Oxford Preservation Trust – opening doors all year round

Radley Church Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Speaker: Stephen Dawson Stephen is the Operations and Development Manager of the Oxford Preservation Trust. In addition to organising the annual Oxford Open Doors weekend, the Trust is responsible for the management of various heritage sites and the protection of buildings and items of architectural significance in and around Oxford – work that never stops. […]

Poor Law in the 18th Century: the crisis in the parishes

Radley Church Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Speaker: Deborah Hayter The talk discusses the reasons for the increasing struggle by many parishes during the 18th century to pay the poor rate to growing numbers of poor people, and the variety of schemes they adopted to try to ‘balance the books’. Deborah is a tutor at Oxford University’s Department for Continuing Education, specialising […]

‘Professors of Rowing’: The early Oxford-Cambridge Boat Races

Radley Church Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Speaker: Mark Davies The talk details the early history of this famous and competitive event, highlighting the unusual alliance of Town & Gown in the crucial role played by the Thames' watermen and boatbuilders in equipping and training the early Oxford crews. Mark is a local author and guide specialising in the history of non-university […]

Members’ interests

Radley Church Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

A chance for members to tell us about a person, place, event or object of interest to them which they’ve researched and wish to share their findings with us. Non-members welcome – a donation of £2.50 towards the meeting costs would be appreciated

NEW DATE: The Land of the White Eagle: The Story of Poland

Radley Church Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Speaker: Hubert Zawadzki The talk describes the turbulent and complex history of Poland from its medieval origins to the present day. Dr Zawadzki, a former history teacher at Abingdon School and a member of Wolfson College Oxford, is the joint author of A Concise History of Poland and has appeared on BBC programmes involving Poland. […]