Radley History Club

Rogues of the Road: Tales of Oxfordshire Highwaymen
2026-11-09 19:30 - 20:45 (Europe/London) | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Mike White
Mike reveals the dark tales of some of Oxfordshire’s most notorious highwaymen, sharing stories about both famous and lesser-known highwaymen who terrorised the county over a period of some 400 years. His talk draws on his research for his 2025 book, Rogues of the Road: Tales of Oxfordshire Highwaymen. Mike retired recently from a long career in IT at Oxford University.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm

Tithe Barns (including local barns)
2026-10-12 19:30 - 20:45 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Joseph Rogers
Tithe barns are historic buildings dotted across the British and European landscape. Joseph explains what is and isn’t a tithe barn, describes their history, architectural features and contemporary uses, and present examples of local tithe barns. Joseph’s research for his book, Tithe Barns, involved travelling to over 100 historic barns across the UK.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm

Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough: taking the waters in Bath, Scarborough and Windsor Great Park
2026-09-14 19:30 - 20:45 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Melanie King
Melanie shares some of the Duchess of Marlborough’s adventures in the 18th century while visiting various famous English spas. Melanie lives in Oxfordshire and is a freelance writer specialising in historical non-fiction. Her talk draws on her research for her 2021 book, The Secret History of English Spas.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm.
The talk will follow the short Annual General Meeting. If you’re coming just for the talk, please arrive before 7.30 when the AGM starts.

2026 Annual General Meeting
2026-09-14 19:30 - 19:45 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
The 28th Annual General Meeting of Radley History Club
This will be followed by a talk by Melanie King about the visits of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough to English spas. Details of the talk
Doors open at 7 pm.

Alice and the Dodo in Oxford
2026-07-13 19:30 - 21:00 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Victoria Bentata
Victoria links people and places in Oxford to the happenings and thinly disguised characters such as the Dodo in Lewis Carroll’s famous book, Alice in Wonderland. Victoria lives in Radley and is an Oxford Green Badge Tour guide and member of the Oxford Guild of Tour Guides.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm

CHANGE OF VENUE: Garden archaeology: 'not that kind of digging'
2026-06-08 19:30 - 21:00 | Church Room, Radley, Church Road, Radley, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Stephen Wass
Stephen explains how recent discoveries in historic gardens using archaeological techniques have allowed a better understanding of their construction and development. Stephen Wass is a freelance consultant specialising in historic gardens and a member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm – before and after the talk there will a chance to view photographs from the Club Archive of Radley Church and its envions by the Oxford photographer Heny Taunt.
Due to building work in Radley Church, the meeting will be held in the adjacant Church Room (see map).
Church Room, Radley

Tracks to trenches
2026-05-11 19:30 - 21:00 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Mike Hurst
Mike describes the range of railway activities in southern England and France during WW1, including the transport and care of the wounded back to Blighty with examples from south Oxfordshire and west Berkshire. Mike is a committed railway enthusiast and volunteer for local heritage railways.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm

My Polish father’s experiences in WW2 from Gulag to Normandy and Scotland
2026-04-13 19:30 - 21:00 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Hubert Zawadzki
Hubert’s parents came to Britain with the Polish Armed Forces during WW2. Hubert describes his father’s time in a forced labour camp, his service with the Polish Army during the Battle of Normandy in 1944 and his return to Scotland where Hubert was born. 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.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm

'Always Ready, Always Willing': Fires and firefighting in the city of Oxford from 879 to 1974
2026-03-09 19:30 - 21:00 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: John Lowe
John tells the story of how major fires and efforts to tackle them over more than ten centuries affected Oxford, including the tragic fire that led to the formation of the Oxford Volunteer Fire Brigade in 1870. John Lowe served as a firefighter in the Oxford City and Oxfordshire brigades for more than 30 years. John’s fee for the talk will be donated to the Fire Fighters Charity.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm

Everyday life and accidental death in 16th century Oxfordshire and Berkshire
2026-02-09 19:30 - 21:00 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Steven Gunn
In his talk, Steven looks at everyday life in these two counties in Tudor times using examples of fatal accidents people had at home, work and play. Steven Gunn is a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, and Professor of Early Modern History at Oxford University. His talk draws on findings from an Economic and Social Research Council project, Everyday Life and Fatal History in Sixteenth-Century England. He is co-author of the book, An Accidental History of Tudor England, published in June 2025.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm

Wick Hall: the story of a house and a family
2026-01-12 19:30 - 21:00 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Richard Dudding
Richard’s talk draws on his research for his new book about Wick Hall and the Dockar Drysdale family, which at one time owned almost all the land and cottages in Radley. More about the book and how to buy a copy
Richard is the archivist for both Wick Hall and for the Radley History Club. He has written about several aspects of the village’s history, including manor, church, land and buildings (all three books published by Radley History Club).
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm

From Roman Britain to Early Anglo-Saxon England: archaeological evidence from Dorchester-on-Thames
2025-11-10 19:30 - 21:00 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Paul Booth
Paul describes the 2007-2018 excavation project at nearby Dorchester and discusses the significance of its findings. Paul Booth is a former senior project manager at Oxford Archaeology and was one of the directors of the joint Oxford University Institute of Archaeology/Oxford Archaeology excavation project at Dorchester-on-Thames from 2008 to 2018.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm
Note: Club meetings are returning to Radley Church with effect from this meeting.

CHANGE OF VENUE: 'Some may question its flavour, but none its potency': a history of brewing in Oxford
2025-10-13 19:30 - 21:00 | Church Room, Radley, Church Road, Radley, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Liz Woolley
Over the centuries, brewing in Oxford became big business. Liz’s talk examines how and why Oxford’s brewing trade flourished. Liz is a local historian specialising in aspects of Oxford and Oxfordshire, with a particular interest in the city’s ‘town’ as opposed to ‘gown’.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm
Due to delayed building work at Radley Church, the meeting will be held in the Church Room next to the Church (see map). Please use the car park serving the Church and the primary school.
Church Room, Radley

CHANGE OF VENUE: More than Three Men in a Boat: the rise and fall of pleasure boating on the Thames
2025-09-08 19:30 - 20:45 | Church Room, Radley, Church Road, Radley, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Simon Wenham
Simon looks at the changes in the use of the river Thames above London over the past 150 years and why its popularity for recreational boating grew dramatically and then declined. Simon is a member of the part-time tutor panel of Oxford University’s Continuing Education Department, where he teaches courses on the Victorian period.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm.
The talk will follow the short Annual General Meeting. If you’re coming just for the talk, please arrive before 7.30 when the AGM starts.
Due to the ongoing building work at Radley Church, the meeting will be held in the Church Room next to the Church (see map). Please use the car park serving the Church and the primary school.

CHANGE OF VENUE: 2025 Annual General Meeting
2025-09-08 19:30 - 19:45 | Church Room, Radley, Church Road, Radley, OX14 2JN
The 28th Annual General Meeting of Radley History Club
This will be followed by a talk by Simon Wenham on the history of pleasure boating on the River Thames. Details of the talk
Due to the ongoing building work at Radley Church, the AGM and the talk will be in the Church Room next to the Church (see map). Please use the car park serving the Church and the primary school.

CHANGE OF VENUE What a Liberty! Memorable moments along Oxford’s ancient boundaries
2025-07-14 19:30 - 20:45 | Church Room, Radley, Church Road, Radley, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Mark Davies
Mark presents dramatic and amusing incidents from five centuries of ceremonial circuits by Oxford’s mayors of the city’s boundaries which were mainly defined by its waterways. Although serious in intent, numerous pub stops often resulted in ‘high jinks’ and ‘irresponsible jollity’. Mark is an Oxford local historian, author, public speaker, guide, and publisher with a particular focus on the city’s waterways.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm.
Due to building work at Radley Church, the meeting will be held in the Church Room next to the Church (see map). Please use the car park serving the Church and the primary school.

CHANGE OF VENUE The Fitzharrys Manor Estate – from Medieval Knights to Atomic Spies
2025-06-09 19:30 - 20:45 | Church Room, Radley, Church Road, Radley, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Mike Evans
Mike presents the history of this part of north Abingdon from the time of Abingdon Abbey to its links with Klaus Fuchs and other atomic spies in the post-war period when the houses were built there for the families of scientists working at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell. Mike lives in Abingdon and is a former head of archives at Historic England.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm.
Due to building work at Radley Church, the meeting will be held in the Church Room next to the Church (see map). Please use the car park serving the Church and the primary school.
Church Room, Radley

CHANGE OF VENUE Putting Radley on the Map: from Gough to Google
2025-05-12 19:30 - 20:45 | Church Room, Radley, Church Road, Radley, OX14 2JN
Speaker: John Leighfield
John’s illustrated talk looks at developments in mapping over the centuries, ending with the transformation brought about by the technological revolution of recent years. John is a director of GetMapping and a former chairman of RM plc. John’s talk is given in aid of Helen & Douglas House hospice in Oxford.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm.
Due to building work at Radley Church, the meeting will be held in the Church Room next to the Church (see map). Please use the car park serving the Church and the primary school.
Church Room, Radley

CHANGE OF DATE Early women professional gardeners, including the founders of Waterperry
2025-04-14 19:30 - 20:45 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Katherine Bradley
Katherine describes the lives and work of some of the pioneering women gardeners who had a major impact on garden design, with particular reference to notable local examples. Katherine is particularly interested in 19th and 20th century women’s history linked to Oxfordshire.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm.
The building work at Radley Church will not now be starting until after Easter and so the meeting will be held in Radley Church as usual.

Motopolis versus the Meadow
2025-03-10 19:30 - 20:45 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Maurice East
Maurice examines the fascinating story of one of the most controversial planning issues in the history of Oxford – the proposal to build a relief road across Christ Church Meadow. Maurice was born and brought up in Oxford and specialises in researching some of the lesser-known stories about the city. He also leads walking tours around the city.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm.
The building work at Radley Church will not now be starting until after Easter and so the meeting will be held in Radley Church as usual.

A walk along the Thames Path from Oxford to Pangbourne
2025-02-10 19:30 - 20:45 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Bill King
Bill presents some of the historical and other highlights he and his wife encountered on their walk a few years ago along this section of the Thames Path. Bill’s particular interest is military history and research. He has acted as the historical adviser for, and appeared in, several TV programmes.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3). If you’d like to join Radley History Club, you can download a membership form here.
Doors open at 7 pm.

Radley: the thousand-year evolution of a manor
2025-01-13 19:30 - 20:45 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Richard Dudding
Richard tells the story of the manor of Radley and its relationship with the village from around the time of the Norman Conquest to the present day. Richard has a keen interest in local history. He is a former chairman of Radley History Club and is currently its archivist.
Richard’s talk is based on his research for the book, Radley Manor and Village: a thousand year story, published by Radley History Club in 2019.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm.

Club Christmas Dinner at Cosener's House, Abingdon
2024-12-09 19:00 - 22:00 | Cosener’s House, Abingdon, 15-16 Abbey Close, Abingdon, OX14 3JD
This year’s Christmas DInner for Club members and their partners is on Monday 9th December (7 for 7.30 pm) at Cosener’s House, Abbey Close, Abingdon.
Full details of the event, including a booking form, have been sent to members.
Menu choices and payment are required by Wednesday 20th November.

Rationing and Cooking for Victory: a fair share for all
2024-11-11 19:30 - 20:45 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Karen Wiles
Karen explores why rationing was necessary in the Second World War, how the rationing system worked, and what foods were ‘on’ and what were ‘off’ ration. Karen and her husband Bret are based in Oxfordshire and share a keen interest in the Home Front in WW2.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm.

A Man and his Shed – Herbert George Mullard and the Cowley Concrete Company, 1895 to 1976
2024-10-14 19:30 - 20:45 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Martin Buckland
Martin tells the story of the company ‘Bert’ Mullard started in his shed in Cowley in 1923 but soon moved to north Abingdon to a site that is now the Radley Green estate. Bert was active in local government and a generous benefactor to the town. Martin has a keen interest in industrial archaeology and is a volunteer with Didcot Railway Centre, the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust and Abingdon Museum.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm.

Oral History Group presentation on ‘Radley during Covid’
2024-09-09 19:30 - 21:00 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Early in 2022 the Group started recording a series of interviews to capture memories about the effect of the Covid pandemic on people in Radley as a record for future generations. This talk presents the common themes uncovered and the insights gained from these recordings.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm.
The talk will follow the short Annual General Meeting. If you’re coming just for the talk, please arrive before 7.30 when the AGM starts.

2024 Annual General Meeting
2024-09-09 19:30 - 19:45 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
The 26th Annual General Meeting of Radley History Club
This will be followed by a talk from the Club’s Oral History Group about its recent project ‘Radley during Covid’. Details of the talk

Highways and Byways: The History of our Footpaths
2024-07-08 19:30 - 21:00 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Bob Evans
Almost all of us walk or have used footpaths. Their current state and status reflects their usage in the past and the changing values we have set upon them. Bob examines the when, how and why of our rights of way, with special reference to the Abingdon area. Bob lives in Sunningwell and was Regius Professor of History at Oxford University.
Non-members welcome – a donation of £3.00 towards the meeting costs would be appreciated.
Doors open at 7 pm

CHANGE TO PROGRAMME: From the Valleys to the Spires: how the Welsh came to Oxford
2024-06-10 19:30 - 21:00 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: Sharron Jenkinson

In her talk, Sharron draws on research for her book about the history of the Oxford Welsh Male Voice Choir written to celebrate its 90th anniversary. The talk goes significantly beyond just the choir in discussing the social history behind its formation in 1928 and its links to the Morris works at Cowley. Sharron is a former teacher, married to a Welshman. She and her husband are founder members of another Oxfordshire local history group, Steventon History Society.
Non-members welcome – a donation of £3.00 towards the meeting costs would be appreciated.
Doors open at 7 pm

Morris’ Motopolis: the motor works and the transformation of Oxford
2024-05-13 19:30 - 21:00 | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Simon describes the importance of the Morris Motor Works founded by William Morris (Lord Nuffield) and the massive impact on the city of Oxford during the interwar period as his business became the largest British car producer at that time. Simon is a member of the part-time tutor panel of Oxford University’s Continuing Education Department, where he teaches courses on the Victorian period.
Non-members welcome – a donation of £3.00 towards the meeting costs would be appreciated.
Doors open at 7 pm
