Newsletters, Book Reviews, Queries & BHS Notes
Newsletters are sent regularly to Members by email, while the most recent are stored here with the latest at the top. Reports of our Lectures and Outings are collected on another page (latest on top), as are Book Reviews. Questions about Banbury people or places can be sent to the Website and will be posted on our Banburyshire Queries page (possibly edited, and latest on top). BHS Notes contain notes of interest to Members.
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(Newsletter of 19th March 2025)
Dear all,
We have an extra lecture slotted in next week on Thursday 27th March. You may remember that we had to cancel December's lecture as the Museum had no heating, but we were fortunate to be able to find a date when both our lecturer and the Museum were available this year. So next week we have Mike Heaney coming to talk to us about The Ancient English Morris Dance.
Where does morris dancing come from? Why will you find men and women dancing with bells on their legs outside country pubs all through the summer, waving handkerchiefs or clashing sticks? Do you believe them if they tell you it’s a pagan fertility ritual? This talk disentangles the myth from the real history, uncovers the different kinds of morris dancing, and reveals where its origins lie and where it is going.
Mike Heaney’s book The Ancient English Morris Dance will be available to buy at the discount price of £24.
Mike Heaney spent his career at the Bodleian Library, simultaneously pursuing his interests in custom and local history. He’s an acknowledged authority on morris dancing, the author of The Ancient English Morris Dance(2023) and editor of (and contributor to) the books Percy Manning: The Man who Collected Oxfordshire (2017) and The Histories of Morris (2018).
We've been sent information about a talk about archaeological discoveries in and around Shipston-on-Stour. "What Lies Beneath - unearthing Shipston’s past".
Planning applications can be the start of uncovering fascinating archaeological remains. This is especially true in this area close to the Roman Fosseway and the Anglo-Saxon origins of Shipston. Several local sites range from medieval ridge-and-furrow that has been masked by modern ploughs to Roman farmsteads on Shipston’s outskirts to a prehistoric henge from 6.000 years ago near Newbold-on-Stour .
"What Lies Beneath" talk at Townsend Hall, 2.30 (doors open 2.15) Saturday 29th March. Tickets £5 on the door.
With best wishes,
Deborah Hayter
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(Newsletter of 5th Mar. 2025)
Dear all
Next week on the 13th March we have our penultimate lecture of this season, and we are pleased that we have Carol Anderson returning to us to talk on Over the Hills to Glory: the Ascott Martyrs. She writes that for a short time in the early 1870s, the village of Ascott-under-Wychwood achieved national fame, perhaps even notoriety, when 16 women (two with their babies) were jailed for supporting men on strike in support of a claim for an improvement in their meagre wages. The women’s story is interesting both for the light it sheds on the early history of agricultural trade unionism in Oxfordshire, and on the everyday lives of a group of women whose actions presented such a startling contrast to the popular idea of passive, submissive, apolitical, Victorian womanhood.
Carol Anderson was previously Director of the Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock, and Manager of the County Museum Service. Her interest in the archaeology and history of Oxfordshire is wide ranging – she came to us a few years ago to talk about glove-making in Oxfordshire. She is a Trustee of the Oxfordshire Buildings Trust; Chair of the Ascott Martyrs Educational Trust; and Study Day Organiser for the Oxfordshire Local History Association.
We hope that you have the society’s summer outings in your diaries already, but Rosemary has provided further information as follows:
Saturday 17th May:
Private tour of Chastleton House with time to see the gardens afterwards. Chastleton House is a Grade 1 listed Jacobean building on the borders of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire. It was built between 1607 and 1612 by Walter Jones, a wealthy woolmerchant, and the Jones family owned the house for almost 400 years. Because they never had so much money again, the house and its contents remained largely unchanged, unlike many other big houses, making it an important example of a house of that period. The National Heritage Memorial Fund bought the house and then gifted it to the National Trust in 1991.
The house was not in a good state when the Trust acquired it, but they chose to preserve the house and gardens as they were, apart from basic repairs to roofs and so on, rather than ‘over- restore’ it to pristine conditions. So it retains its original furniture and an informal atmosphere, complete with a lot of dust the last time I visited.
The house has been used for a number of period films, including Wolf Hall, and is famous for its links with the English Civil War.
The gardens exude a sense of peace and relaxation and include clipped topiary and neat croquet lawns contrasting with the more natural Wilderness Walk.
Meet 10.30 am at the house. Cost will be between £13 - £19 (depending on how many we have in the group), payable by card on the day (Sorry, no NT discount for the private tour).
Saturday 14th June:
Guided tour of Ewelme, the church, alms-house and the school, led by Dr. Rowena Archer.
Some of you may remember the lecture we had from Rowena Archer about Alice, Countess of Suffolk. She and her husband were granted permission by Henry VI to remodel the church at Ewelme and create a chantry chapel. This meant also building Cloisters in which 13 poor men would live in order that they could perform prayers daily in the church for Alice’s salvation, with two priests also, one to take services in the church, one to act as schoolmaster.
All chantries were got rid of in the Edwardian Reformation, but the Cloisters – now the Almshouses - were allowed to keep their endowments and maintain the poor men living there. The church, almshouse courtyard, and the school just next door are all of the same period – 15th century - and architecturally delightful. The school is said to be the oldest primary school building in England still being used for its original purpose – though they do have some more modern buildings too.
Meet in Ewelme (exact location tbc) at 10.45am. Voluntary contributions welcome on the day plus light refreshments at £5 per head.
Please contact Rosemary Leadbeater, raleadbeater@aim.com to book either or both trips.
We are going to have a lecture about Morris Dancing on March 27th (we were due to have this in December but there was no heating in the Museum); there is going to be a special performance of traditional Cotswold Morris dancing by Eynsham Morris on Saturday 24th May at 2 pm outside The Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock. This is part of an exhibition there all about the sculptor Michael Black.
The Society of Genealogists is running a free on-line session on Researching in Oxfordshire on Monday 14 April (2:00-3:30pm), featuring short presentations by staff from Oxfordshire History Centre, Oxfordshire Family History Society, Oxfordshire Record Society, Victoria County History, the Historic Towns Trust, and others. Further information and booking here.
To see the wealth of interesting talks, exhibitions and courses available to view in the OLHA bulletin, click on this url.
With best wishes, Deborah Hayter
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(Newsletter of 3rd Feb. 2025)
Dear all,
We are very privileged to have Professor John Blair coming to give us a lecture on the 13th February. His subject will be Organisation and planning in the Mercian kingdom: a context for Anglo-Saxon Banbury. He writes that although Banbury is undocumented before the 1060s, there is now important archaeological evidence for a ditched enclosure east of the church, perhaps radially planned, dating from the period of the Mercian supremacy. This lecture will relate this feature to comparable sites, and suggest a context in the organisation of the eighth- to ninth-century Mercian kingdom.
Professor John Blair is an Emeritus Fellow at the Queen’s College, Oxford. He is a medieval historian and archaeologist with research interests in early medieval settlement and landscape, early medieval buildings and material culture, and early medieval ritual and belief. He has a number of important books to his name including Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire, Planning in the early Medieval Landscape, and Building Anglo-Saxon England. An Oxford academic, speaking to me, once referred to John Blair as ‘the nearest thing to God in Anglo-Saxon studies’. The last named book contains some interesting information about archaeological discoveries in Banbury and what they signify, which I certainly had not come across anywhere else, so it seemed to be a good basis on which to ask him to come to us.
Rosemary Leadbeater has asked me to give you a ‘Save the Date’ for the two summer outings that we have arranged. On Saturday 17th May in the morning we shall visit Chastleton House and garden, on the borders of Oxon and Gloucestershire, and on Saturday 14th June we shall have a guided tour of Ewelme, the church, the almshouse and the school, led by Dr. Rowena Archer. Some of you may remember the talk she gave us about Chaucer’s daughter, the Duchess of Suffolk, who rebuilt the church and built and endowed the almshouse. More information about the outings next time.
Lots of interest as usual in the OLHA February bulletin – to read it all click this url.
With best wishes,
Deborah Hayter
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(Newsletter of 14th Dec. 2024)
Dear all,
Following last week's unfortunate cancellation because of the Museum's lack of heating, we have decided to slot an extra date into the calendar, and Mike Heaney will be coming to give his lecture on the 'History of Morris Dancing' on Thursday 27th March. We are so sorry that we have not been able to find a date before then that was possible both for the Museum and for Mike, but we hope that you will put it in your diaries now.
Our next lecture in 2025 is on January 9th when we will have Dr. Charlotte Young talking about Sequestration in Oxfordshire during the British Civil Wars.
I hope you all have a very happy and peaceful Christmas and we look forward to seeing you again in the New Year.
Deborah Hayter.
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(Newsletter of 2nd Dec 2024)
Dear all,
Our next lecture will be on Thursday December 12th when we will have Mike Heaney talking about The Ancient English Morris Dance. You may have wondered where morris dancing comes from? Why will you find men and women dancing with bells on their legs outside country pubs all through the summer, waving handkerchiefs or clashing sticks? Do you believe them if they tell you it’s a pagan fertility ritual? This talk disentangles the myth from the real history, uncovers the different kinds of morris dancing, and reveals where its origins lie and where it is going.
Mike Heaney spent his career at the Bodleian Library, simultaneously pursuing his interests in custom and local history. He’s an acknowledged authority on morris dancing, the author of The Ancient English Morris Dance (2023) and editor of (and contributor to) the books: Percy Manning: The Man who Collected Oxfordshire (2017) and The Histories of Morris (2018). Mike Heaney’s book The Ancient English Morris Dance will be available to buy at the discount price of £24.
As usual, the lecture will take place in the Education Studio of Banbury Museum at 7.30pm, but you can watch at home, by signing in with Simon Townsend (simon.townsend@banburymuseum.org), if you haven’t already done so – once is enough. If you stay at home you forgo the glass of wine available from 7 pm.
If you haven’t yet been to see the current exhibition at Banbury Museum, The Changing Face of Banbury: a constantly evolving town, you should do so – it is fascinating, especially for those of us whose memories of Banbury go back a long way. It continues until March 2025.
On December 9th the Oxfordshire Family History Society (OFHS) is holding an Open evening, when there will be a chance to see BOND (the Big Oxfordshire Names Database) in action. All members and non-members are welcome, but registration is required. On-line, 7:15pm.
The Oxfordshire History Centre has published a new addition to its on-line resources: the Oxfordshire Field-Names Survey.
This was created between 1970 and 1993 by Oxfordshire County Council’s Sites and Monuments Record, on plastic transparencies designed to be viewed over six-inch Ordnance Survey maps. The digitised field-name maps are now freely available on-line and show how historic field-names have been used in particular localities and across the Oxfordshire landscape.
The last three items I have picked up from the OLHA e-newsletter which as always is full of all sorts of interesting events, exhibitions, talks and more. If you would like to read the whole thing, just click on this url.
With best wishes for a Happy Christmas to all our members, Deborah Hayter
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(Newsletter of 5th Nov 2024)
Dear all,
Our next lecture will be on Thursday November 14th when we will have Dr. Rowena E. Archer talking about 'Love and Marriage in Medieval Oxfordshire'. The lecture will explore the law on marriage and the experiences of some women in the county. Rowena Archer lives at Hanwell (some members may remember Stephen Wass talking about the extraordinary 17th-century garden archaeology found there - that is her garden); she has been a lecturer in medieval history at Oxford since 1981. Her research focusses on the late medieval aristocracy and in particular on women. She has spoken to us before and it has always been fascinating: one of her lectures sticks in my mind which was all about the various ways of dealing with bodies - particularly of important people who happened to die in the wrong/inconvenient place. It was quite gruesome. This I'm sure will not be gruesome but I'm sure it will be interesting.
As always, the lecture will take place in the Education Studio of Banbury Museum, but it is possible for people to watch this at home, by signing in with Simon Townsend (simon.townsend@banburymuseum.org). If you have already done this you don't need to do it again as you will be on his list. Don't forget that if you come to the lecture in person there is the opportunity for a glass of wine from 7 pm.
November's monthly bulletin from OLHA is now available with all sorts of interesting events and exhibitions for local historians to enjoy. I have picked out two snippets below, but if you would like to read the whole thing click on this url
Professor William Gibson will give a lecture on James II, Oxford and Oxfordshire at 2.15pm on Saturday 30 November in the lecture theatre of the Weston Library in Oxford. The event is organised by the Oxfordshire Record Society and will be followed by the society’s AGM.
OLHA’s autumn study day will be on Saturday 9 November in Burford, on the subject of 'The Far Promised Land: A History of Emigration from Oxfordshire'. The day will include three interesting illustrated talks, a book stall, private visits to the Tolsey Museum and the new Archive building, and a guided walk around the town. All this for £14, barely more than the cost of a passage to Australia.
The new exhibition in Banbury Museum, entitled 'The Changing Face of Banbury- A constantly evolving town', is beautifully done and absolutely fascinating, for anyone who has known Banbury for some time. There are rare photographs, treasured artefacts, and interactive displays, which show how our marketplace has evolved, how industries have shifted, and how our communities have been shaped by both tradition and transformation. From the bustling streets and local landmarks to the modern developments of today; you can discover how our community has grown and adapted. One of the most striking photos for me was the one looking down the high street - full of people and shops - and with cars parked all the way down. I remember my mother going to do her shopping in Banbury and in those days you just stopped the car outside the shop and went in.
With best wishes,
Deborah Hayter
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(Newsletter of 30th Sept 2024)
Dear all,
On Thursday, October 10th, we shall have Dr. Tim Reinke-Williams talking about "Physical Attractiveness and the Female Life-Cycle in Seventeenth-Century England". This talk focuses on how women of the aristocracy, gentry and middling-sorts in seventeenth-century England conceptualised their own physical attractiveness and that of other women. Diaries, letters, autobiographies, and portraits will be used to show how women sought to present themselves. The importance of good looks increased during adolescence and once women reached an age when they were expected to marry. How women sought to maintain an age-appropriate but attractive appearance as they passed through middle and into old age will be discussed too.
Dr Tim Reinke-Williams is a Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Northampton and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Tim researches gender, work and the body in Britain, in the period c.1500-1750, and is the author of Women, Work and Sociability in Early Modern London (Palgrave, 2014).
Don't forget that if you want to watch from home you need to sign in with Simon (simon.townsend@banburymuseum.org), but if you have already done so you don't need to do it again. But if you come to the Museum in person there is the opportunity for a glass of wine from 7 pm.
This coming weekend (5th/6th October) is Banbury's Canal Festival where we will have a stand in the Lidl carpark, and we could do with some more volunteers to help. This is an excellent opportunity to pull in some new members and to talk about local history with the passing punters. If you could spare an hour or two on Saturday or Sunday please contact Rosemary Leadbeater (raleadbeater@aim.com) - she is co-ordinating our efforts there.
With best wishes, Deborah Hayter
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(Newsletter of 11th Sept 2024)
Dear all,
I am rather late with this final reminder of tomorrow's lecture but I'm hoping that lots of you will be there. We have Dr. Graham Harding coming to talk to us about Port Meadow – the ‘boast of Oxford’ for a million years. He says that Port Meadow is historically and ecologically unique. It’s been common land for over 1000 years and is Oxford’s oldest historic monument, and Graham has all sorts of interesting things to tell us about its very varied history. Graham himself has a varied history, having spent a career in publishing and marketing after doing a degree in history, and then going back to university after retirement for a D.Phil.
Wine will be available from 7 pm, and I am asked to remind you that we like donations in cash for this. If there are those of you who are unable to come to the lecture, and are not able to watch the live-stream from home on the night, Simon has asked me to remind you that the lectures are saved for one week and are available via the same link that he will send out. If you want to be registered to receive the link for all or some of the lectures, to watch at home, you need to sign in with Simon only once for the whole season - and please don't leave it till the last minute to do so. (simon.townsend@banburymuseum.org).
On Saturday 5th & 6th of October 2024 Banbury will celebrate its historic canal through the Canal Festival. The event will showcase the canal's integral role in the town’s growth, fostering goods, trade, and generating jobs and wealth since its establishment in 1778.
Organised by Banbury Town Council, the Canal Festival is a free-to-enter event with fun both on and off the water. The two-day waterside extravaganza will feature floating markets, fairground attractions, arts performances, music, comedy, and theatre, making it a fun-packed weekend for all the family.
We shall have a stall at the festival, alongside many other organizations, and we shall be in the carpark underneath Lidl. This is a great opportunity to sell some of our publications, showcase our activities and especially to rope in some new members. If you could help by manning - or womanning - the stall for a stint either on the Saturday or the Sunday we should love to have you there. Rosemary Leadbeater will be organizing this so please get in contact with her if you are able to help. (raleadbeater@aim.com).
There is another plea for volunteers (this is an organization that likes to involve its members): the BHS library in the Rosemarie Higham Room in the Museum could do with more members to sit in there while the library is open on Thursday and Saturday afternoons. Plenty of interesting reading matter in there - no risk of being bored! If you'd like to be one of the library helpers please contact Phil Richards who is in charge of the rota (philrichards9@gmail.com).
The Oxfordshire Family History society is holding a Family History Day on Saturday September 14th, 10 am - 4 pm, at Banbury Library in Marlborough Road. Anyone is welcome to go along and have a chat - they may be able to help you to get started on family history, or to solve a particular problem that you have come up against. You don't need to have Oxon ancestors for them to be able to help you.
Finally another reminder about the Banbury Early Music Festival on September 28th & 29th in St. Mary's church. All sorts of interesting things going on. Look at the website to get the full picture. (www.BanburyEarlyMusicFestival.com).
With best wishes
Deborah Hayter
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(Newsletter of 25th June)
Dear all,
Our final event of this season is our Annual General Meeting which will take place on July 11th at 5.30 pm at Cropredy Church. There will be the usual drinks afterwards and Verna Wass will give a short talk about the church and the delights and problems of managing restoration work in a Grade 1 listed medieval church.
The Agenda is attached; the annual accounts and chair's report have already been published in Cake & Cockhorse.
We were all very sad and sorry to hear of the very sudden death of Professor Brian Goodey, who had been a useful member of our committee for some time. Some of you will remember the part he played in our 'Document & Story ' session in April - indeed, it was his idea. He was also the driving force behind many organizations in Middleton Cheney and will be very sorely missed by everyone there.
Some of you may have heard of the important archaeological discoveries at the housing development in Calthorpe Gardens. If you follow this link and watch the fascinating video you will learn much more about it.
https://orbitgroup.org.uk/media/news/2024/june/orbit-homes-unearths-over-18-800-artefacts-in-significant-archaeological-discovery-at-calthorpe-gardens/
We have been sent information about an event at the Brackley Folk and Acoustic Club on the 14th July at 8 pm when Richard and Elizabeth York, with support from Craig Sutherland, will be playing a variety of traditional music, including tunes and some songs, mainly from England, Scotland and Ireland, as well as some historical pieces, using a number of historical instruments.
Their range of instruments will be marvellous to see: a melodeon, English and Anglo concertinas, Celtic style lever harp, late medieval bray harp, Scottish wire-strung clarsach, early European bagpipes, nakers, a Hurdy-gurdy, Northumbrian smallpipes, Renaissance guitar and a hammer dulcimer. Sounds amazing! For more information www.brackleyfolk.com.
With best wishes for a good summer
Deborah Hayter
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(Newsletter of 15th April 2024)
Dear all,
Our last indoor meeting of the season is this coming Thursday, the 18th, when we will have a few members showing an interesting selection of documents and ephemera, and telling a short story to go with them. This is a bit of an experiment but I have been sent some intriguing things so I think it is going to be a good evening. I have put all the items onto a powerpoint presentation so it will run just as usual, but with a series of different speakers to go with it. As usual, there will be a glass of wine available from 7pm for those present, and if you would like to join from home you need to sign in with Simon (simon.townsend@banburymuseum.org). But if you have already signed in at some stage since September you don't need to sign in again.
Then we are into the season of summer outings and on Thursday 23 May, we shall be visiting Rousham House and Garden, meeting there at 4 pm. The house is only open for pre-booked groups, so this is a good opportunity, and then we shall walk round the William Kent garden. The cost is £20, payable on the day, and please contact Rosemary Leadbeater at raleadbeater@aim.com if you would like to go.
Before that BHS members are invited to the spring study day and AGM of the Oxfordshire Local History Association, on Saturday May 18th, on the subject of OXFORDSHIRE PROTESTS. This will take place in Chipping Norton Town Hall.
Further information here and booking here.
On Thursday 13 June, we shall be visiting Hanwell Castle gardens, meeting at 6 pm, and our visit will be led by Stephen Wass who has done much to uncover the extraordinary history of these gardens as a 17th-century scientific 'theme-park'. For more information, contact Rosemary, as above.
On Saturday June 15th we have two rival events for both of which we could do with helpers. Banbury show is taking place in Spiceball Park and we are proposing to have a stand. This is a good opportunity to showcase our journal and publications and to bring in some new members. If you could spare just an hour or so that would be helpful. And on the same day we are invited to publicise ourselves at OXPast, this year taking place in Bicester. We could do with some helpers, even for an hour or so, for that as well.
With best wishes,
Deborah Hayter
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(Newsletter of 8th April 2024)
Dear all, Our last indoor meeting of this season will be on the 18th April as usual in the Education Studio in the Museum. But this will be a bit different as we are going to have a 'documents and their stories' session. I have already had several interesting offers: the idea is that members will bring along a document of some kind which has an interesting story attached to it, and will then tell the story. We will show the documents on the screen so it will be possible for members to watch this at home as usual.
Those who have offered something please ensure you send me a scan soon so that I can load them all onto a powerpoint presentation. And - I have a confession - someone sent me a will dated 1951 and I have that and two registration cards which go with it, but I have mislaid the email that came with them so I don't know who sent them - please, if you are that person, could you contact me?
After that we are into summer outings: Thursday 23 May, 4pm we will visit to Rousham House and Garden. The house can only be toured in a group, so this is an opportunity to see it, and we will then go round the William Kent garden, led by me: this is a rare example of a William Kent garden which has not been made over by subsequent garden designers.
Cost £20 per person for the house and garden - payable on the day - but please contact Rosemary Leadbeater at raleadbeater@aim.com to book in.
Then on Thursday 13 June, 6pm we have the opportunity to visit the extraordinary private historic gardens at Hanwell Castle. This was the seat of the influential Cope family through the Tudor and Stuart period and in the mid 17th century the gardens were developed as a scientific 'theme park', centred on the 'House of Diversion'. We will be led by Dr. Stephen Wass to show us the archaeological journey and the extraordinary collection of finds. There will be light refreshments courtesy of our hosts Rowena Archer and Christopher Taylor. Donations welcome on the day and please book in with Rosemary Leadbeater as before.
We plan to have a stand at the Banbury Show on 15th June in Spiceball Park: this is an excellent opportunity to sign up some new members, and it would be great to have some extra help to man (or woman) the stand. Please contact Rosemary if you are able to be there for an hour or two.
The latest bulletin from the Oxfordshire Local History Association is out and as usual, full of interesting exhibitions, talks, walks and study days : if you would like to find out about all of these, just click this url.
With best wishes, Deborah Hayter
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(Newsletter of 26th Feb 2024)
Dear all
Our next lecture will be on Thursday March 14th when Professor Chris Dyer will be speaking on the Importance of Burton Dassett Southend: combining history and archaeology. Chris Dyer writes that it was once said that archaeology is an expensive way of telling us what we know already. The excavations at Burton Dassett disprove this gibe. Many aspects of the past are only partly documented by written sources, and archaeological evidence extends our understanding. We learn from the work at Burton Dassett about town and country, houses, diet, farming, piety, literacy, and much else. Southend was a lively commercial centre in the middle ages which was then more or less deserted, and the excavations which have told us so much about it took place in advance of the destruction caused by the building of the M40 along the valley.
Chris Dyer has taught at the Universities of Edinburgh, Birmingham and Leicester. He is now the emeritus Professor of History, at the Centre for Regional and Local History in Leicester. His research covers the fields of social and economic history, landscape history, and archaeology. He is active in societies and research groups. He has an impressive list of publications, of which the most recent is Peasants Making History c. 1200-1540.
Our last indoor session on Thursday April 18th is billed as a ‘Document and Story session’ and the idea is that members who have a document with an interesting story – it could be a will, an agreement, a ticket to an interesting event, an advertisement – should share the story. I have already received a couple of suggestions but would ideally like some more. I will need to have these in advance so that we can scan them into powerpoint slides (so that everyone can see them) so please keep them coming!
After that we have a couple of summer outings: put these into your diaries now and more information will follow in due course.
On Thursday 23 May, 4pm - Rousham House and Garden.
It is only possible to visit Rousham House as part of a group so we will have our own tour there and then I will be leading a tour round the William Kent garden, created in the mid 18th century. It is unique in that it has not been remodelled since, so is almost as Kent left it – an early example of the English Landscape Garden style, more famously perpetuated by ‘Capability’ Brown. The cost will be £20 – payable on the day – please contact Rosemary Leadbeater at raleadbeater@aim.com to book your place.
On Thursday 13 June, 6pm - Hanwell Castle.
This will be a rare opportunity to visit the extraordinary private historic gardens at Hanwell Castle. In the mid seventeenth century the gardens were developed as a scientific “theme park”, centred on the “House of Diversion” described by Robert Plot in his Natural History of Oxfordshire in 1675. The visit will be led by Dr. Stephen Wass who will lead us through the archaeological journey of uncovering this amazing building and its unique collection of finds which will be on display.
Donations welcome on the day. For more information contact Rosemary, as above.
This society is collectively a member of BALH (British Association for Local History). We seem to have become digital members which means that at the moment we do not receive the journal, The Local Historian, but instead have digital access. (I think we plan to change this). BALH has all sorts of interesting stuff on their website so worth looking at, and you can access their lectures online. These are free for individual members but cheaper for BHS members than for the public. (Members can find our BHS membership number on their 'Newsletter 26/2/2024'.)
https://www.balh.org.uk/newsletter/go.php?id=272731&m=1597&action=click&link=16832&code=ad1b30c2
One of our members thinks that others might like to know that Find my Past has recently extended its digital coverage of the Banbury Guardian as follows: from 1929, 1931 - 1945 and 1964 - 1977. There's plenty of scope for members to research early copies of the Banbury Guardian in order to produce pieces for Cake & Cockhorse.
with best wishes, Deborah Hayter
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(Newsletter of 6th Feb 2024)
Dear all,
A final reminder that our February lecture will be this Thursday (8th Feb 2024), when we have Dr. Jane Harrison on 'The Long Wittenham Hall and the Origins of Wessex'. Jane Harrison was involved in a big project entitled the 'Origins of Wessex project' which was looking at the post-Roman developments in the power structures of the early Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, particularly in the Upper Thames Valley. Excavations at Long Wittenham of a special hall building revealed other fascinating aspects of that story and were followed by the reconstruction of the hall in-situ using contemporary methods and tools. The talk will cover both the excavations and the reconstruction work.
Jane Harrison is a fieldwork archaeologist and Early Medieval archaeology specialist. She has run excavations covering all periods from Oxfordshire to Orkney and recently on Hadrian’s Wall and in North Northumberland. Jane has published books and articles covering those excavations and on her research into the Vikings of the North Atlantic.
More about our last indoor session on Thursday April 18th: we are calling this a ‘Document and Story session’ and we would like members who have a document with an interesting story – it could be a will, an agreement, a ticket to an interesting event, an advertisement - should come forward. We'd like you to scan your document and send to me, and prepare a maximum of 4-minutes' worth of explanation or story. We'd like to have 10 documents and I will plan to have those on a powerpoint presentation so that everyone in the Museum and at home can see them.
Some of you may have read about the fact that the Government is considering the possibility of destroying most of the original documents for wills that were proved from 1858 onwards. The many millions of wills involved would first be digitised. Please go to the link below and voice your objection in the strongest possible terms!
A public consultation on the subject is taking place until 23 February 2024.
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/storage-and-retention-of-original-will-documents
OLHA’s spring study day will be on Saturday 18 May in Chipping Norton, on the subject of Oxfordshire protests. Further details to come.
OLHA's monthly bulletin for February is out, and as full as usual of all sorts of interesting talks, exhibitions and more. To access it, click this url (https://us8.campaign-archive.com/?e=[UNIQID]&u=dd37bb1a4c439c95d964afa06&id=7de888e4c7)
with best wishes, Deborah Hayter
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(Newsletter of 29th Jan 2024)
Dear all,
On Thursday February 8th we have our next lecture, when Dr. Jane Harrison will be talking about "The Long Wittenham Hall and the Origins of Wessex". The archaeology of the Upper Thames Valley indicates that in the very Early Medieval period this part of the country was at the heart of the development of new post-Roman power structures. Excavations at Long Wittenham of a special hall building revealed other fascinating aspects of that story and were followed by the reconstruction of the hall in-situ using contemporary methods and tools. The talk will cover both the excavations and the reconstruction work.
Jane Harrison is a fieldwork archaeologist and Early Medieval archaeology specialist. She has run excavations covering all periods from Oxfordshire to Orkney and recently on Hadrian’s Wall and in North Northumberland. Jane has published books and articles covering those excavations and on her research into the Vikings of the North Atlantic.
You will have realized that, in your programme cards, there is a gap ‘tbc’ for the March lecture. This was because the lecturer that we had booked had to pull out at the last minute just as the programme cards were going to print. I am really pleased to be able to tell you all that we have Professor Chris Dyer coming on March 14th to talk to us about the history and archaeology of Burton Dassett Southend. He is one of our foremost medievalists and it will be a treat to have him in Banbury.
Our last indoor session on Thursday April 18th is billed as a ‘Document and Story session’ and the idea is that members who have a document with an interesting story – it could be a will, an agreement, a ticket to an interesting event, an advertisement -should share the story. More information next time, but please do think about whether you have something which other members would find historically interesting.
On Tuesday 6th Feb the E[nglish] C[atholic] H[istorical] A[ssociation] has a Zoom talk on The Blounts of the West Midlands: An English Catholic Family in the Reign of Elizabeth I. Helen Forde will be hosting this and if you are interested go to the website of the ECHA for more information and for links.
I’m sure you will all have read or heard about the death of our President, Lord Saye and Sele at the age of 103. There was a big piece in the Banbury Guardian all about him, and obviously we shall be remembering him in the next issue of Cake & Cockhorse. Instead of a straightforward obit, it would be good to have some memories from members, perhaps of one of his trademark 5-minute AGMs, so do please send in your memories. My most recent memory is the photo which Lady S & S sent to Simon, forwarded to me, of Nat sitting up in bed watching the lecture I gave in December. He apparently enjoyed it.
Lastly, by a roundabout route I bring you news of a volunteering opportunity which some of our members might enjoy. Historic England is asking for volunteers who enjoy looking at old photos and are interested in buildings and places in Oxfordshire. Volunteers will view digital images on the Historic England website and identify locations, and you would do this from home and at times to suit you. England's Places is part of a wider project recording photographs from across England to enhance archive records and enable researchers and all archive users to better find and access images and related information held by Historic England.
Full instructions will be provided, and the Cataloguing Team Leader and Volunteer Liaison Officer will be available to offer advice and support.
To find out more about the collection, and view photographs included in the project click on the link here- Historic England Photographic Archive
To apply to become a Historic England Archive Volunteer please click on the link here- Historic England Archive Volunteer Application. If you have any questions please email: Archive.Volunteering@HistoricEngland.org.uk.
With best wishes, Deborah Hayter
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(Newsletter of 1st Jan 2024)
Dear all,
A Happy New Year to all our members and let us hope that it is a peaceful one. The year has turned and we can look ahead to our next lecture on January 11th, when Professor Matthew McCormack will be giving a lecture entitled A Personal History of Shoes.
He writes that shoes are deeply personal objects. They say a great deal about us and the roles that we play in society. They also have a unique connection with their wearer, since they mould to our body and bear its imprint. In many cultures, the shoe is taken to stand for its owner, embodying their personality or their spirit. They tell stories about our lives and, as such, provide very rich sources for historians.
In this talk, Matthew McCormack will explore the history of shoes, and will think about the importance of shoes for their wearers. He will discuss his research on the Georgian period but will also bring the story of shoes up to the present day, and will also bring along some objects for a hands-on demonstration.
Matthew is Professor of History at the University of Northampton. He has appeared on TV and radio, and has published widely on British history. His most recent book is Citizenship and Gender in Britain, 1688-1928 (2019) and he is currently writing a book called Shoes and the Georgian Man.
Your membership subscriptions are due this very day and our membership secretary and treasurer are very keen that these should roll in as soon as possible. One of the problems is that subscriptions by standing orders often continue to arrive at the old subscription rate so PLEASE if you pay by standing order please ensure that you are paying the correct amount: subscriptions are £20 for one member, £25 for joint membership at one address, and £25 for overseas members. Payments can be made by bank transfer (sort code 60-01-35, account no. 92109489) and if you do this please make sure that you give your name otherwise we won't know that you have paid.
The society frequently receives requests for information, usually to do with family history, but sometimes with a random query about something in the town or the area. Obviously we can't be expected to do enquirers' research for them, but we have a slot on our website where we post questions, on the off-chance that someone might have the answer. Do have a look at 'Banburyshire Queries' in case you could help.
Simon Townsend is keen that we should all give our views to Cherwell District Council to help shape the future of Banbury. See below - and if you google 'Banbury Vision 2050' you'll find the survey.
Brian Goodey is keen that we should all try out the new Heritage Search Engine created by Oxfordshire Archives. It searches through all the digitised records including maps and images held in all Oxfordshire Archives, libraries and depositories. You could google Heritage Search Oxfordshire or use the url <https://heritagesearch.oxfordshire.gov.uk/>.
with best wishes
Deborah
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