Tag Archives: Radley History Club

Programme for 2021-2022 announced

All meetings are held at Radley Parish Church, Church Road, Abingdon OX14 2JN starting at 7.30 pm. Non-members are welcome – a donation of £2.50 is suggested.

Monday 13th September 2021 at 7.30 pm
Annual General Meeting followed by Radley in the 1930s and 40s – impressions from oral history
A presentation from the Club’s Oral History Group drawing on information from the ‘Radley Remembered’ series of interviews in the Club’s oral history recordings

Monday 11th October 2021 at 7.30 pm
The Land of the White Eagle: The Story of Poland

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.

Monday 8th November 2021 at 7.30 pm
The Harcourt Arboretum: one of Oxfordshire’s brightest botanical jewels
Speaker: Timothy Walker
The Harcourt Arboretum at Nuneham Courtenay was founded in 1835 by the Harcourt family and annexed to the University of Oxford Botanic Garden in 1963. The talk looks at the 180-year history of the site and some of the highlights of the 130-acre Arboretum. Timothy is a former director of the Oxford Botanic Garden & Harcourt Arboretum.

Monday 10th January 2022 at 7.30 pm
Romans of Oxfordshire: Roman settlement and impact in the local area
Speaker: Marie-Louise Kerr
The talk covers the Roman invasion of Britain, life before and after the Romans arrived, and examples of Roman remains, archaeological finds, and sites of Roman occupation in Oxfordshire. Marie-Louise is an experienced museum curator caring for a wide variety of collections, and describes herself as ‘a curator without a museum’.

Monday 14th February 2022 at 7.30 pm
Oxford Preservation Trust – opening doors all year round
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.

Monday 14th March 2022 at 7.30 pm
Poor Law in the 18th Century: the crisis in the parishes
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 in rural and landscape history.

Monday 11th April 2022 at 7.30 pm
Professors of Rowing’: The Early Oxford-Cambridge Boat Races
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 Oxford, with a particular focus on the city’s waterways.

Monday 9th May 2022 at 7.30 pm
Members’ interests
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.

Monday 13th June 2022 at 7.30 pm
From Axtell to Zacharias: the men who built Oxford
Speaker: Liz Woolley
The talk examines some of the characters involved in the city’s enormous expansion during the Victorian period including builders, architects, property developers and landlords. Fortunes were made, reputations were lost, regulations were ignored, and political careers were boosted. 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’.

Monday 11th July 2022 at 7.30 pm
The Great Stink! Engineers, sewerage systems and the Victorian battle against dirt
Speaker: Tom Crook
The talk discusses the notorious ‘Great Stink’ of summer 1858 in London, its causes and the approach adopted to combat the problem. Tom is a Senior Lecturer in Modern British History at Oxford Brookes University.

August: No meeting

Monday 12th September 2022 at 7.30 pm
Annual General Meeting followed by:

Apples! The myth and mystery of England’s favourite fruit
Speaker: Tim Healey
Many fascinating facts are presented in this talk which has five themes: myths, the history of apples, apple rituals, working with apples, and local varieties. Tim is an Oxford-based writer, broadcaster and musician, making his third visit to the Club

Details of 2020-2021 programme announced

Note: Some of the details are provisional owing to COVID-19 restrictions.
The format/venue for each meeting will be added to the list once confirmed. Meetings will be by Zoom until a suitable venue is available that allows all members to meet safely. Talks possible via Zoom are marked below with an asterisk. Alternatives will be found, if necessary, for those talks not possible by Zoom.

2020

*21 September: Martin Buckland The Wilts and Berks Canal, Past, Present and Future. This historic canal linked the Kennet and Avon Canal near Trowbridge in Wiltshire with the River Thames near Abingdon. Martin’s talk tells us something of its history, its current status and the continued work of the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust to return the waterway to a ‘navigable state’.
ZOOM meeting (members will receive an email with details of how to join the meeting)

*12 October: Mark Davies The Pre-Raphaelites in Oxfordshire – Artists in Wonderland
Mark’s talk on the links of members of the Pre-Raphaelite group of Victorian artists with Oxford is illustrated with examples of their work. Mark has spoken to us before and is an Oxford local historian, author, and guide specialising in the history of non-University Oxford, with a particular focus on the city’s waterways.
ZOOM meeting (members will receive an email with details of how to join the meeting)

*9 November: Stephen Barker Oxfordshire in the Second World War
Stephen looks at the ‘home front’ in the county and significant events in which its people were involved overseas. Stephen is a historian and heritage adviser, and another return speaker. His talk was first written to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry attack on Pegasus Bridge during D-Day in 1944.
ZOOM meeting (members will receive an email with details of how to join the meeting)

*14 December: Victoria Bentata Einstein and the refugee scholars of Oxford
Victoria tells us about Albert Einstein and other academics who sought refuge in Oxford from Nazi tyranny. Victoria is an Oxford Green Badge Tour guide and member of the Oxford Guild of Tour Guides. She last spoke to us on Oxford and Medicine.
ZOOM meeting (members will receive an email with details of how to join the meeting)

2021

*11 January: Dick Richards “Unknown and yet well known”: the final journey of the Unknown Warrior
The 11th of November 2020 saw the first centenary of the burial of The Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey and the unveiling of the permanent Cenotaph in Whitehall. This talk tells the story of the Unknown Warrior from the conception of the idea; the selection; the journey to Westminster Abbey and the burial. In addition, we will learn something about the national remembrance monument that is the Cenotaph. Dick returns to the Club a year after talking to us about the history and legacy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for whom is a ‘Champion’ and Volunteer.

*8 February: Liz Woolley Kingerlee: the family and the building firm
Liz describes the history of this fifth generation Oxfordshire family business which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2018. Liz is a local historian specialising in aspects of the history of Oxford and Oxfordshire with a particular interest in the city’s ‘town’ as opposed to ‘gown’. She is a regular visitor to the Club, having given us a talk each year for the past 11 years.

*8 March: Simon Wenham Living the Lexicon: James Murray and the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary
Simon describes the trials and tribulations behind the creation of this influential book by its editor, James Murray. 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.

12 April: Tim Healey Pagans and Puritans: the story of May morning in Oxford
The talk discusses the history of the Oxford tradition of gathering at 6.00 am to celebrate May 1st. Tim is a broadcaster, musician and writer.

*10 May: Alastair Lack The Oxford of Inspector Morse
The Inspector Morse novels, by Colin Dexter and the popular television series based on them are set in Oxford. Alastair read history at University College Oxford.  He then had a career at the BBC, mainly working for the World Service. He is a Green Badge Guide and member of the Oxford Guild of Tour Guides.

*14 June: Nic Vanderpeet Spitfires over Oxfordshire
The Spitfire, the famous British fighter aircraft of the Battle of Britain, later played an important role in the invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Nic is a learning and outreach officer for the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock.

12 July: Tom Crook The Great Stink! Engineers, sewerage systems and the Victorian battle against dirt
The talk discusses the notorious ‘Great Stink’ of summer 1858 in London, its causes and the approach adopted to combat the problem. Tom is a Senior Lecturer in Modern British History at Oxford Brookes University.

August: No meeting

*13 September: AGM followed by Radley Remembered – a presentation of memories of Radley taken from the Club’s extensive oral history archive.

Buy a copy of the Club’s latest book

RADLEY MANOR AND VILLAGE a thousand year story was published on 30 November 2019. Copies can be bought via the Club’s website or in person from Radley Village Shop. The book costs £15 (plus postage & packaging).

The book was researched and written as a collaboration between Radley History Club and Radley College’s archivist. It tells the history of Radley’s manor and its relationship with the village from around the time of the Norman Conquest to the present day. It explores the changing role of the manor, the people who held it, how they lived and the power they exercised, as well as how the lives of ordinary villagers were affected by the manor.
More details

Front cover of 'Radley Manor and Village: a thousand year story'
Front cover of ‘Radley Manor and Village: a thousand year story’

Launch of Club’s latest book

Radley Manor and Village: a thousand year story

When: Saturday 30th November 11am to 4pm
Where: The Mansion, Radley College, Kennington Road, Radley, Abingdon OX14 2HR

Launch of 'Radley Manor and Village: a thousand year story' at The Mansion, Radley College, on 30 November 2019

A bright, sunny day and the historic Mansion at Radley College provided the ideal setting for the launch of Radley Manor and Village: a thousand year story. The Mansion was built by the Stonhouse family in the 1720s as their manor house.

Radley Women’s Institute served hot drinks and delicious cakes in the entrance hall. Displays included a timeline of 1000 years of national and local events, family trees of the Stonhouse and Bowyer families, photos and facts about Radley servants, and banners depicting the College grounds and their links with ‘Capability’ Brown. Also on display were artefacts belonging to Radley College, such as a laundry maid’s goffering kit from the mid-1800s, used to put fine pleats into the shirts of Radley ‘dons’.

Another photo taken at the launch

The book is a collaboration between Radley History Club and Radley College’s archivist. It uses first-hand and contemporary sources, and tells the story of Radley’s manor and its relationship with the village from around the time of the Norman Conquest to the present day. Employment, land ownership, and deference are recurring themes.

The final chapter includes episodes from the lives of Radley village couple David and Beryl Buckle and their relationships with Radley college. The book was partly funded by a legacy from David Buckle to Radley History Club, and so the Club was particularly pleased that his son Peter at the launch.

More about the book and how to buy a copy


New venue for Club meetings

After meeting for 18 years at Radley Primary School, Radley History Club has moved to a new venue – the Church of St James the Great – for its speaker meetings. The Church offers a high quality sound system (including an induction loop), level access and more comfortable seating.

Like the school, the parish church is on Church Road in Radley (OX14 3QF) and the two share a car park (see map). Those with disabilities can park in the lay-by in front of the Church or against the railings at the top of the drive to the School (so as to leave the drive clear for access). Details of travel by bus and train to Radley for meetings

Meetings are generally on the second Monday of the month (apart from August) and start at 7.30 pm (doors open 7 pm). New members and guests welcome.

Location of Radley Church and its car park