Author Archives: Bob Goodenough

Local Oxfordshire talks – January 2015

Information provided by the OLHA (www.olha.org.uk)

6^th – Henley – Hazel Williams “Gatehampton Roman Villa”. Kings Arms Barns, Market Place, 7:45pm.

6^th – Hook Norton – Brian Rider “The Battle of Edgehill”. Baptist Church Hall, Netting Street, 7:30pm.

8^th – Banbury – Stephen Johnson “Henry Moseley: from Oxford to Gallipoli”. Banbury Museum, Spiceball Park Road, 7:30pm.

8^th – Didcot – Madeleine Loynes “Didcot Power Station”. Northbourne Centre, Church Street, 7:30pm.

8^th – Wootton & Dry Sandford – Liz Woolley “The Coming of the Railway to Oxford”. Community Centre, Lamborough Hill, Wootton, 7.30pm.

9^th – Charlbury – Bill King and Helen Bessemer-Clark “Dad’s Underground Army – British Resistance in WWII”. Memorial Hall, Browns Lane, 8:00pm.

12^th – Chipping Norton – Members’ social evening with supper. Methodist Church, West Street, 7:30pm.

12^th – Goring & Streatley – Sue Milton “Swan Upping”. Goring Village Hall, 2:30pm.

12^th – Radley – Richard Dudding “Deserted Settlements of Radley”. School Hall, 7:30pm.

13^th – Marcham – John Leighfield “Putting Marcham on the Map: from Gough to Google”. Marcham Church, 7:45pm.

15^th – Abingdon – Geoffrey Tyack “Revising Pevsner: a New Edition of The Buildings of England: Berkshire”. Northcourt Centre, Northcourt Road, 7:45 pm.

15^th– Eynsham – Mark Davies “Lewis Caroll and the Pre-Raphaelites”. Church Hall, Thames Street, 7:30pm.

15^th– Wychwoods – John Leighfield “Putting the Wychwoods on the Map”. Milton-under-Wychwood Village Hall, 7:30pm.

16^th – Finstock – “The History of Finstock and Fawler”. Village Hall, 8:00 pm.

19^th – Adderbury – Stephen Barker “Oxfordshire on the Home Front”. Methodist Chapel, Chapel Lane, 7:30pm.

19^th – Kennington – Richard O Smith “Britain’s Most Eccentric Sports”. Methodist Church, Upper Road, 7:45pm.

20^th – Enstone – Jo Eames “General Hobart – WW2 Designer of Special Tanks Important to the Success of D-Day”. Venue tbc (contact 01608 677246, carolawt@gmail.com), 7:30pm.

21^st – Bloxham – Anthony Poulton-Smith “Oxfordshire Place Names”. Jubilee Hall, off Brickle Lane, 7:30pm.

26^th – Oxfordshire Family History Society – Liz Woolley “The Parish of St Thomas the Martyr, West Oxford”. Exeter Hall, Oxford Road, Kidlington, 8:00pm.

27^th – Hanney – Simon Wenham “The History of Salter’s Steamers”. War Memorial Hall, East Hanney, 8:00pm.

27^th – Kidlington – Jill Saint “Miss Read Remembered by her Daughter”. St John Ambulance Hall, High Street, 7:50pm.

27^th – Sutton Courtenay – Bill King “The Roman Invasions.” Village Hall, 7:30pm.

28^th – Dorchester – Margot Metcalfe “Poverty in Dorchester-on-Thames”. Followed by AGM. Village Hall, 7:30pm.

29^th – Aston – A Musical Evening. Group Supper and Social with The Three Pressed Men. Fellowship Centre, Cote Road, 7:30pm.

Local Oxfordshire talks – December 2014

Information provided by the OLHA (www.olha.org.uk)

4^th– Eynsham – Richard O Smith “Oxford Eccentricity” (with seasonal refreshments). Church Hall, Thames Street, 7:30pm.

5^th – Bensington – Anthony Church “Tales from an Oxfordshire Town Crier”. Benson Parish Hall, 7:30pm, followed by buffet supper.

5^th – Wootton & Dry Sandford – Christmas and 25th Centenary Social. Community Centre, Lamborough Hill, Wootton, 7.30pm.

8^th – Chipping Norton – Shaun Morley “Soup Kitchens, Clothing Clubs and Coal for the Poor”. Methodist Church, West Street, 7:30pm.

8^th – Goring & Streatley – Alan Turton “The Mary Rose”. Goring Village Hall, 2:30pm.

9^th – Cowley – Colin Oakes “Plague and Fire: The Life and Works of Samuel Pepys”. Temple Cowley United Reformed Church, Temple Road, 8:00pm.

9^th – Marcham – Christmas Social. Marcham Church, 7:45pm.

11^th – Banbury – Jon Stobart “A World of Goods: Shops and Shopping in Georgian England”. Banbury Museum, Spiceball Park Road, 7:30pm.

11^th – Didcot – Gary Lock “Living with the White Horse – Excavation at Ridgeway Hill Fort”. Northbourne Centre, Church Street, 7:30pm.

11^th – Longworth – Christmas Feast accompanied by Christmas stories from Colin Oakes. Southmoor Village Hall, 7:30pm.

12^th – Charlbury – Dick Robinson “Sister Edith Appleton – Front Line nurse and diarist in the Great War”. Memorial Hall, Browns Lane, 8:00pm.

12^th – Finstock – Christmas special: members of the cast of ‘Singing Histories’ perform a sketch set during WWI. Village Hall, 8:00 pm.

12^th – Wallingford – Susan Ronald “Hildebrand Gurlitt, Nazi Art Looter”. Town Hall, 8:00pm.

15^th – Bicester – Bob Hessian “Bicester Pubs”. Clifton Centre, Ashdene Road, 7:30pm.

15^th – Kennington – Shaun Morley “Drunk and Riotous: Oxford’s Friendly Societies”. Methodist Church, Upper Road, 7:45pm.

16^th – Iffley – Malcolm Graham “Oxford: The Home Front in the Second World War”. Church Hall, Church Way, 7:30pm.

Oxford – The Civil War 1642-1646

The History Society met on 13^th November to hear a talk given by Stephen Barker.

In August 1642, initial attempts by the Royalists under Sir John Byron – who only managed to stay in Oxford for 8 days, until religious difficulties in the town forced him out – and then the Parliamentarians, again for only a few days; attempted to take Oxford for their sides. King Charles 1 arrived in October 1642 and made Christchurch College his HQ and Oxford his Royal Court.

Oxford was seen as a strategic centre with the Cherwell & Isis providing both good defence and good communication/supply links, the roads were good for the period and although the Walls were in a state of disrepair, Oxford was large enough and rich enough to accommodate the Royal Court.

Oxford, however, had internal conflicts between Town & Gown. The University was essentially Royalist and students of New College had already formed an armed militia to thwart the Parliamentarians in 1642, while the Town was essentially Puritan/Calvinist – and resented the Catholic Popish insurgency, burned Popish books/art and held anti-Catholic meetings nightly in Carfax. Charles was already a great benefactor to the University (see Canterbury Quad) and favoured the University by excluding them from paying taxes and at the same time Charles and Archbishop Laud were introducing Catholic religion into the dominant Calvinist society. Conflict between Charles and the town Council was evident throughout his stay in Oxford including demands for militia to be raised for his Armies and demands for the local populace to work without pay – and with their own shovels – on the Defensive Walls.

The talk continued with details of the Great Fire in Oxford in 1644, the Roundhead Sieges of 1644 and 1645, together with stories from witnesses of the life in Oxford during that time – with its overcrowding, disease, military rule and the harsh prison regime.

The area between Abingdon (Parliamentarian) and Wallingford & Farringdon (both Royalist) was ‘frontier country’ with skirmishes taking place frequently between the warring sides. Who knows ? Wootton & Dry Sandford may well have featured in these, although no major battles took place here.

The Civil War ended with Charles, unable to resist the Roundhead siege any longer, fleeing across Magdalen Bridge disguised as a servant with ‘Goodbye Harry’ ringing in his ears as he left Oxford to reinforce the disguise.

Adrian Cantwell

Next talk: “The Coming of the Railway to Oxford” – 8^th January 2015 by Liz Woolley.