Many Protestant bishops were martyred in the town's famous Broad Street at the time of Henry Ⅷ's reform. In the 17th century, Charles I made his capital there.
亨利八世的「宗教改革」中，不少新教主教在著名的牛津大街（BroadStreet）上被焚殉道；十七世紀英國內戰，牛津更成為查理一世「騎士黨」的皇都所在，整座城頓成軍事要塞。