Exhibitions & events

Ongoing: The Museum of Oxford continues its popular series of free gallery tours, Stories of Oxford, led by knowledgeable and enthusiastic volunteers. From football to fairgrounds, marmalade to Morris Motors, patron saints to pubs, barges, bones, and all types of quirky customs, there’s something to interest everyone. The next tours are at 1pm on Saturday 6, Thursday 11, Saturday 27, Tuesday 30 April. Further information and booking here.

Saturdays, ongoing: Tours of Oxford’s magnificent Town Hall take place twice a month on Saturdays at 11am. These are a great opportunity to see behind the scenes and to learn about the building’s fascinating history. The next tours are on 6 and 20 April. Find out more here.

Wednesdays, ongoing: The Museum of Oxford’s series of city walks led by local historians, every Wednesday at 2pm from April to September. Further information and booking here.

Ongoing until Sunday 31 March: The current exhibition at the Abingdon County Hall Museum is Celebrating Abingdon Women in the Arts and Sciences, highlighting the lives of remarkable women. Some lived in Abingdon and made major contributions to the cultural life of the town; others came from Abingdon and went out into the world to accomplish great things. The exhibition is free; find out more here.

Saturday 6 April, 1:30pm: Members of the Littlemore Local History Society invite you to join them on a guided walk, starting from outside SS Mary & Nicholas Church. The tour will visit historic Heyford Hill Lane, Simon’s Field Nature Reserve, and the remaining buildings of the Victorian sewage pumping station. Free and open to all; no need to book. Further information from Julia Brocklesby.

Wednesday 10 April, 7:30pm: Oxford local historian Mark Davies will explore the impact of Welsh immigrants on the city, both town and gown, in The Joneses of Jesus: Oxford’s Welsh Connections. The talk will take place at Florence Park Community Centre. Tickets are free, but spaces are limited, so please book in advance. The event is one in the series of increasingly popular Florence Park Talks.

Wednesday 17 April, 1pm: The next in the Museum of Oxford’s series of lunchtime talks is Loyalties Under Siege: Life in Oxford during the Civil War with Eugene Coyle. Further information and booking here.

Saturday 20 April, 10:15am: The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. As part of a special programme of events, it is offering Behinds the Scenes Archives Tours. The ticket price of £10 covers regular museum admission too, so visitors can stay after the tour and enjoy the museum’s recently updated permanent displays and the current Into Battle: The Art of British War Comics exhibition. Further information and booking here.

Saturday 20 April, 7:30pm: Historian Paul Whitton will give a talk entitled King Henry’s Doctor in Hinton: George Owen, Royal Physician in St Margaret’s Church, Hinton Waldrist (near Kingston Bagpuize). George Owen was physician to Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I. He lived at Hinton Manor, acquired many local properties including Godstow Abbey, Wolvercote Manor and Cumnor Place, and had connections with Merton College in Oxford.

Sunday 21 April, 9am-2pm: The  Oxford Bottle Collectors Fair at Exeter Hall in Kidlington. Dozens of stalls offering antique bottles, pot lids, flagons, enamel signs, showcards, tins, and postcards, many of them local to Oxfordshire. Admission at 9am is £5; from 9:30 to 10:30, £2.50; after 10am, free. Parking and refreshments available.

Wednesday 24 April, 1:30pm: The next lunchtime talk at the Vale & Downland Museum in Wantage will be Foundries of the Vale & Downs. Find out about the role foundries played in rural society, the metals and methods used, and local examples. The presentation will end with a demonstration of mould making and metal casting. Further information and booking here.

Thursday 25 April, 4:00pm: at the University Faculty of History, George Street, Oxford, Making History Here: Community History in Oxfordshire, the second in a series of discussion events called Who Makes History? organised by the Community History Hub at the University of Oxford. The series explores new directions pioneered by community historians and academics working in partnership, as well as the challenges and opportunities facing historians, and the impact of community history methodologies on university research, teaching and public understanding of ‘history’ as an academic subject. Free; find out more and book your place here.

Friday 26 April, 7pm: Oxford historian and retired fireman John Lowe will give a talk on The history of fires and firefighting in Oxford, at Rewley Road Fire Station. John’s talk with cover events from the 10th to the 21st centuries, and the former Oxford City Volunteer Fire Brigade steam fire engine Victoria (above), which dates from 1887, will be on display. Find out more here.

Saturday 4 May, 7.30pm: Local historian, author, and Lewis Carroll Society trustee Mark Davies will give a talk Alice’s Adventures in Oxford at St Giles’s Church in Oxford. On this significant day for both the fictional and the real Alice (the daughter of the Dean of Christ Church), Mark will explain the factual background and inspiration for the story of Alice, and outline some of Lewis Carroll’s less well-known connections with local institutions such as Lucy’s Iron Foundry, St John’s College, and a floating chapel on the Oxford Canal. Find out more and book tickets here.

Saturday 11 May: Oxford University’s Department for Continuing Education will host a day school at Rewley House in Wellington Square, Making Oxford: People and Communities in the Modern City. The event is both a showcase and a celebration of the rich diversity of Oxford’s many histories, particularly those tied to places, faiths, cultures, trades and the city’s migrant communities. Further information and booking here.

Thursday 16 May, 5:00pm: at the Asian Cultural Centre, Manzil Way, Oxford, Making a Difference: Community History and Social Change, the third in a series of discussion events called Who Makes History? organised by the Community History Hub at the University of Oxford. The series explores new directions pioneered by community historians and academics working in partnership, as well as the challenges and opportunities facing historians, and the impact of community history methodologies on university research, teaching and public understanding of ‘history’ as an academic subject. Free; find out more and book your place here.

Ongoing until Monday 27 May: Eynsham Museum and Heritage Centre is open, with its special exhibition Eynsham’s Lost Railway. A working model of Eynsham station as it was in 1958 is on display, with a video showing the last passenger train, artefacts, and an exhibition illustrating the beginnings of the Witney line in 1861 to its closure by GWR in 1970. Entry is free. Find out more here.

Saturday 1 June,  11am:  Hidden Heritage Graffiti walk around Oxford with Nina Holguin of the Oxford Preservation Trust. Further information and booking here.

Ongoing until Saturday 29 June: an exhibition at the Museum of Oxford called Oxford Digs In: Our Food Stories. Working closely with local community groups, Oxford Digs In: Our Food Stories is a project exploring the journey ‘from farm to fork’, encompassing the history of allotments, famous Oxford foods, local shops and markets, cultural practices, feasts and gatherings, and preparing, cooking and preserving food. Oxford Digs In will bring Oxford’s food heritage to life through displays in the museum’s galleries and with a special events programme.

Saturday 13 July, 11am: Straight Line Archaeology: from the Parks to the Meadows, a guided walk around Oxford with archaeologist Julian Munby, organised by the Oxford Preservation Trust. Further information and booking here.

Sunday 20 October, 10am to 4pm: Thame Museum will be holding its second History Fair at Thame Town Hall. There will be stalls, activities for all ages and associated events. There are still some spaces for stallholders so if any group would like to participate please contact the organisers.

Saturday 26 October: The Oxfordshire Family History Society will be holding their annual Family History Fair at Cherwell School, Marston Ferry Road, Oxford. This will be an opportunity to get help with your research, chat to subject experts, and browse a wide variety of stalls. Free and open to all. Find out more here.

If you know of any relevant events which could be advertised on this page, please send details to: membership@olha.org.uk

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