Thames Bridges between Oxford and Abingdon
Radley Church Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, OxfordshireSpeaker: Keith Parry After the Norman conquest major bridges across the Thames were established at Oxford, Abingdon and Wallingford, initially as wooden structures and later as stone. Keith’s talk focuses on the older road bridges, particularly those in Oxford, Grandpont and Oseney, and Abingdon. Keith is a voluntary researcher at the Maidenhead Heritage Centre and […]
The History of the Radley Lakes area up to 2000
Radley Church Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, OxfordshireSpeaker: Richard Dudding Until commercial gravel extraction began after World War II, the area known today as the Radley Lakes was farmland. Richard, Club archivist and secretary of the Radley Lakes Trust, describes the history of the area from the Iron Age to 2000. Many thousands of years ago, a very different River Thames deposited […]
The History of Oxford University
Radley Church Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, OxfordshireSpeaker: Alastair Lack Alastair read modern history at University College Oxford. After a career working for the BBC, he now lives in Oxford where he is a Green Badge Guide. Alastair is thus well-placed to present what might be called a ‘whistlestop stop tour’ of the history of Oxford University. Non-members welcome – a donation […]
Growing up in a 1950s Corner Shop
Radley Church Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, OxfordshireSpeaker: Josie Midwinter Josie’s parents, Henry and Esther, ran Midwinter’s Grocery Shop in Didcot opposite the railway station where Josie grew up. Josie describes her memories of her childhood there and the role of corner shops at that time. Josie, a retired minister in the Church of England, has returned to her roots in Didcot […]
Six Warrior Women of the English Civil Wars, 1642-1651
Radley Church Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, OxfordshireSpeaker: Stephen Barker During the English Civil War, women were not meek bystanders who took no part in the conflict but actively participated in a variety of ways, challenging the orthodoxies of their day and perhaps our own preconceptions. This talk looks briefly at six women who took part in the fighting, undertook spying missions […]