The Bicester area was covered by Tropical Forests. Coal deposits can be found deep under the town.
Dinosaurs roamed around the area. Their footprints have been found at Ardley Quarry.
The last Ice Age brought arctic conditions to the Bicester region and did much to shape the present landscape.
Small groups of early humans and Neanderthals would have crossed the region.
Bands of Mesolithic hunter⁄gathers set up camps near the stream in Bure Park. They left evidence of being the first people to live in Bicester.
Bronze Age settlers began to clear the forests and settled as the first farmers in the Bicester area.
Important evidence of Bronze Age barrows has been discovered close to the Tesco Roundabout to the south of the town.
Evidence of Iron Age settlement in the area is widespread. The farmers traded with tribes in other parts of the country.
Excavations at Bicester Fields Farm revealed a late Iron Age Roundhouse. A number of animal skeletons that had been sacrificed were found buried in ditches close to the house.
A large Legionary Fort was built a mile south of the town at Alchester. The future Emperior Vespasian was among the troops to serve there.
A rare Roman tombstone was excavated on the Alchester site that described the life of a soldier who served at the fort.
The Romans built a network of roads in the area such as Akeman Street which is still in use today.
An important Roman Temple was built at Woodeaton. Archaeological finds from the site can be seen at The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
The area became unsettled when the Romans left in 410 A.D. The Romano-British residents fought with surrounding tribes at this time.
A settlement we now call Bicester was established on the present site of the town when it became impossible to continue to occupy the old Roman town of Alchester.
The Saxon settlement at Bicester had grown to include a Minster Church and dwellings on both sides of the River Bure.
Excavations at Saxon Court in Chapel Street identified a number of phases linked with the Saxon town´s early growth.
Bicester was attacked by the Danes and destroyed.
An ancient Saxon window can be found in the tower of Caversfield Church.
Edward the Confessor, one of the last Saxon Kings, was born at Islip.
Bicester (Bernecestre) is recorded as a settlement of two Manors and home to about two hundred people in The Domesday Book. The Lord of the Manor was a Norman Knight called Robert d´Oilly.
St Edburg´s Parish Church was built and extended throughout the Middle Ages.
Gilbert Bassett founded a Monastery (Priory) in the town. This contained the Shrine of the Saxon Princess, Saint Edburgha, and was visited by many pilgrims.
Medieval Open Fields surrounded the town and other local villages. Farming was the main occupation.
A licence was granted by King Henry III to hold a market in the present Market Square. A market to be held at King´s End was granted a licence in 1377.
A notable medieval bridge crosses the River Cherwell at Lower Heyford.
A number of Tithe Barns had been built by this time to store crops. A fine example is still to be found at Upper Heyford.
The Black Death touched Bicester.
Nicholas Jordon was granted a licence by King Edward III to build the hospital of St John for the relief of the sick and poor.
Bicester Priory was surrendered to King Henry VIII and its treasures seized. Work began to demolish the Priory.
Richard Whyttington was hung in Bicester for taking part in the Buckingham and Oxfordshire Uprising.
The Shambles and Town House were erected in the Market Square. They were demolished in 1826.
The Bicester area was fought over at various times during The English Civil War. Both Oliver Cromwell and King Charles I were reputed to have spent time in the town.
The Six Bells in Church Street was built. The terrace contains a number of properties dating from this period that can be identified by date stones placed in their walls.
Fire serious destroyed a part of Water Lane (Chapel Street) causing considerable damage.
The congregational Church was built in Chapel Street in the area destroyed by fire.
Edward Hemmings ‘cast’ the bell for the old Town Hall. It is now displayed at the entrance to The Garth Park.
Bicester Open Fields system was enclosed to improve agricultural efficiency. This was responsible for the countryside pattern we see today.
The Bicester Hunt was founded. The hunt was a popular pastime for the gentry and attracted members from as far as London.
James Sadler made one of the first successful balloon flights from Oxford to Woodeaton.
The first stage-coach ran from Bicester to London.
A number of Bicester Coaching Inns became established such as The Kings Arms and The Crown.
Toll roads were constructed to improve communication which had deteriorated since medieval times. North Street, Bicester was the site of an early toll gate.
The wealthy gentry built large country estates in the area and created impressive parks and gardens such as those at Kirtlington, Bletchingdon and Rousham.
The Oxford Canal was completed which aided the transport of goods throughout the country.
Rioters on Otmoor rebelled against the agricultural reforms.
A hundred pauper emigrants leave Bicester for North America.
Cholera outbreak killed 64 residents of Bicester in six weeks. A memorial stone can be found in the Churchyard.
Bicester Workhouse was built at Highfield, Bicester. It was demolished in 1966.
Gas was brought to Bicester in 1845. The photograph of the top of Sheep Street shows a gas lamp used for street lighting.
The Oxford to Bletchley railway was opened. A station was built at London Road.
The Police Station in Church Street was built.
Bicester National School was opened at the top of Cemetery Road. It later became St Edburg´s Primary School.
The County Court Hall in Sheep Street was first used.
The worst recorded railway disaster of the Victorian era took place at Hampton Gay on 24th December 1874. Thirty passengers were killed.
St Edburg´s Hall was built and became a valued venue for recreational functions for many years.
The Lord Jersey Challenge Football Cup is one of the oldest competitions in the country. The 1888 winners are pictured above.
Mains water was piped through the town.
Construction of the Great Western Railway (Bicester North) commenced. The line opened in 1910.
The final Cattle Market took place in Sheep Street. The market moved to a new site in Victoria Road.
An aeroplane made a forced landing near to Launton.
Bicester Hall (Hometree House) was used as a troop hospital during the First World War.
Bicester Aerodrome was opened to train Flying Corps pilots towards the end of the First World
Bicester County School was opened at Bicester Hall with forty three pupils.
Bicester Open Air Swimming Pool, built by the Causeway, was opened.
Bicester received many evacuees from London at the start of the Second World War. A young Kenneth Williams was amongst those evacuated.
Serious flooding took place in the Causeway in October 1939.
Secret flights of the prototype Halifax heavy bomber took place at R.A.F. Bicester.
King George VI visited Bicester Aerodrome in July 1940.
Construction began at the Central Ordinance Depot, Bicester. It was to become one of the armed forces major supply bases in the Second World War.
An R.A.F. training plane crashed into houses in Priory Road.
Hedges Block, for many years a dominant feature of Market Hill, was demolished as part of a road widening scheme.
Queen Elizabeth II visits Bicester in July 1965.
R.A.F. Upper Heyford became an important airbase for the United States Air Force during the Cold War. F111 bombers from the base carried nuclear weapons.
The Crown Walk Shopping Mall opens as part of a town centre redevelopment scheme.
The M40 motorway linking London and Birmingham opened in January 1991. It has had a major effect on traffic use in the area.
Bicester was fully pedestrianised in 1994. Sheep Street remains one of the important shopping centres in the town
Bicester Retail Village attracts over three million shoppers a year. It is a major tourist attraction in the area
Bicester is one of the fastest growing towns in the South East of England. It has grown rapidly over the past twenty years and is earmarked for future large scale development.