyrood on 6 December 2001.

On 11 November 2004, Sheridan stepped down as convenor of the SSP, citing his wife Gail's pregnancy as a prime reason. The resignation was steeped in controversy. It later emerged that the party's executive committee voted unanimously to force Sheridan to resign after a 9 November meeting in which he confirmed stories printed about a then-unnamed MSP were about him, and indicated he would take legal action against the paper.

Following Sheridan's resignation, the News of the World named him as the MSP they said had had an extramarital affair and visited a swingers' club in Manchester. The party declined to support him in legal action against the paper. He later branded those who refused to support him as "scabs".

The minutes of the meeting which detailed the deliberations leading to Sheridan's resignation were kept confidential until subpoenaed by News International. After he refused to release the minutes to the Court of Session, Alan McCombes was jailed for twelve days by Judge Lady Smith. At an emergency meeting of the party's National Council, it was agreed the minutes should be handed over — with only 60 delegates opposed — in order to secure McCombes' release the following day.

The minutes included a discussion by the party's executive committee about a recent article that alleged a married MSP had visited a swingers' club in Manchester. According to the minute, Sheridan admitted that he had in fact visited the club on two occasions, in 1996 and 2002, with close friends. Some of those present at the meeting gave evidence that they had heard Sheridan acknowledge he had been "reckless" in his behaviour which had, with hindsight, been "a mistake" and that "his strategy was to deny the allegations". Sheridan claimed this minute was not accurate.

Eleven members, including four of the party's MSPs, stated they heard Sheridan admit to visiting the swingers' club at that meeting. Rosemary Byrne MSP and two other members of the executive committee, Graham McIver and Pat Smith, gave evidence that Sheridan made no such statement. The minutes record that Sheridan left the meeting early, but before leaving, "he repeated that he did not believe there was any evidence which would prove him to be lying. He did not accept that he should admit the visits to the club and felt that no-one should comment on private lives".

At the annual conference of the SSP in early 2005, Sheridan was elected to the SSP executive and at the March 2006 conference, he was elected as party co-chair. However Sheridan left the SSP in August 2006, accusing the SSP of being part of "the mother of all stitch-ups" involving not only their leadership, but also MI5 and News International. He launched a new political party called Solidarity.

Sheridan was originally set to re-contest the post Scottish Socialist Party convenor at the October 2006 conference, and Colin Fox claimed he had only established the new party because he did not stand a chance of winning back that role as SSP convenor.

Activism and arrests at Faslane
Sheridan was first arrested at the Faslane nuclear base, the location of Britain's Trident submarine fleet, for a breach of the peace offence committed during a demonstration in February 2000. He was convicted on this count, and for resisting arrest, when the case came to trial in November, and was fined £250. Believing nuclear weapons to be illegal under international law, Sheridan made it clear at the time that he had no intention of paying the fine. He served five days of a 14-day jail sentence the next month for this reason, and was released on 22 December.

Sheridan was arrested again at Faslane on 22 October 2001 shortly after the protest began at 7am. He was cleared when the case came to court in June 2002, the Justice of the Peace said there was insufficient evidence. Another acquittal in October 2001, this time regarding a February 2001 protest, led to an appeal by the Crown Office, but this was rejected by the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh in October 2002.

Sheridan was one of the first to be arrested for a breach of the peace at a demonstration at Faslane on 11 February 2002. He was found guilty in February 2003 and fined £200, but he refused to pay and was sent to prison for non-payment on 25 August 2003. This time, he was sentenced to seven days in jail, serving 3 days, plus the night in custody after his arrest. Before presenting himself for arrest at Glasgow police station on 24 August 2003, Sheridan had told reporters: "Nuclear weapons are a crime against humanity and should be removed from the Clyde and from Britain."

Split from the Scottish Socialist Party
In September 2006, Tommy Sheridan formed a new political party in Scotland named Solidarity, with himself and fellow MSP Rosemary Byrne as joint convenors. Sheridan narrowly failed to be re-elected in the 2007 Holyrood election as top of his party's list nominees for Glasgow. The party also stood a candidate in by-elections in 2008 in Glasgow East and the Glenrothes, and Sheridan himself stood in the 2009 Glasgow North East by-election.

Sheridan stood as a candidate in the 2009 European Parliament elections for No to EU – Yes to Democracy, a left-wing alter-globalisation coalition led by RMT union leader Bob Crow.

Sheridan resigned as the co-convenor of Solidarity in June 2016, but returned as convener in 2019. In 2020, Solidarity signed up for Action for Independence, a new pro-independence alliance.

In March 2021 he and his wife Gail joined the Alba Party.

Defamation action
Hearings in Sheridan's defamation case against the publishers of the News of the World began in the Court of Session in Edinburgh on 4 July 2006. Unusually in Scottish civil proceedings, the case was heard before a jury.

The jury heard allegations that Sheridan had visited a swingers clubs in Manchester and engaged in adulterous affairs with two women. Sheridan, who claims to be a teetotaller, reportedly drank champagne and consumed cocaine during an extramarital liaison. Sheridan denies drinking the champagne and the claim of substance abuse. Eleven members of the SSP's executive committee testified that he admitted in an executive committee meeting to attending a swingers club with women, but another four members of the SSP who were present at that Executive meeting backed Sheridan's claim that he made no such admission at that meeting.

On 14 July 2006, Sheridan sacked his legal team and began representing himself. His cross-examination of witnesses was described by one left commentator as "sickening", singling out the cross-examination of Katrine Trolle: "Sheridan questioned her about their sexual history, which included visits to Cupids with Sheridan and group sex encounters with him and his brother-in-law, Andrew McFarlane. When she stated that she was embarrassed about her past, but that she was telling the truth, Sheridan unflinching brandished her as a perjurer, plotter and gold-digger. [...] I still find it astonishing, and not a little dispiriting, that anyone on the left – any decent human being in fact – could justify traducing a female socialist's character in court, not once, but twice, in order to protect a leading socialist politician's false reputation."

On 4 August 2006, Sheridan won his case with a majority verdict of 7–4 and the jury awarded him maximum damages of £200,000. The News of the World has appealed the verdict. In the Scottish Socialist Voice of 8 August, a letter signed by a further six leading members of the SSP claimed that Sheridan had told them that he had admitted at an SSP Executive meeting to attending the Manchester swingers club.

The News of the World intended to appeal against what they described as the "perverse" decision in the immediate aftermath of the trial, and a provisional date for the hearing was set for December 2007, however it was postponed until the outcome of the procurator fiscal's perjury probe.

Allegations of witness intimidation
On 10 October 2006, BBC News reported that Grampian Police were investigating a claim by Fiona McGuire, who had been a witness in the trial for the News of the World, that she had received a death threat through the post. In a statement to the BBC, Sheridan said: "I utterly condemn any threats to Fiona McGuire or any other individual".

On 26 August 2007, the Sunday Herald reported that John Lynn had been questioned by detectives about allegations of witness tampering. Lynn is reportedly an associate of Paul Ferris, a reformed criminal who has become friendly with Sheridan. The report said Helen Allison, who claimed in court that she saw Sheridan having sex in a Glasgow hotel, had been approached by Lynn who asked her not to give evidence. Lynn was once jailed for 17 years for shooting an Ulster barman.

Hidden video
On 1 October 2006, the News of the World reignited controversy by publishing new evidence in support of its claim that Sheridan lied to the Court of Session. It was a video recording of Sheridan admitting he had visited a swingers club in Manchester on two occasions and further, that he had, as other senior SSP members claimed in court, admitted this at an Executive meeting of the SSP. The tape had been made without Sheridan's knowledge using a hidden camera by SSP member George McNeilage in McNeilage's house after he invited Sheridan there. McNeilage had been one of three best men at Sheridan's wedding.

Sheridan does not appear clearly on the video at any time. The newspaper has not been able to produce any images from the video showing Sheridan's face and Sheridan says the video is a fake. He conceded his voice was on the tape but suggested it was spliced with clips of the voice of someone else. The News of the World claimed four independent voice analysts had confirmed that the voice on the tape is that of Tommy Sheridan. However, in an interview with the BBC a forensic speech scientist, Peter French, said: "Experts should never say conclusively they have identified a person and this kind of evidence should never solely be used to bring a criminal trial".

Sheridan then suggested that MI5, someone within the SSP, Rupert Murdoch and Bill Gates had conspired to concoct the videotape to undermine his campaign for an independent socialist Scotland.

Perjury conviction
The conflicting evidence given during the trial resulted in the judge warning several witnesses about the implications of perjuring themselves. On Monday 7 August 2006, Lothian and Borders Police said they had received two complaints of perjury, one from the former Conservative MSP Brian Monteith, the other alleged to be from the SSP's minutes secretary.

On 22 August 2006, the Crown Office instructed the Edinburgh Procurators Fiscal office to ascertain if there were grounds for a criminal investigation. On 2 October 2006, it was concluded that there were and Lothian and Borders Police were instructed to start a criminal investigation. On 21 February 2007, The Herald reported that the Crown Office had asked Lothian and Borders Police to undertake a full inquiry after receiving a preliminary report.

In May 2007, it was reported that staff at Cupid's Swingers Club in Manchester had told police they had been offered bribes not to co-operate with the inquiry.

On 16 December 2007, Sheridan was charged with perjury in relation to the News of the World case. In a public statement outside the police station he attributed his arrest to the "powerful reach" of the Murdoch press. During February 2008, his wife Gail, former SSP MSP Rosemary Byrne, former members of the SSP Executive Committee, Patricia Smith, Graeme McIver, Jock Penman, and Sheridan's father-in-law, Angus Healey, were also charged with perjury.

On 27 January 2009, Sheridan and his wife were indicted for perjury, and were summoned to attend a pre-trial hearing at Edinburgh High Court on 26 February. however this was postponed until 11 May.

The trial started at Glasgow High Court on 4 October 2010. Sheridan's initial defence team included Donald Findlay, who was replaced by Maggie Scott. However, a few weeks into the case, Sheridan instructed his Solicitor Aamer Anwar, who had defended him since 2007, to withdraw Scott's instructions. He then conducted his own defence, with Anwar assisting him as amicus curiae.

On 23 December 2010 a jury found Sheridan guilty of perjury and on 26 January 2011 he was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Initially he was held in Barlinnie prison in Glasgow, but after several weeks he was moved to a semi-open wing in Barlinnie, and on 21 June he was moved to Castle Huntly open prison. Sheridan was released to a Home Detention Curfew on 30 January 2012, having served just over one year of his sentence.

Sheridan and Aamer Anwar subsequently parted company, with Gordon Dangerfield acting as his lawyer.

In 2015 the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission declined to refer the case to the High Court.

Support for Sheridan
A "Defend Tommy Sheridan" campaign was launched by sympathetic trade unionists and politicians to demand why Sheridan was being investigated. In December 2007, Sunday Herald columnist Iain MacWhirter said it was "hard not to conclude that the police's diligence has been inspired by Rupert Murdoch's News International." The campaign drew support from the politician George Galloway and leading trade unionist Bob Crow (RMT). At a June 2008 rally organised by the campaign, speakers including FBU secretary Kenny Ross, Paddy Hill, and Gerry Conlon queried the motives for the investigation, questioned the role of the police and Crown Office and verbally attacked the witnesses who had given evidence unhelpful to Sheridan in the original hearing.

Claims of illegal surveillance
In March 2007, Lothian and Borders Police investigated claims that Tommy Sheridan had been bugged after a suspicious device was found in his car. The device was described as "not of the kind used by British security services".

A complaint submitted to Strathclyde Police in July 2011 lead to Operation Rubicon, a major investigation involving 50 officers investigating allegations of phone hacking, breach of data protection and perjury by News of the World. In May 2012, Andy Coulson, editor of the News of the World from 2003 – 2007 and who gave evidence at Sheridan's trial, was detained "on suspicion of committing perjury before the High Court in Glasgow". On 7 July 2014, following Coulson's conviction on phone hacking charges, Coulson himself faced perjury charges over Sheridan's trial, and on 23 February 2015, a pre-evidential hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh set a trial date of 21 April. On 3 June 2015, Coulson was formally acquitted after the case against him was dismissed by a judge.

News Group appeal against defamation award (2016)
An appeal hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh against the 2006 defamation award in light of Sheridan's later perjury conviction began on 10 May 2016. New Group Newspapers (now part of News UK) lost their appeal against the award of £200,000 damages to Sheridan on 19 August 2016.

Publications
Sheridan's rise and extinction are dealt with in two works of political analysis: Downfall by his erstwhile colleague Alan McCombes (2011), and Tommy Sheridan: From Hero to Zero? by Gregor Gall (2012).

Scottish independence referendum
In the run-up to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Sheridan embarked on a pro-independence speaking tour under the banner "Hope Over Fear". By June 2014, four pro-independence groups — Women for Independence, Labour for Independence, Generation Yes, and the Radical Independence Campaign — had adopted a policy of refusing Sheridan a platform during the campaign. According to a report in the Sunday Herald, pro-independence figures "believe Sheridan is piggy-backing on the independence campaign to gain publicity for an appeal against his conviction".

Following the defeat of the Yes campaign, Sheridan called for a Scottish National Party (SNP) vote at the 2015 general election for the Westminster parliament, which he said would force a second independence referendum by 2020. He was later a headline speaker at a Hope Over Fear rally in George Square on Sunday 12 October, where he sparked controversy by asking for donations to be sent to his home address. He asked for cheques to be made out to a community group run by a former Solidarity candidate. Ahead of the rally, former MSP Rosie Kane said: "Try to understand that Tommy is a divisive and manipulative character. By all means go along, but don't for a minute imagine that this is an open, inclusive and friendly event. This is ego at its most manipulative."

Broadcasting
Tommy Sheridan had a weekly Sunday morning show on Talk 107 for 18 months, but the station did not renew his contract due to cutbacks and changes to programming that saw Mike Graham and others leave Talk107. He hosted a chat show during the Edinburgh fringe in 2007, which received muted reviews. He appeared in the Celebrity version of Big Brother UK. He was the fifth to be evicted (during the double eviction on 21 January 2009). He received mixed reactions from the crowd upon both entry and exit, and admitted during the post-eviction interview that his primary motivation for taking part was that he "needed the money".

Celebrant
By 30 June 2018, Sheridan trained to become a humanist celebrant. Sheridan cited the reason as his occasional role presiding over funerals.

Elections contested
UK Parliament elections

Scottish Parliament elections

European Parliament elections

title: Tommy Sheridan


text:
Witney

Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is 12 mi west of Oxford.

History
The place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest known record of it is as Wyttannige in a Saxon charter of 969. The Domesday Book of 1086 records it as Witenie, in the ancient hundred of Bampton.

The Church of England parish church of St Mary the Virgin was originally Norman. The north porch and north aisle were added in this style late in the 12th century, and survived a major rebuilding in about 1243. In this rebuilding the present chancel, transepts, tower and spire were added and the nave was remodelled, all in the Early English style. In the 14th century a number of side chapels and some of the present windows were added in the Decorated style. In the 15th century the south transept was extended and the present west window of the nave were added in the Perpendicular style. The tower has a peal of eight bells. The tower of the church is 69 feet (21 metres) high, topped by a tall and slender spire, which brings the total height of the church to 154 feet (47 metres).

Holy Trinity Church, Wood Green, was built in 1849 in a Gothic Revival rendition of Early English Gothic. St Mary the Virgin and Holy Trinity are now members of a single team parish.

The Friends Meeting House in Wood Green was built in the 18th century. Since 1997 Quakers in Witney have met at the Corn Exchange. The Methodist church in the High Street was built in 1850. It is now one of five Methodist churches and chapels in Witney. The Roman Catholic parish of Our Lady and Saint Hugh was founded in 1913. It originally used a chapel in West End built in 1881 but now has its own modern building. The old chapel in West End is now Elim Christian Fellowship. Witney High Street still has several older buildings, which are protected by the Witney and Cogges conservation area.

Witney Market began in the Middle Ages. Thursday is the traditional market day but there is also a market on Saturday. The buttercross in the market square is so called because people from neighbouring towns would gather there to buy butter and eggs. It was built in about 1600 and its clock was added in 1683. Witney Town Hall, which is arcaded on the ground floor and has an assembly room on the first floor, was completed in 1786. Witney has long been an important crossing over the River Windrush. The architect Thomas Wyatt rebuilt the bridge in Bridge Street in 1822.

Witney workhouse was on Razor Hill (now Tower Hill). It was designed by the architect George Wilkinson and built in 1835–36. It had four wings radiating from an octagonal central building, similar to the Chipping Norton workhouse, which also was built by Wilkinson. His younger brother William Wilkinson added a separate chapel to Witney Workhouse in 1860. In the First World War the workhouse held prisoners of war. In 1940 the workhouse was converted into Crawford Collets engineering factory under the direction of Leonard Frank Eve. The chapel was made the factory canteen. In 1979 Crawford Collets had the main buildings demolished and replaced with a modern factory, but preserved the entrance gate and former chapel. In 2004 the modern factory was demolished for redevelopment. The gate and chapel have again been preserved and the former chapel converted into offices.

Industry
Witney has been famous for its woollen blankets since the Middle Ages. The water for the production of these blankets is drawn from the River Windrush, which was believed to be the secret of Witney's high-quality blankets. The cloth industry dominated life in Witney where one 17th-century observer noted that "almost 3,000 people from 8 years old to old age worked" in the manufacture of blankets. Mops were also traditionally made by the blanket manufacturers; at one time every ship in the Royal Navy had Witney mops aboard. The Blanket Hall in High Street was built in 1721 for weighing and measuring blankets. At one time there were five blanket factories in the town but with the closure of the largest blanket maker Early's, in 2002, the town's blanket industry completely ceased production. Early's factory, once a vital and important part of the town's history, has now been demolished, and is the site of several new housing estates.

One of the oldest mill sites in the town, New Mill, where there has been a mill since the Domesday Book, now houses the head office of Audley Travel.

For many years Witney had its own brewery and maltings: J.W. Clinch and Co, which founded the Eagle Maltings in 1841. In 1961, Courage bought Clinch's for its pub estate and closed down the brewery. Paddy Glenny founded the Glenny Brewery at the former Clinch's site in 1983, but it was renamed to Wychwood Brewery in 1990. Wychwood brewed real ales, including Hobgoblin, its flagship brand. Refresh UK, a subsidiary of Marston's Brewery, took over the brewery in 2002, and Marston's bought Refresh UK and Wychwood Brewery outright in 2008. Marston's brewing operations, including Wychwood Brewery, were merged into Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company in 2020, and Wychwood Brewery was shut down in November 2023, its brands continuing to be brewed elsewhere in the CMBC network.

Railways
The Witney Railway opened Witney's first station in 1861, linking the town to Yarnton where the line joined the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway. In 1873 the East Gloucestershire Railway opened from a new station, linking Witney with Lechlade and Fairford. The Great Western Railway operated services on both lines and eventually took them over. In 1962 British Railways closed the EGR completely and withdrew passenger services from the Witney Railway. In 1970 British Railways closed the Witney Railway completely and it was dismantled.

Reopening proposal
In 2015 Witney Oxford Transport Group (WOT) proposed the reopening of the railway, with a station at Witney, as an alternative to improvements to the A40 road proposed by Oxfordshire County Council. In 2016 WOT and West Oxfordshire Green Party cited chronic traffic congestion on roads linking Witney with Oxford as a reason to reopen the railway. In 2021 WOT Group submitted a bid to the Department for Transport's 'Restoring Your Railway' Ideas Fund for a grant to develop the case for a new railway in the A40 corridor 'Building a better-connected West Oxfordshire, transforming the wider Oxford economic region' as part of an Oxford Metro advocated by Railfuture.

Museums
Witney has four museums. Cogges Manor Farm Museum, in the 13th-century manor house and farm of Cogges, represents farming and countryside history. Witney and District Museum has many artefacts and documents representing the history of the town. Witney Blanket Hall, built in the 18th century, showcases both the history of the Hall and of Witney's blanket industry and has Witney blankets for sale. The Wychwood Brewery has a museum open at weekends.

Education
Witney has three county secondary schools: Henry Box School, Wood Green School and Springfield School. In 1660 Henry Box founded Witney Grammar School. In 1968 it became the comprehensive Henry Box School. In 1970 new school buildings were added to the original 17th-century premises beside Church Green. Wood Green School was founded in 1954 and is at the top of Woodstock Road. Springfield School was founded in 1967 and is a special-needs school for pupils with severe learning difficulties. Springfield School senior section is a self-contained unit, with some shared facilities, within the grounds of Wood Green School. Wood Green was substantially expanded from 2000 to 2004; an additional block with 15 teaching rooms was added, together with a purpose-built sixth form centre, school restaurant and new AstroTurf pitch. 2009 saw part of the old Lower School being remodelled to provide new changing and shower facilities for the AstroTurf pitch and its many users from local community sports clubs.

The King's School is independent of Oxfordshire Local Education Authority. It was founded by Oxfordshire Community Churches, an evangelical Christian organisation, in 1984. Cokethorpe School is an independent secondary school, founded in 1957. St. Mary's School beside Church Green was established in 1813. It was a Church of England primary school but in 1953 it became a Church of England controlled School for Infant children, and the Junior children transferred to the Batt School premises. Witney now has two Church of England primary schools: The Batt School in Corn Street and The Blake School in Cogges Hill Road. Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic school founded in 1958.

Witney has five community primary schools: Madley Park Community Primary School, Queen's Dyke Primary School, Tower Hill Community Primary School, West Witney Primary School and Witney Community Primary School. It also has one SEN primary school, Springfield School, which is part of the same school as Springfield secondary School. Springfield school (Primary) shares a building with Madley Brook Primary, but aside from sharing a building, some resources and integration, the schools run independently of one another. The former Witney Technical College is now part of Abingdon and Witney College. A complete rebuilding of its premises began in September 2008.

Sports
Witney United Football Club, formerly known as Witney Town and nicknamed the Blanketmen, played in the Hellenic League Premier Division, until they dissolved in the 2012–2013 season. Witney and District League is a local association football league with about 32 clubs in five divisions. Witney Rugby Football Club first XV plays in the RFU South West 1 East. Wychwood Ladies Hockey Club's first team play in the Trysport Hockey League Division 1; Witney Hockey Club men's first XI plays in the England Hockey Men's Conference East division and its ladies' first XI plays in South Clubs' Women's Hockey League Division 3A. Witney Swifts Cricket Club first XI plays in Oxfordshire Cricket Association Division Three. Witney Wolves Basketball Club plays in the Oxford and Chiltern Basketball League.

The Toleman Group Motorsport racing team was once based in Witney until it was rebranded Benetton Formula in 1986. The team itself stayed in Witney until 1992 when they moved to Enstone eventually being rebranded in 2002 as Renault F1 when the team was purchased by the French Renault car company. The team competed as Renault F1 until 2011, when it was again rebranded this time under the "Lotus Renault GP" name after forging a partnership with the British Lotus Cars company. The subsequent year the team became Lotus F1 after they dropped the Renault name. The team was later re-purchased by Renault in late 2015 to become the Renault Sport F1 Team for 2016.

Politics
Witney was, until recently, a safe seat for the Conservative Party. Former Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd and former leader of the Conservatives and Prime Minister David Cameron were both MPs for Witney. In the 1997 General Election, Shaun Woodward stood and won the seat as a Conservative, after Hurd retired. Woodward switched to the Labour Party in 1999. In the 2001 General Election Woodward stood as the Labour candidate in the St Helens South constituency, and David Cameron retook Witney for the Conservatives. He became Prime Minister in coalition with the Liberal Democrats in May 2010 and continued after the 2015 election, in which the Conservative Party gained a majority, but retired to the backbenches after the referendum that rejected his government's recommendation to remain in the European Union. He stood down as an MP soon afterwards, triggering a by-election held on 20 October 2016, in which Robert Courts was elected for the Conservatives. Courts was re-elected in 2017.

For elections to Oxfordshire County Council Witney is covered by the electoral wards of 'Witney North and East' and 'Witney South and Central'. The west of the town is included in the ward of 'Witney West and Bampton' which includes villages of Bampton and Ducklington. The wards were created in 2013, with the new Witney South and Central won by the Labour Party and the other two wards won by the Conservatives. At the 2021 Oxfordshire County Council election Labour held Witney South and Central and gained Witney North and East from the Conservatives.

For elections to West Oxfordshire District Council Witney is divided into the wards of Witney Central, Witney East, Witney North, Witney South and Witney West electing a total of 12 district councillors. As of 2023 the majority of Witney town councillors represent The Labour Party. The Mayor of Witney for 2023 is The Labour Party's Owen Collins, along with Deputy Mayor Georgia Meadows.

Twinning
Witney is twinned with:
 * 🇩🇪 Unterhaching, Germany
 * 🇫🇷 Le Touquet, France

Floods
In July 2007 Witney saw its worst flooding in more than 50 years. Homes and businesses were evacuated and Bridge Street, a major road into the town and the only road across the Windrush, was closed. About 200 properties in central Witney were flooded, with areas around Bridge Street, Mill Street and West End the worst affected. The new and incomplete housing development Aquarius also suffered substantial flooding. In 2008 further flooding contributed to the death of a 17-year-old boy who drowned in a culvert.

Climate
Witney has a maritime climate type typical to the British Isles, with evenly spread rainfall, a narrow temperature range, and comparatively low sunshine totals. The nearest official weather station is Brize Norton, about 4 mi southwest of Witney. The absolute maximum recorded was 35.4c(95.7f) in August 1990, although in a typical year the warmest day should only reach 29.5c(85.1f) with an average of 14.6 days reporting a maximum temperature of 25.1c(77.2f) or above. The absolute minimum is −20.7c(−5.3f), recorded in January 1982. In a more typical year the annual minimum temperature should be −8.1c(17.4f), although a total of 47.1 nights should report an air frost. Rainfall averages slightly under 644mm per year with more than 1mm of rain falling on just under 115 days of the year.

Media
The town receives its television signals from the Oxford TV transmitter.

In May 2010, WitneyTV was launched as a non-profit online broadcaster with a weekly show that features local news and upcoming events within West Oxfordshire for the benefit of the community. An archive of videos featuring local attractions, clubs, organisations and previous shows is also available.

A small-scale music festival, Witney Music festival, is held annually on The Leys Recreation Ground. While mostly hosting smaller local artists and tribute bands, it has previously hosted acts such as EMF, The Farm and N-Trance.

Witney has a number of recording studios, including The Witney Music Rooms and GreenRoomStudios. There are also several small venues for music, including Fat Lil's, a music and comedy venue, Langdale Hall, a function venue that regularly hosts music acts, and Studio Se7en, a live music venue sited at GreenRoomStudios.

Witney has an independent record shop which was established in 2004 as Rapture. In 2011, Rapture's owner, Gary Smith, collaborated with Truck Festival co-founder Robin Bennett to open Truck Store, a sister store on Cowley Road in Oxford. Rapture adopted the Oxford store's name and branding in 2022 and now operates as Truck Witney.

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Oxford on 95.2 FM, Heart South on 102.6 FM, and Greatest Hits Radio South on 106.4 FM. On 30 November 2012 Witney Radio was launched, providing hyper-local news, music and current affairs to the people of Witney and West Oxfordshire. A licence to broadcast on FM radio was granted in April 2016 by the licensing authority Ofcom. On 14 July 2017 Witney Radio began to broadcast on 99.9fm to Witney and West Oxfordshire. The station broadcasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with over 30 presenters from the local area. The station also broadcasts online for listeners online via TuneIn.

An Internet radio station, Windrush Radio, was established in 2018. It broadcasts mostly pop and electronic music in the daytime, but has a number of hosts that present specific genres, including a showcase of local artists. Windrush Radio has announced plans to broadcast over DAB radio, and a small-scale radio multiplex license has been submitted to Ofcom.

The local newspapers are the Oxford Times, Oxfordshire Guardian and Witney Gazette.

Notable people
Notable people associated with Witney include:

 * Emma Appleton, actress
 * David Cameron, former MP for Witney and former Prime Minister of the UK, current Foreign Secretary
 * Jamie Cook, footballer
 * Alan Dapre, children's TV show writer
 * Lawson D'Ath, footballer
 * Jorge Grant, footballer
 * Darrell Griffin, rugby league footballer
 * Douglas Hurd, former MP for Witney and former Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary
 * Charlie Hutchison, British communist
 * Martin Jones, concert pianist
 * Simon King, footballer
 * Graham Leonard, 130th Bishop of London
 * Rhys Lewis, singer-songwriter
 * Robert Llewellyn, Red Dwarf actor and author
 * Andrew Logan, artist
 * Gugu Mbatha-Raw, TV and film actress
 * Maddie Moate, television presenter and YouTuber
 * David Moss, footballer
 * Robbie Mustoe, footballer
 * Lorraine Pascal, model and TV chef
 * Miss Read (Dora Saint), author
 * Larry Sanders, Green party councillor
 * William Smith, cricketer
 * James Allen Shuffrey, watercolour artist
 * Leonard Shuffrey, architect and architectural designer
 * Patrick Steptoe, pioneer of fertility treatment
 * Shaun Woodward, Conservative and then Labour MP for Witney, then Labour MP for St Helens South

title: Witney


text:
Health Secretary

Health secretary can refer to:

 * Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Scotland
 * Health Secretary of Pakistan
 * Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, United Kingdom
 * United States Secretary of Health and Human Services

title: Health Secretary


text:
Arrane Ashoonagh Vannin

The "National Anthem of the Isle of Man" (Arrane Ashoonagh Vannin, ) was written and composed by William Henry Gill (1839–1923), with the Manx translation by John J. Kneen (1873–1939). It is often referred to by its incipit, "O Land of Our Birth" (O Halloo Nyn Ghooie, ).

History
It is sung to an adaptation of the traditional Manx melody of "Mylecharaine’s March", which had been described as the "Manx national melody" long before Gill's composition. The words that originally accompanied the melody date to around 1800 and concern the impoverishment of a father to pay a dowry. However, those curious words have been identified as disparate pieces of older songs amalgamated together incompletely. The first verse of the song is: ''O Vylecharaine, c'raad hooar oo dty stoyr? / Nagh dooar mee 'sy Churragh eh dowin, dowin dy liooar? / My lomarcan daag oo mee (O Mylecharaine, where did you get your store? / Did I not get it in the Curragh, deep, deep enough? / Alone you left me).

First performed at the Manx Music Festival on 21 March 1907, there are eight verses in total in the modern anthem, but only the first verse is usually sung. The anthem was given official status by the Isle of Man's legislature, Tynwald, on 22 January 2003, with "God Save the King" being designated as the royal anthem. The National Anthem is used on official and ceremonial occasions and in schools; the Royal Anthem is normally reserved for use additionally on those occasions when the Sovereign, members of the Royal Family, or the Lieutenant Governor are present.

The traditional song "Ellan Vannin" ("Isle of Man") had up to that point vied to be an equal unofficial national anthem, and had been re-popularized by a 1997 Bee Gees recording of it released as a single.

title: Arrane Ashoonagh Vannin