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. 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. Find out more here.
Ongoing until 18 November: From Conflict to Peace: Celebrating VE & VJ Day at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum (SOFO) in Woodstock. The exhibition will explore what happened as the Second World War ended in Europe and the Pacific, from stories of Oxfordshire people and county regiments serving in the final stages of the conflict, to celebrations in the county itself. For more information and to share a story with the museum, click here.
Ongoing until January 2026: The Museum of Oxford celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2025 with a new exhibition entitled Our Oxford, 50 years, 50 stories. The display brings together fifty new stories about the heritage of the city, from a wide range of individuals and communities. Free entry.
Saturday 3 May, 2pm: one of the Museum of Oxford’s popular series of city walks led by local historians: Oxford’s Rebels and Radicals with Jess Worth.
Wednesday 7 May, 2pm: one of the Museum of Oxford’s popular series of city walks led by local historians: Canal, Castle and Convicts with Mark Davies.
Thursday 8 May: As part of the Oxford Festival of the Arts, and to coincide with Oxfordshire Artweeks, local historian and author Mark Davies will give a lunchtime talk Artists in Wonderland: Pre-Raphaelite Adventures in Oxford, at the West Oxford Community Centre. Mark will discuss the Oxford people and places associated with the Pre-Raphaelites. Among their friends was Lewis Carroll, who photographed the artists, their families, and their patrons over a number of years. Tickets £7, book yours here. Find out about other Oxford Festival of the Arts events here and about Oxfordshire Artweeks here.
Saturday 10 May: A special event to commemorate VE Day Life in Wartime Henley will comprise a series of short talks in the morning and a guided walk in the afternoon. Henley was officially designated a refuge area, away from bombing, and early in the war it accepted a large number of evacuees, helped by its experience of absorbing visitors at annual regattas. Several nearby country houses were requisitioned, including what became a secret base for teaching signalling for the Special Operations Executive, and a centre for photo-reconnaissance analysis. Meanwhile the Stuart Turner factory was secretly producing vital war equipment. Find out more here and book your tickets here.
Saturday 10 May, 4pm-8pm: Woodstock will be celebrating the 80th anniversary of VE Day on with a street party in the town’s Market Square. Visitors can enjoy live 1940s-style music, living history and military vehicle displays, plus great food from local businesses and fun for the whole family. All events are free and open to all, no need to book. Find out about other events to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of the War at the nearby Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum here.
Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 May, 12pm-4pm: Celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the Cowley Shopping Centre. Built at a time when 28,000 people were employed at the Cowley car works, the site has a fascinating history. Come and see a display of vintage and classic cars made at Cowley, plus historic photographs of the local area, and join local historian Maurice East on regular free walking tours. You can also find out how to get involved in a major forthcoming project to record memories of working at the car factory and living in the area. All events are free and open to all, no need to book.
Tuesday 13 May: As part of celebrations of the bicentenary of the 19th-century Oxford suburb of Jericho, local historian and author Mark Davies will lead a leisurely stroll through the area. The event will begin with a short visit to the Oxford University Press and a talk by the archivist there. The walk will then trace Jericho’s transition from lush meadowland to a vibrant, sometimes controversial, suburb. The tour will include Jericho’s rich literary and artistic associations, and will end inside the imposing church of St Barnabas. There will be two walks each lasting about 90 minutes, at 11am and 2pm. Tickets £12; book yours here.
Friday 16 to Sunday 18 May: Special festival in Ewelme to mark the 550th anniversary of the death of Alyce Chaucer, granddaughter of poet Geoffrey Chaucer. Alyce Chaucer inherited the manor of Ewelme from her mother, and with her husband William de la Pole built the almshouses and village school, which are still going strong in their original 15th-century buildings.
Those buildings will be open to visit the whole weekend, and there is also a two-day programme of talks, a concert of medieval music in the church, an exhibition about Alyce’s life and times, and a commemoration service on Sunday sung to a medieval setting of the mass. Find out more here.
Saturday 17 May, 4pm-7pm: The Shotover Preservation Society invite you to a free drop-in event to explore and celebrate the history of Slade Camp, at the Bullingdon Community Centre, Headington, Oxford. Slade Camp was an WWII army camp, and after the war it housed hundreds of otherwise homeless families, some of whom stayed until the 1970s. Thereafter the site was abandoned and returned to nature. However, in the last few years it has been ‘rediscovered’ by a group of local residents. Join them and original members of the Slade Camp community to find out more about this fascinating but little-known aspect of Oxford’s 20th-century history. Free and open to all; further information here.
Saturday 17 May, 2pm: one of the Museum of Oxford’s popular series of city walks led by local historians: Oxford’s Rebels and Radicals with Jess Worth.
Wednesday 21 May, 2pm: one of the Museum of Oxford’s popular series of city walks led by local historians: The Lost Shops of Oxford with Maurice East.
Saturday 31 May, 2pm: one of the Museum of Oxford’s popular series of city walks led by local historians: Shakespeare and Oxford with Elizabeth Sandis.
Ongoing until 1 June: a special exhibition at The Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock Michael Black: Chisel, Wood, Stone explores the life and work of one of Oxford’s most talented sculptors. Michael Black, who carved the Emperors’ Heads outside the Sheldonian Theatre in Broad Street, lived and worked in Oxford throughout his career. He restored the stonework of churches, colleges and other buildings across the city, received other notable public commissions, and exhibited artwork at prestigious galleries. Free and open to all; further information here.
Friday 6 June, between 2pm and 4pm: free tours of the North Hinksey Conduit House with Oxford Preservation Trust. The conduit house was built in 1617 on a hill overlooking Oxford. It enclosed and protected a 20,000-gallon lead cistern; clean drinking water from the springs at North Hinksey flowed from here down to the Carfax Conduit, an extravagant fountain in the centre of the city. Free and no need to book; further information here.
Saturday 14 June: This year’s Oxfordshire Past will be in Faringdon. This popular annual event, organised by the Oxfordshire Architectural & Historical Society (OAHS), is a day of short talks with display stands about the history, architecture and archaeology of the county. It is a great opportunity for like-minded people to get together and hear about new and ongoing local history research. Find out more and book your place here.
Friday 20 June, 7:30pm for 8:00pm: Watlington Library is hosting a special talk by author Christina Hardyment, Alyce Chaucer of Ewelme: Fact and Fiction. Hardyment will discuss how she has gone about researching and creating a series of history mysteries inspired by the granddaughter of Geoffrey Chaucer. Further information here; tickets (£8) available from Watlington Library.
Friday 25 July, between 2pm and 4pm: free tours of the North Hinksey Conduit House with Oxford Preservation Trust. The conduit house was built in 1617 on a hill overlooking Oxford. It enclosed and protected a 20,000-gallon lead cistern; clean drinking water from the springs at North Hinksey flowed from here down to the Carfax Conduit, an extravagant fountain in the centre of the city. Free and no need to book; further information 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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