That’s How it Was: Women in the Wychwoods during World War Two
An illustrated record of life in the Wychwood villages in World War Two, as recalled by the women who lived and worked there. Our online version is available here.
It is also a timely reminder to the generations, recalling former times when the country was under siege. Of course it also demonstrates the resilience and ingenuity of the women who rose to the challenge of war.
These testimonies are a unique window onto the effects of international conflict on life at every level.
The Wychwoods Album – Volume One
Album One was published in 1985, produced by Sue Jourdan and Sue Richards. This is unfortunately now out of print. We have an online version here.
The album presents a series of snapshots of Wychwoods village life and is one of two publications from the mid to late 1980s which featured a variety of images of the Wychwoods.
These publications are now out of print, and so we record on these pages the images which were selected for them. Along with the images, we also include the verbatim text which accompanied them at the time of publication.
The Wychwoods Album – Volume Two
Album two was published in 1990 and produced by Sue Jourdan and John Rawlins. There are a few copies of Album Two left and these are available at £2 including postage and packing. As well as a PDF, we have an online version here.
The Second Wychwoods Album is another selection of old photographs of people and places in West Oxfordshire, this time including Ascott under Wychwood, Leafield, Langley, Lyneham, Bruern, Fifield and Idbury as well as Shipton and Milton under Wychwood.
Index of Names
An interesting PDF index of family names covering both albums is available here.
The Shipton-under-Wychwood Constables’ Book 1807-1851
This is a transcription of the Constables’ Account Book covering most of the first half of the 19th Century, that is the period just before enclosure and the establishment of a professional police force.
An eight page introduction by Doctor Margaret Ware describes the role of the village constable and puts the various entries in perspective.
The book is available to purchase, or can be downloaded as PDF
Publication of The Churchwardens’ Accounts for The Church of St Mary The Virgin, Shipton under Wychwood 1554-1696
At the end of the seventeenth century, the churchwardens of Shipton under Wychwood in Oxfordshire took a case in the Bishop’s Court in Oxford against Henry Godfrey of Burford, a lawyer who had land in Milton under Wychwood and who had refused to pay his share of the cost of repairs to the church.
The churchwardens won their case but Godfrey appealed and the case went to the court of appeal, the Court of Arches, in London. As part of the evidence, the current Shipton churchwardens’ account book was sent to London and was never returned. It found its way to Lambeth Palace Library and was among the 10,000 documents damaged during the Second World War.
It came to notice in 1997 among the last documents to be repaired and has now been transcribed by Joan Howard-Drake and edited by Jack Howard-Drake, longstanding members of the Society. Jack also included a very interesting introduction and analysis to the accounts providing a direct insight into life in the Wychwoods four hundred years ago.
The Cross Papers
An article from the Society’s Journal Number 27 is on the Cross Papers. The full text of the article is available as a PDF file here.
Full details of the Cross Papers are also available as a PDF. Click here.
Dr Margaret Ware’s article on the Society’s first 21 years.
An interesting article on the activities of The Wychwoods Local History Society from its creation in 1981 and its first 21 years. Available as a PDF here.
See also our collection of Audio Recordings from past talks by guest speakers, as well as interviews with local residents conducted by society members. Available here
