21^st October 2019

Oxford's Base and Brickish Skirt: The Development of the Suburbs 1850 - 1914
Liz Woolley

In 1850 Oxford was still contained largely within its mediaeval city walls. Just over sixty years later, on the eve of the First World War, its footprint had quadrupled, thousands of new brick terraced houses had been built and the suburbs had “grown up around Oxford on every side like a huge swelling which needs to be cured.” This talk examines why the suburbs grew so rapidly, what factors affected how they developed differently to the north, south, east and west of the city, and the effects that suburban growth had on Oxford and its residents.

18^th November 2019

Bicester's Great War
Matthew Hathaway

16^th December 2019

Christmas Event

20^th January 2020

Cotswold Stone Barns
Dr Tim Jordan

A systematic look at Cotswold Stone barns and their place in the rural economy and landscape. Illustrations will trace the barn's development from the earliest surviving mediaeval estate and tithe barns, through the growth of the wool trade, dissolution of the monasteries, decline in church holdings, agricultural revolution and into an era where increasing mechanisation changed the life of farming communities, eventually bringing economic depression and leaving a majority of stone barns redundant in today's landscape. Finally the talk will illustrate recent issues surrounding the revival of barns through their conversion for domestic housing, business, educational and cultural purposes.

17^th February 2020

Picture Oxon
Mark Lawrence

Oxfordshire History Centre’s photographic archive traces its origins to the Oxford City Library of the 1890s in St Aldate’s. The archive rapidly expanded through the 20th century acquisitions of Taunt, Packer and Thomas collections, affording substantial coverage of our region, from Cotswolds to Chilterns and right through the Thames Valley. Gaining its first online presence via the Heritage Search website in 2007, our photographic archive now looks to Picture Oxon to provide a catalogue of 400,000 images of local people, places and buildings. Picture Oxon’s resources include not only photographs, but engravings, drawings and maps too. Our work of saving, collecting and recording photographic imagery of the county never stops, and the enthusiasm and effort of volunteers helps us to extend public access through the scanning and cataloguing of otherwise untapped collections. In future we look forward to more public involvement in our work, with sharing of content, effort and expertise, all directed towards a more effective capturing of our pictorial past and present.

16^th March 2020

RAF Upper Heyford
Ian Lough-Scott

From the Great War to the Cold War 1916-1993. Remembering the military, social and commercial significance of the airfield with an acknowledgement of the contribution of service personnel from Great Britain and the Commonwealth, the United States & France, many of whom made the ultimate sacrifice.

20^th April 2020

Dating Old Photographs
Tom Doig

Many people hold collections made by great grandmama who never bothered to mark up who was portrayed or when the photograph was taken. In the special talk, Tom will guide you through the trail of identification and dating using the style of the image, its mount and the process of its manufacture. Visitors are invited to bring their family photographs for dating and a ‘Help Desk’ will be in operation for consultation.

18^th May 2020

Straight Joints & Curved Braces: an introduction to observing dateable features in old buildings
Heather Horner

15^th June 2020

The production, distribution and use of salt in prehistoric Britain
Dr Janice Kinory

In the modern world, we rarely think too much about salt unless our GP tells us we need to cut back on its use, but in the past, access to salt could be a matter of life and death. This talk will discuss the archaeology of salt in prehistoric Britain from the Bronze Age to the arrival of the Romans. Topics covered include how salt was made, how it may have been distributed and its many uses in the distant (and not so distant) past.