Past Talks

Listed below are the speaker talks we have had in the past. Click on the title of each to view its write up.

TitleSpeakerDate
Aerial Archaeology Sarah Newsome 21st February 2005
Alchester: invasion-era fortress, Roman town and predecessor of Bicester Eberhard Sauer 16th May 2022
Anatomy of a County: The Oxfordshire Historical Atlas Project Kate Tiller 17th October 2016
Apples! The Myth & Magic of England’s Favourite Fruit Tim Healey 19th January 2015
Archaeology in Bicester Paul Smith 18th April 2011
Art as Historical Evidence Jane Card 18th October 2021
Aspects of Ambrosden Michael Ocock 19th November 2012
Banbury & Bicester: Historic Market Towns – Reality or Nostalgia? Brian Little 16th February 2009
Banburyshire Martin Greenwood 16th October 2006
Bernwood Forest Rebecca Wilcox 18th July 2005
Beyond Bicester - Mesolithic to MoD Paul Smith & John Moore 3rd June 2006
Bicester and the Great War Nigel Walton 21st November 2011
Bicester & the Second World War Pete Chivers 21st February 2011
Bicester & the Supernatural Pete Chivers 17th December 2012
“The Bicester Gang” and other stories of Oxford Castle Mark Davies 15th October 2018
Bicester Local History Society Social Event 17th January 2005
Bicester Priory Bob Hessian 17th October 2011
Bicester Railways Bob Hessian 18th July 2011
Blenheim and the Marlboroughs Veronica Thorneloe 21st July 2008
The Bodleian Library, Oxford Phil Kemble 19th December 2005
Bricks & Building Materials in Bicester’s Buildings Pat Snelson 16th February 2015
Caring for the Textile Collection at the Museum Resource Centre Samantha van de Geer 20th September 2010
Castles in Oxfordshire Trevor Rowley 22nd March 2005
Charles Dickens as 19th Century Social Reformer and Medical Observer Professor Greg Stores 16th April 2018
Child Labour in 19th Century Oxfordshire Liz Woolley 19th April 2010
Christmas at Waddesdon Manor Molly Stafford 17th December 2007
The Church Courts Mark Priddy 17th September 2007
Church Detectives Tim Porter 18th January 2010
Churches have memories - the memorials of St Edburg's Church Christopher Young 21st January 2019
Churchyards and their Monuments Liz Young 19th November 2007
The Coming of the Railway and How it Affected Life in Oxfordshire Dr Martin Barnes 21st November 2005
Common Lodging Houses in Victorian Britain Liz Woolley 16th April 2012
Common Right to Private Property: how enclosure shaped the Oxfordshire landscape Deborah Hayter 18th March 2019
Cotswold Stone Barns Dr Tim Jordan 20th January 2020
Deserted Mediaeval Villages in Oxfordshire James Bond 21st June 2010
A Doorway into Bicester’s Architectural History Pat Snelson 17th January 2011
Dressing Up the Past: Historical Pageants in Early 20th Century Oxfordshire Ellie Read 16th May 2016
Drovers' Roads in Oxfordshire & Beyond Tim Healey 21st November 2016
Early Photography and the Local Historian Dr John Wilson 20th June 2005
Emigration from 19th Century Oxfordshire Shaun Morley 19th May 2014
Emigration from Bicester 1630 - 1930 Pete Chivers 19th July 2010
The English Civil War and its effect on Oxfordshire Martin Greenwood 20th June 2011
Evacuation to Bicester and Local Villages 1939-45 Martin Greenwood 16th October 2017
Excavations at the Westgate Ben Ford 15th January 2018
Exploring your Roots Alan Simpson 15th February 2016
Flora Thompson Martin Greenwood 16th May 2005
From Axtell to Zacharias: The men who built Oxford Liz Woolley 15th January 2024
Glimmer in the Dark: Anglo Saxon Art & Craftsmanship Martin Way 20th November 2006
The Gunpowder Plot of the Midlands Mary MacDonald 20th October 2008
A History of Hunting in the Bicester Area Pete Chivers 16th December 2013
A History of Oxfordshire Parks & Gardens Pete Chivers 19th January 2009
A History of Shopping in Bicester Pete Chivers 17th June 2013
A History of Stoke Lyne Dave Woodhead 17th May 2013
The History of Tooley's Boatyard Matt Armitage 21st June 2021
Home of Lost Causes & Forsaken Beliefs – History of Oxford University Chris Day 19th February 2018
Homes fit for Heroes: The Centenary of Council Houses Sheila Allcock 21st March 2022
Houses and History David Clark 19th September 2005
Industrial Archaeology Philip Morris 20th March 2006
The Listed Buildings of Bicester Bob Hessian 20th December 2004
A Literary Tour of the Waterways of Oxfordshire Mark Davies 18th May 2009
Local Customs in the Bicester Area Pam Chivers 19th December 2011
Lost Villages of Oxfordshire Deborah Hayter 20th June 2016
The Mary Rose Steve Griffiths 24th April 2006
Mediaeval Women Rowena Archer 19th September 2016
The Medieval Household Dr Elizabeth Gemmell 16th July 2007
The Nonconformists of Banburyshire 1662-2012 Martin Greenwood 28th April 2014
Nothing ever happens in Bicester! Pete Chivers 18th October 2010
The Origins of Surnames Dr Cyril Dunsley 18th June 2007
The Otmoor Riots 1830s Pete Chivers 19th September 2011
The Oxford Canal Mark Davies 18th April 2005
Oxford Past & Present Dr Janice Kinory 17th June 2019
Oxfordshire & the Spanish Civil War 1936-39 Liz Woolley 15th November 2021
Oxfordshire at School Malcolm Graham 19th February 2007
Oxfordshire in World War II Malcolm Graham 18th November 2004
The Oxfordshire Landscape in the Twentieth Century Trevor Rowley 15th January 2007
Oxfordshire Maps Nick Millea 15th October 2007
Oxfordshire Mills Elaine Steane 18th February 2019
The Peripatetic Poor in the 18th Century Deborah Hayter 17th July 2017
Picture Oxon Mark Lawrence 17th February 2020
The Production, Distribution and Use of Salt in Prehistoric Britain Dr Janice Kinory 19th April 2021
Putting Bicester on the Map – from Gough to Google John Leighfield 16th November 2015
The Roman Pottery Industry in the Oxford Region Dr Christopher Young 24th April 2017
St Edburg’s Parish Church David Buxton 16th May 2011
Stories of Oxford Castle Mark Davies 21st February 2006
The Work of the Relieving Officer in Bletchingdon District Charles Eldridge 18th March 2024
Tin Helmets & Gas Masks Martin Way 20th July 2015
Travelling in the Middle Ages Dr Rowena Archer 20th April 2015
A Tudor Christmas Martin Sirot-Smith 18th December 2006
Victoria County History Simon Townsley 17th October 2005
Victorian Christmas Tim Healey 20th November 2023
Victorian Class and Social Status Andy Gunn 15th March 2010
Visit to St Edburg’s Church and the Old Priory Rev Phillip Ball & Robert Parkinson 25th July 2005
Votes for Women: The Long Struggle Muriel Pilkington 21st March 2016
Where is the Mediaeval Blacksmith? Gwyl Williams 18th March 2013
Wireless War Secrets John Beaumont 16th July 2018
Witney Blanket Making Keith Crawford 21st July 2014
The Workhouse Peter Higginbotham 19th March 2007
The World of Flora Thompson Christine Bloxham 21st March 2011
Wychwood Forest & Cornbury Park from the Middle Ages Dr Simon Townley 19th July 2021
Yesterday’s Runways Bill King 21st May 2007