On Wednesday 14 Oct at 7.30pm we welcomed Senior Research Associate and lecturer at the University of Bristol, Julia Phillips.
Julia presented an illustrated talk on ‘Witches of the Cotswolds’, with many examples of individual tales of folklore and supernatural intrigue through the ages.
We were pleased to have an attendance of 100+ members and guests, marking another successful event in our calendar of talks.
Witchcraft in the Cotswolds – Read More in Cotswold Life Magazine
Julia Phillips’ article Witchcraft in the Cotswolds in the 21st November 2020 edition of Cotswold Life [ opens in new tab] gives a flavour of the material which Julia covered for us.
In it, she explores the long, uneasy coexistence of fear, folklore, and rural belief that shaped witchcraft traditions across the region from the seventeenth to early twentieth centuries.
Drawing on newspaper archives and local histories, she traces how accusations arose from everyday misfortunes — sick livestock, spoiled milk, stolen tools — and how certain individuals became both feared and sought-after for their supposed powers.
Three figures illustrate the spectrum of Cotswold witchcraft lore:
Catherine Huxley of Evesham (c.1612–1652) — a tragic example of early modern suspicion. After a child she had scolded began passing stones, neighbours claimed she had cursed the girl. Stones found by Huxley’s bed were taken as proof, and she was executed by hanging.
Bevil Blizard of Winchcombe (1742–1836) — known locally as ‘Blizard the Wizard,’ he enjoyed respect rather than persecution. Stories tell of his scythe continuing to cut hay after he left the field, his ability to locate stolen goods, and his knack for identifying thieves.
Ellen Hayward of Cinderford (early 20th century) — a ‘wise woman’ consulted for charms and cures. In 1906 she was charged with pretending to use witchcraft after a Worcester farmer repeatedly sought her help for his failing livestock. The magistrates dismissed the case, though such charges often led to fines or imprisonment.
Julia also recounts the 1875 murder of Ann Tennant in Long Compton, whose neighbour, terrified of witchcraft, stabbed her with a hayfork believing it would break a curse. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to Broadmoor.
The article closes with tales of shapeshifting witches, a common rural belief: hares leaping through windows and reappearing as injured old women, cats wounded by pitchforks whose owners later bore identical marks, and white animals said to be witches in disguise.
So, Julia’s article reveals how deeply witchcraft once permeated Cotswold life — a blend of fear, superstition, and folk tradition that lingered long after the Witchcraft Act abolished the death penalty. She shows that behind every tale lies a community negotiating misfortune, mystery, and the need to explain the inexplicable. The full article is here >>>> [ opens in new tab]
Julia Phillips Wychwoods Local History Society Talk Oct 2026
About Julia Phillips
Julia received her PhD for her research examining how witches and witchcraft were featured in newspapers in Victorian Britain. Her work has been published in books, academic journals, and popular magazines, and she is a regular presenter at conferences and events. Her primary research interests are the study of witchcraft in the 19th century and the development of modern Pagan Witchcraft in the 20th/21st centuries.
Our latest exhibition is on show from September 16th until early November in the Wychwoods Library in Milton. The exhibition features historic photographs of shops and commerce in the Wychwoods villages.
Background
Being on the main road from Chipping Norton to Burford and close to a railway station meant that a variety of retailers flourished in Shipton. As the population of Milton grew it too developed a range of shops a few of which gradually developed into small ‘department’ stores.
Settlements such as Ascott, Fifield and Lyneham sustained smaller village shops selling a variety of groceries and other goods, and until the early 20th century individual tradesmen such as cobblers, butchers and bakers. Postal and other services often helped village shops to survive.
In Ascott in 1965, alongside the village shop, a small general grocery store was still operating from the back room of a cottage near the Church. The business was run by Mrs Wallis, having been started in 1894 by her mother. Such modest, family-run ‘subsistence’ shops were an important part of village retail life.
Foster’s travelling shop from Upper Milton visits the Green, Ascott in 1947. It sold hardware and paraffin, essential for heating, lighting and cooking. Jack Hemmings dispenses Aladdin pink paraffin to Mrs Jean Harris watched by beret-wearing Dick Catling. Two young boys, Fred Russell and John Campbell look on whilst Mrs Edgington waits her turn to be served.
Regular deliveries were also made around the villages of staples such as milk, coal, bread, fish and meat.
Oral Histories from our Archive
In collating the exhibition, we revisited some of the many oral history recordings in the Society archive – recordings made during the last two decades of the 20th century.
These oral histories of Milton and Shipton regularly feature recollected memories of local shops, their owners and staff. A variety of other sources provide information about retail activities in Ascott, Fifield and Lyneham.
Wychwoods Shops: Some Key Memories
In Shipton‑under‑Wychwood, Dees’ Stores is mentioned often. Cyril Lane, interviewed in January 1993, remembered it not just as a shop but as a family landmark: groceries downstairs, drapery and shoes upstairs, and a sense that everything one needed could be found within its walls. Through Phyllis Smith’s recollections, when interviewed in October 1992, we learn that the supply chain of the Shipton Tillyards (making wooden shop tills) remained rooted in the village, for example with hardware from Mr Willis.
Daily life was shaped by practical routines. Martha Oakley, interviewed in February 2003, recalled cutting bacon in the grocery store where she worked, we believe at the Bank House in Shipton. Her memories of shared hardship — and of homes without indoor plumbing well into the 1950s — remind us how central these shops were to community comfort.
Joan Townsend’s childhood Sundays were spent delivering milk and cream from her grandfather’s farm, part of an extended network of local provision. Milk delivery became a more ambitious enterprise in 1953 when Norman and Dorothy Treweeke (interviewed in May 1992) began their rounds. What started with 11 gallons collected from Finstock and carried by bicycle, soon grew into a fleet of vans delivering over 100 gallons a day across Shipton and Lyneham.
High Street Milton showing Post Office under the name of Moss the Grocer probably 1930s
Milton‑under‑Wychwood had its own constellation of shops and characters. Cissie Carpenter (in March 1993) remembered childhood games threaded through the village’s businesses, while Peter Davis traced the story of London House, the drapery shop his mother managed and his father later bought. For Charles Norman Wilks (May 1992), early poverty meant hard work from a young age, including milk deliveries around Milton before he moved into construction and tree felling. And from Blanche Olive May Wright (1996) come vivid glimpses of early‑1900s shopping trips, wartime trade, and Christmas traditions that brought the village together.
Dorothy ‘Dor’ Thomson (Speaking in 2004)
Here is a sample audio with Dorothy ‘Dor’ Thomson. Like many others, she remembered Hathaways, when it was run by Captain Hathaway, a First World War officer who insisted on being addressed — very precisely — as Captain Hathaway. His shop was excellent, well stocked and well used, but children learned early to mind their manners.
She also recalled that, at the Post Office, Miss Coombes was known as ‘the dragon’, terrifying children with her stern manner. “We were really quite frightened to go in,” Dorothy recalled, though she admits Miss Coombes was harmless enough. The village was astonished when this formidable figure suddenly married Mr Wiggins and became Mrs Wiggins — a change the children struggled to remember.
Based on the 1993 interview transcript, here is a summary of Dulcie Arundell’s memories of the shops and merchants in Shipton, which primarily cover her childhood and youth in the 1920s and 1930s.
Village Shops and General Stores
Dulcie remembers how Mrs Avery at Avery’s store sold general groceries, Woodbine cigarettes, and ha’penny sweets, which she uniquely wrapped in two-pointed, hand-rolled blue paper bags.
She mentions Harold Dee at Dee’s store, and Franklin’s owned by the Franklin family, which she recalls as divided into hardware on the right and groceries on the left. It featured a small bank cubicle at the back and hosted a Christmas Bazaar which she remembers fondly.
Of course, she recalls Mrs Wiggins at the Post Office, which sold stationery, newspapers, and local postcards photographed by Packer of Chipping Norton. Mr. Wiggins also repaired clocks and watches. Dulcie recalls how the shop stayed open until 7:30 pm to send mail out on the late train.
She also recalls Snowdrop House at the top end of the village, run by the Tubb Sisters. This she remembers as very small shop catering to ‘top enders’. They sold essentials like Sunlight Soap, soda, butter, sweets, and cigarettes.
Specialty Vendors and Deliveries
The “Shop on Wheels”: Mr. Goodban and Mr. Hawkes ran a mobile contraption parked in Rainbow’s orchard. They famously sold tinned herrings in tomato sauce, a favourite post-match meal for Dulcie’s uncles who played local football.
Avery business card Shipton
Fresh Food Deliveries: Arthur “Fishy” Rainbow used a horse and wagon to deliver fresh fruit and fish, which likely arrived in the village via the railway. Another man named Rainbow also sold a few groceries and fruit from an end cottage on the Swinbrook Road.
Livestock Feed: Mr. Stevens, a farmer from Taynton, delivered pig feed—referred to as “shocks and toppings”—directly to the cottages that kept livestock.
Local Butchers: Mr. Foster originally operated a butcher’s shop at Salisbury Place, where Dulcie’s father worked as a roundsman before the business relocated to Charlbury. Later, Dick Avery ran a butcher shop on the same premises as The Lamb inn, which was managed by his wife.
Horse and trap in front of Townsend stores, the precursor to Avery’s General Stores in Shipton. The man in the trap is thought to be Mr Townsend.
Dulcie Arundell’s full recording (with transcript) is available here >>> [Opens in new tab]
These oral histories are a reminder of how the Wychwoods once shopped, worked, and looked after one another.
In addition to our oral histories, here we also revisit some other records of Wychwoods shops and personalities.
Mrs Wiggins and Her Retirement
Mrs Kate ‘Kitty’ Wiggins, took over the running of the post office from her mother in 1930 and only retired in 1974.
An article from Thursday April 18 1974 edition of The Banbury Guardian, features some of the background to her life and of the Post Office over time.
News of Mrs Kate ‘Kitty ‘ Wiggins’ 1974 Retirement from Shipton Post Office
Here is a summary:
The article profiles Mrs Kate Wiggins, the long‑serving sub‑postmistress of Shipton‑under‑Wychwood Post Office, described as “the frail little lady” who is inseparable from the old red‑fronted building. The post office is notable for being the oldest in England still operating in its original building, having been open since at least 1845.
A member of Mrs Wiggins’ family has run the post office continuously since its founding. Her great‑grandfather, Richard Cross—a weaver, overseer, parish clerk, and the first sub‑postmaster—began the tradition. The house itself has belonged to the family since the late 16th century.
One quoted line from the article reads:
“There may be others as old but this is the oldest post office still in the same building today,” said Mrs Wiggins.
Mrs Wiggins treasures a collection of early postal relics, including the first letter ever addressed to the Shipton Post Office, sent by a footman at Shipton Court. She recalls stories of her great‑grandfather carrying letters up to Shipton Court because the landed gentry did not have to pay postage.
The article notes that early stamps were unperforated, and Cross used scissors to cut them apart. The post office originally handled only letters, but expanded in the 1860s with the introduction of the Post Office Savings Bank.
Unlike many early post offices that operated from inns, Shipton’s was always a private house. Over sixty years ago, Mrs Wiggins’ parents rebuilt and enlarged the front of the building, but its quiet charm remains.
A photograph from 1910 shows Mrs Wiggins—then Miss Coombes—standing in the doorway with her father, mother, and four staff members.
Mrs Wiggins speaks warmly of Shipton as “a very special village” with deep history on the edge of Wychwood Forest. She acknowledges that when she retires, the family’s long custodianship will end:
“There’s no‑one to carry on after me… you can’t carry on for ever can you?”
Mrs Wiggins died in January 1978.
More Memories of Mrs Wiggins
Former stalwart and founder member of the WLHS Dr. Margaret Ware records her thoughts on Mrs Wiggins in an article published in The Wychwood magazine, June/July 2003 Vol 24 No 2. A PDF to read online or to download:
Also featured in The Wychwood Magazine (of February 2023), here is a record of a walk around the village, revisiting old locations of shops in the village in PDF form to read online or download:
During our preparations for the current exhibition of photographs in the Wychwoods Library in Milton (July-September 2026) , we revisited these two pictures of a tableau at the 1930 fete at Ascott under Wychwood, with its banner ‘The Wedding of the Painted Doll’. The float is draped in flowers and greenery, carries a bridal couple, a solemn ‘minister’, and a retinue of doll‑like attendants.
Ascott under Wychwood. Fete 1930. The Wedding of the Painted Doll
The full entourage around the float of The Wedding of Painted Doll
What Do We See?
In the 1930s and 1940s it was instantly recognisable. The scene on the float is a local re‑imagining of a musical number from early Hollywood. It was a hit song-and-dance sequence in The Broadway Melody (1929), written by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown.
Here is the performance as it would have been seen in cinemas throughout the UK.
About the Song
The song describes a toy‑box wedding procession, celebrated as a holiday. The chorus announces that “today’s the wedding of the painted doll”, with storybook characters such as Red Riding Hood, Buster Brown, and a jumping jack arriving as guests. Church bells ring while ‘little dollies from the follies’ gather with their painted cheeks.
The film routine narrates the ceremony, and features:
Bridesmaids in fancy laces who take their places.
The bride, a ‘little cutie’ and ‘little beauty’, appears.
A preacher man opens his ‘little black book’, confident because he has performed the ritual many times.
The bridegroom arrives, slightly nervous, and the preacher pronounces them married ‘to stay’.
The chorus repeats, celebrating the whimsicdding and the spreading of the news with ‘rice and shoes.’
The Song Spreads its Wings
Digging a little deeper for more information, we found that the film was first shown in Banbury in late November 1929, and when the fete at Ascott took place the film was the latest thing showing in the local cinema.
Meantime, ‘The Wedding of the Painted Doll’ quickly became a popular item in the repertoire of local dance bands, and not to be outdone, attendees at meetings of Deddington WI were entertained by a member who whistled the tunes from the film!
The choice of a theme such as ‘The Wedding of the Painted Doll‘ shows a 1930s village well aware of wider popular culture. It reminds us that communities in the Wychwoods were certainly not isolated from the wider world, and were absorbing new trends as part of older, established festival traditions.
Our final 2025/6 evening meeting on Wednesday 13th May started with the AGM and then featured sessions entitled ‘Topics from our Archive’.
Members and visitors also had a chance to look at selections from the extensive range of archive photos currently being catalogued at the WLHS study centre in Groves Yard.
The subjects chosen for the two presentations were from recent archive research. John Bennett gave us insights into his recent research of The Elms, the former Groves’ family home, and Carol Anderson presented the history around folk dancing in the Wychwoods.
History of ‘The Elms’ in Milton
John’s talk covered a brief history of the developments over time of The Elms, the residence of the Groves family, familiar now to the people of Milton under Wychwood as the site of the popular Rise and Flour café.
Photograph of The Elms, about 1890. Occupied by Alfred Groves and family, and first reference to it as “The Elms”
John showed us the place of the building in history, as a country residence gradually becoming incorporated into the wider development of the expanding business of Alfred Groves & Sons over time, and the changes in the village from its early agricultural roots. He gave us architectural insights – for example, how bay windows were added as a statement of increased prosperity – and also covered the period of semi-dereliction until the redevelopment of the site in recent years.
John’s research into the Elms is ongoing, and a fuller history is in preparation, recognising the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Alfred Groves in December this year.
Folk Dancing in the Wychwoods
Carol’s presentation covered a brief history of folk dancing in the Wychwoods, covering Maypole dancing in Milton, folk dancing , especially in Ascott in the 1920s, and Morris dancing. The latter had died out in Wychwood villages in last quarter of 19th century but revived pre-WW1 with the influence and interest of Reginald Tiddy, a close colleague of Cecil Sharp, the founder of the English Folk Dance Society in 1911 and regular visitor to Ascott.
Rediscovered costumes from Tiddy Hall – some with name tags still visible
Carol also covered the distinctive Ascott dances which evolved from these connections and still performed locally. She also told the charming story of the rediscovered costumes found in Tiddy Hall, reunited with their origal wearers so 50 years later. [ The story is outlined here ].
Carol brought along actual examples of these rediscovered outfits, with some bonnets also – an extra dimension to a fascinating tale of the history of dance locally in the Wychwoods.
Our latest exhibition , installed from May 9th in the Wychwoods Library in Milton, features historic photographs on the theme of folk dancing over the years in the Wychwoods
Among the featured images in the exhibition is this newspaper clipping showing former Ascott‑under‑Wychwood dancers reunited with their childhood costumes. It provides a useful point of entry into the longer history of the Wychwoods ‘Dancing Days’.
Here is the article:
Oxford Times October 1965 – Ascott‑under‑Wychwood dancers reunited with their childhood costumes
Folk Dancing in the Wychwoods: A Twentieth‑Century Overview
Folk dancing formed a notable strand of cultural life in the Wychwood villages throughout the twentieth century. Although its visibility rose and fell over the decades, the practice left a distinct imprint on school activities, community organisations, and local celebrations.
Early Twentieth‑Century Dancing Revival (c. 1900–1930)
The first decades of the century saw a nationwide revival of interest in English folk traditions, influenced by the work of organisations such as the English Folk Dance Society (EFDS), founded in 1911. Oxfordshire was an early participant in this movement. Schools in the Wychwoods, like many rural schools in the county, incorporated folk dancing into physical education and seasonal festivities. May Day events, Empire Day celebrations, and school concerts frequently included set dances, country reels, and maypole performances.
Teachers often received basic training through county education programmes or EFDS summer schools. Surviving school logbooks from the region occasionally reference “folk drill” or “country dancing practice,” indicating that these activities were embedded in the curriculum rather than treated as occasional entertainments.
The Legacy of Reginald Tiddy
The Reading Room Ascott under Wychwood. Built in 1912, it was renamed the Tiddy Hall in memory of Reginald Tiddy following his death in 1916. Prior to demolition in 1994
Oxford University Morris Dancers perform in the original Tiddy Hall, Ascott before its demolition.
Our publication ‘The Second Wychwoods Album’ on the work of Reginald Tiddy in this era includes this extract which tells us that Tiddy brought about a revival of Morris dancing in Ascott. In 1912 he built the Tiddy Hall which has a special sprung floor for dancing. The team was much in demand for fetes and garden parties at the big houses in the neighbourhood like Cornbury, Bruern Abbey and Lee Place.
See more on Reginald Tiddy from the Second Wychwoods Album here:
During the interwar years, folk dancing remained a regular feature of village life. Women’s Institutes, which expanded rapidly during this period, played a significant role in sustaining interest. The WIs of Shipton, Milton, and Ascott frequently organised displays at fêtes, charity events, and harvest suppers. Local instructors—often schoolteachers or WI members who had attended county courses—taught standard repertoires such as “Gathering Peascods,” “Sellenger’s Round,” and “The Dorset Four‑Hand Reel.”
The Second World War disrupted many organised activities, but folk dancing proved relatively resilient. It required no specialist equipment, could be practised indoors or outdoors, and was considered a wholesome form of recreation for children and adults. Several Wychwood residents later recalled wartime dances held in schoolrooms or village halls, sometimes accompanied by accordion or fiddle.
Post‑War Community Groups and School Displays (1945–1970)
The post‑war decades saw a renewed emphasis on community cohesion, and folk dancing benefited from this environment. School events in the Wychwoods continued to feature country dancing, particularly at end‑of‑year performances and May celebrations. Teachers who had themselves learned the dances as children often passed them on to new generations.
It is within this context that the five Ascott girls featured in our rediscovered clipping—Ellen Hodson, Winifred Weston, Doris Warner, Edith Pratley, and Mary Russell—performed in the early twentieth century. Their costumes, preserved for more than fifty years, reflect the standardised dress used for school and WI displays: simple white dresses, coloured sashes, and floral headpieces.
Country dancing in the yard of Milton School 1956 or 1957
Local fêtes and pageants also provided opportunities for public performance. Newspaper archives from the 1950s and 1960s occasionally mention country dancing displays at Shipton Fête, Milton’s summer celebrations, and Ascott’s school events. These performances were typically organised by teachers or WI leaders and were regarded as emblematic of rural tradition.
Decline and Occasional Revivals (1970–2000)
By the 1970s, changes in school curricula and leisure activities led to a gradual decline in formal folk dancing instruction. While maypole dancing persisted in some primary schools, the broader repertoire of country dances became less common. Nevertheless, the tradition did not disappear entirely. Local history groups, WI branches, and village organisers occasionally revived folk dancing for special events, anniversaries, or heritage days.
Maypole dancers on the Green at Shipton, possibly in 1988
Again, the reunion captured in the newspaper clipping belongs to this pattern of late‑century revival. The reappearance of the original costumes and the presence of contemporary children dressed in similar attire illustrate how folk traditions can re‑emerge when prompted by community interest or historical curiosity.
Significance for Local History
The history of folk dancing in the Wychwoods demonstrates how national cultural movements were interpreted and sustained at the village level. It highlights the role of schools, WIs, and informal community networks in transmitting traditions across generations. The rediscovered clipping is valuable not only for its images but also for the insight it provides into the continuity of local practice.
Wychwoods Border Morris Dancers outside Tiddy Hall Ascott 2023
Although folk dancing is no longer a routine feature of village life, its legacy survives in photographs, memories, and occasional revivals.
As with many rural traditions, its endurance has depended less on formal institutions than on the willingness of individuals and communities to preserve and re‑animate the customs they inherited.
Selected Sources
English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS).History of the English Folk Dance Society and the English Folk Dance and Song Society.
National context for the early‑twentieth‑century folk dance revival and its spread into schools and community groups.
Wychwoods Local History Society.Wychwoods History
Local evidence for village events, musicians, and community traditions in the Wychwoods.
See especially Journal 16 p.28-32 James Longshaw, Musician, by Keith Chandler
An article from Wychwoods Local History Society Journal No.16 pp 28-32 by Keith Chandler , reproduced here as a focus for the May-September 2026 “Dancing Days” Library Exhibition in Milton under Wychwood.
In 1925 the Travelling Morrice, a revivalist dance team based in Cambridge, were touring in the Cotswolds when they encountered a ‘Mr Langshaw’ at Chipping Norton. He revealed that he had formerly played the fiddle to accompany morris dance sides at both Shipton under Wychwood and Milton under Wychwood.1
Charles Benfield of Bould – Another Local Musician
The recorded history of Milton’s morris dance team dates back to around the 1780s, while that of Shipton is confirmed only from about the 1830s onwards. In an unpublished manuscript compiled in 1885 or earlier, John Horne gave a long account of the annual ‘Jubilee’ (i.e. Whitsun Ale) held at Milton under Wychwood about 1780, ‘where Morris Dancing was one of the chief attractions, as many as three sets would attend there and prizes were given to the best dancers’.2 Given that morris dance sides were always a feature of Whitsun Ale celebrations at this date, one can assume that one of the attendant dance sides would have been local. Morris dancing was a feature of the festivities held to celebrate the marriage of the Prince of Wales in March 18633 and, again, this seems likely to have been the village-based set.
It was probably the first half of the nineteenth century to which Horne referred when he noted ‘Shipton in Oxfordshire was formerly a very noted place for Morris-dancing, as many as four sets have been seen to attend the Club there, and some come from long distances.’4 Henry Franklin, a dancer at Leafield who left the village in 1858, remembered that there had been sets of dancers at Shipton and Milton under Wychwood, and Finstock, and was perhaps recalling sides which were contemporaneously active with his own. He claimed ‘Shipton [was] a lad’s morris, one man whistled to ‘em’, suggesting perhaps a younger side which remained after the set of older men had given up.5
It may have been this latter side for which ‘Mr. Langshaw’ had played. Given the complete absence of biographical details in the Travelling Morrice records, the first task was to identify Mr Langshaw. The 1925 Register of Electors for Chipping Norton recorded no-one by the name of Langshaw but listed the following inhabitants called Longshaw:
James
2 Goddard’s Lane
Francis, Julia & Ethel Annie
31 New Street
Henry & Amelia
15 Middle Row
Arthur & Grace
62 West Street
This offered four possibilities. If, as claimed, he had played for the dance sets at both Shipton and Milton there was a good chance that he had been resident in one of those adjacent villages. From the 1881 census only one household featured any of the 1925 names. The enumeration entry was as follows:
Name
Age and Occupation
Place of Birth
James Longshaw head
62 Chelsea Pensioner
Leafield
Elizabeth wife
56
Sunderland, Durham
James son
22 carpenter
Shipton
Jane A daughter
25
Sunderland, Durham
James the younger is the most likely candidate for the fiddle player. Parish registers revealed that James Longshaw was baptised at Shipton under Wychwood in July 1858, the son of James and Elizabeth Longshaw. His father’s occupation is described as ‘Soldier (retired)’. In time the family would also include Phoebe and Elizabeth, both born in Shipton.
By the 1891 census, James was a carpenter aged 32 and the Shipton under Wychwood marriage register in May 1891 records his marriage as a bachelor aged 40 to Sarah Longshaw, daughter of Joseph Lanfear.
The official sources reveal only a bare outline of his life. Already, by James’ birth in 1858 his father had retired as a professional soldier on a pension, and continued to receive payment until the age of 72, at least. His unit, given as ‘1st 3rd Foot’, may probably be identified as the First Battalion of the Third Regiment of Foot, otherwise the East Kent Regiment, known since 1782 as The Buffs. As a soldier in this unit he may well have seen action in India during the Gwalior Campaign of 1843,6 a far cry from his native Oxfordshire. His wife and first child were born in Sunderland, in County Durham. At some point between the birth of daughter Jane Ann and son James, the family had moved to Shipton under Wychwood. At this time the forest itself was being cleared extensively under the 1857 Act of Disafforestation. In fact, if the elder James Longshaw had, as the sources suggest, been away for some time, he would scarcely have recognised the region of his birth.7 So, we may observe that James Longshaw, the fiddle player, was brought up in what was, for the place and period, a relatively cosmopolitan household. Not only had his father travelled well beyond the bounds of his home area, but his mother, born in the north-east of the country, would have spoken with an accent uncommon in the Wychwood region.
In 1871 James was enumerated as ‘Scholar’. It was rare at this date for a boy to remain at school much beyond the age of twelve, and at some point during the next decade he became a carpenter and he continued in this trade through 1891 and, in fact, until retirement. He lived with his parents until at least the age of 32, and probably until the date of his marriage in 1898. From the entry in the marriage register his wife’s surname differs from that of her father; further research showed she had been married before. There is no record yet found of James’ death.
My next informant was Mr W F Martin, in Iffley, Oxford. ‘The fiddler? We’ve come across him on my wife’s side. (She) knows of a fiddler at Shipton under Wychwood. ”Jimmy” she remembers him as. She seems to have a childish, vague memory of an old gentleman’. Here, at last, was confirmation that the identification of ‘Mr Langshaw’ as James Longshaw had been correct. He would have been of an age to have played during the 1870s but probably not much before this.
There was also a hazy memory among other family members of James Longshaw having been known locally as a fiddler who apparently played for dancing although not specifically morris dancing. Mrs Martin’s sister, Mrs G B Farrar in Kirtlington recalled seeing a volume of music written by James Longshaw which at one time was in the possession of Mrs Truman, a daughter of Sarah Longshaw, who lived in Hurst Street, Oxford, for many years. Using the parish registers the Martins had drawn up a family tree.
George Longshaw (1856-97) had married Sarah Landfeare (sic), who died in April 1916, and this couple were Mrs Martin’s grandparents. They had three children, two girls and one boy. The son, George Henry William Longshaw (1888–1954) was her father, and her mother was a Stroud, who were a ‘big family’ in the Wychwood area. After George Longshaw’s death Sarah remarried, to James Longshaw. Given Sarah’s death in 1916, Mrs Martin’s memory of James Longshaw would have been when she was ‘very small’, aged about four or five. It is possible to confirm that Sarah Longshaw, daughter of Joseph Lanfear, had remarried to James Longshaw a year after the death of her first husband.
Was it possible that the manuscript tune book belonging to James Longshaw might still exist? Mrs Farrar thought that James Longshaw probably did play for the morris dancers. He did have a music book, but she was only aged about five at the time she remembers seeing it, in about 1915. He also had an old violin hanging on the wall of ‘granny’s kitchen’.
She remembered a cottage on the Bruern Estate, where James was employed as a carpenter. ‘We called him Grampy Jim because we knew he wasn’t our real grandfather’ being her grandmother’s second marriage. Longshaw was considered to be fairly well up in the servants’ hierarchy. The estate carpenter and the stud groom had facing cottages. ‘Grampy Jim had a very nice workshop, away from the house. He was the only carpenter on the estate, and did all the carpentry there, as well as making bits of furniture for the kitchen, if another bench was needed for example.’ She thought that he had a beard; the two sisters used to try and curl it while sitting on either side of him after supper.
At the time she had never encountered beards before, her own father being clean-shaven. James was very good to the two sisters, they used to play in the workshop amongst the shavings and thought it great fun. Mrs Farrar’s mother had gone to Bruern to act as a nurse to Granny when she was dying of cancer, and she and her sister went along. They were there several weeks. While her grandmother was dying the two sisters used to sit on the landing and listen to the conversation below, trying to find out what was happening. They heard something about Grampy Jim going into the workhouse. She did not know whether this was true or not.
At the time she remembers it, the music manuscript was covered with sheepskin, was very smelly and dirty, and was ‘going sticky’, which made her loath to touch it. It was quite a thick book, with the pages a bit like vellum. It was definitely a hand-written manuscript, as she recalled having taken a look at a page or two. Mrs Farrar did not know what had happened to either the violin or the manuscript book
It seems from Mrs Martin’s and Mrs Farrar’s evidence that James Longshaw had played for dancing other than morris, given that he had such an substantial tune collection. Certainly, the village benefit societies continued to celebrate their particular feast days until the end of the nineteenth century and beyond, and dancing remained a common, if not ubiquitous feature.
We may never know what prompted him to take up the fiddle, at what age, whether or not he had a formal teaching, how he acquired the tunes which he committed to paper and what prompted him to choose those in particular, how much he earned from music making, and a score of other questions. Despite failing to locate the music manuscript, which would certainly have been a find of the greatest importance, stories and memories in the family oral tradition had illuminated at least some aspects of the life of yet another working man otherwise destined for obscurity.
References
1 The log of the Travelling Morrice, 1925 (unpublished manuscript), interview with Mr Langshaw (sic), Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire; cited in Twenty-fifth Anniversary booklet, Cambridge Morris Men, 1949, p19.
2 John Horne MSS., Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, complied 1885 or earlier. There is a typescript copy in the possession of David Hart, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, and a copy of the Hart copy in the author’s collection. For details of the chief recurrent features of the Whitsun Ales see Keith Chandler, Ribbons, Bells and Squeaking Fiddles: the Social History of Morris Dancing in the English South Midlands, 1660–1900, Enfield Lock: Hisarlik Press, for the Folklore Society, 1993, Chapter 4.
3Jackson’s Oxford Journal, 14 March 1863, p8, and Oxford Chronicle, 21 March 1863, p2.
4 Horne, op cit
5 Cecil Sharp MSS, Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, Cecil Sharp House, Camden Town, London. ‘Field notebook (words)’ 4 (17 December–[blank] 1910), interview with Henry Franklin of Leafleld, in Oxford, 1910. Fair copy in ‘Folk Dances’ 1, ff.258-26 1.
For biographical details of the known performers in these named sides see Keith Chandler, Morris Dancing in the English South Midlands, 1660–1900. A Chronological Gazetteer (Enfield Lock: Hisarlik Press, for the Folklore Society, 1993).
6 I am indebted to Dave Parry, melodeon player extraordinary and military historian employed at the Imperial War Museum, for this information.
7 Keith Chandler, ‘Wychwood Forest: A study of the effects of enclosure on the occupational structure of a group of Leafield workers’, Oxfordshire Local History 3, number 5 (Autumn 1990), pp209–220; and Kate Tiller (ed), Milton and Shipton in the Nineteenth Century, a special issue of Wychwoods History No. Three (1987).
Article from Wychwoods Local History Society Journal 16 pp 28-32
The article is also available as a PDF for download here:
At our recent meeting [ Details here ], Sue Honoré of the Oxfordshire Family History Society opened her talk with a reminder that ‘local’ and ‘family’ history are never truly separate pursuits. Anyone who has traced a family line—whether their own or someone else’s—quickly discovers how deeply personal stories are rooted in place.
Sue emphasised the irreplaceable value of speaking with family members and recording their memories. Recollections passed down through generations, and even the stories of long-standing neighbours, can illuminate the lived texture of a community.
With this foundation laid, Sue guided us through the wide range of resources available to anyone embarking on family research—whether into their own lineage or a family of particular local interest.
A Real-World Example: The Hedges, Rathbands and Honeybones of the Wychwoods
Inspired by Sue’s talk, we turned to the web in search of examples of family history research connected with the Wychwoods. In doing so we came across a compelling piece by Dr Douglas Hope, who includes genealogical research among his many interests.
His article traces the ancestry of his daughter‑in‑law, Trudy Hope (née Hedges), whose curiosity about her roots opens a story that stretches across Shipton, Milton and Ascott. Her family line divides into two major strands:
The Hedges of Shipton under Wychwood, a family present in the parish since at least the sixteenth century, forming one of the long-settled threads of the community.
The Rathband–Honeybone line of Milton and Ascott, whose history intersects with the dramatic events surrounding the Ascott Martyrs of 1873.
Dr Hope also touches on a branch not directly in Trudy’s line but still part of the wider Hedges story: Richard Hedges (b. 1819), whose emigration to New Zealand links the family to the tragic loss of the Cospatrick in 1874, one of the worst maritime disasters of the nineteenth century.
The result is a fascinating read—an example of how genealogical research, when handled with care and curiosity, becomes far more than a list of names and dates.
Our talk on April 8th welcomed Sue Honoré (a very experienced researcher & long standing Oxford Family History Society member).
Based on over 40 years of family history research, Sue’s talk was a helpful introduction to resources available to the beginner and the more experienced.
Sue covered important elements of the research process, key research strategies to encourage the use of information sources wisely and with care, as well as hints and tips for success, plus common pitfalls and ideas for projects.
Family History Explored
Sue introduced her talk by reminding us of the deep overlap between “Local” and “Family” history. Research into family connections will always reveal important stories. These revolve around, for example, the houses our ancestors lived in, the wars in which they fought as evidenced in war memorials in every village, the ownership and sale of land and much else which is the warp and weft of local history research.
Sue also reminded us of the importance of talking to family members and recording their memories through the generations. She reminded us also that memories of neighbours can also be important and useful. Every long life is lived with a backdrop of events, decisions, family moves and other stories. These all help to further research, but also to create a living history around the creation of a family tree.
Thus setting the tone, Sue then discussed the many and varied potential resources available for family research: for one’s own family, or indeed any family of interest.
Family History Resources
Sue directed us to the extraordinary list of resources shown on the Oxfordshire Family History Society website here[ Link opens in new tab]
The OFHS website has easy to follow links to all these resources and more.
Ancestry/FindMyPast/FamilySearch/The Genealogist
Victoria County Histories (British History Online). The Wychwoods is No.19
National Archives Discovery
Oxfordshire Heritage Search
Maps, military records, wills, Google Books, real books, newspapers & many more
DNA – FamilyTreeDNA, Ancestry, MyHeritage
Full details are on the OFHS website. It is well worth a look.
Advisors and Helpdesks
Sue also reminded us of the services offered by OFHS advisors around the county. These advisors offer expert help in all aspects of family research. Advisors are always keen to meet new people.
Here is a list of libraries currently offering this service, including the Wychwood Library in Milton.[Link opens in new tab]
Tips for Family and Local History Research
For the rest of her presentation, Sue demonstrated how family history research is best seen as an iterative process, building on different strands of research to cross-verify findings, making sure to avoid any tempting leaps towards easy answers.
She chose surname examples to watch patterns over centuries, as well as a case study featuring a local Wychwoods family, which demonstrated by example some of those easy assumptions.
The evening was again – as have been all our talks this season – well-attended, and gave us the opportunity for questions, and to remind our membership of the extensive range of family history stories in our archive.
About Sue Honoré
Sue Honoré has no Oxfordshire ancestors but has been working with the Oxfordshire Family History Society in a number of roles for the last 14 years, including Editor of the journal and DNA project co-ordinator. Currently she manages the database of details of over half a million records of Oxfordshire people from 1100 to 1946. Her ancestors are mainly from Scotland, Northumberland, Derbyshire, New England and 4000 years ago, the Rhine Valley.
The society continues to present its popular exhibitions of photographs in the Wychwoods Library in Milton. Topics for these are changed approximately every 2 months, creating opportunities for visitors to see a selection of images from our photographic archive.
Here are links to past exhibitions for more information.
The society is actively collating a large section of its photograph archive into a searchable database. In this process, we regularly come across many images where individuals are not named, sadly.
We found these very interesting and high-quality photographs recently. They record a group of of cub scouts taking part in a conservation project to clear footpaths for Shipton Walks, in 1981.
Can you name any of them? We would like very much to know. And perhaps there are memories of the event which we can record for posterity?
Any information would be welcome. Please use the comments section below, or do contact us on this form if you are able to help! We have given each picture a code, so that you can refer to them easily.
ELW811
ELW812
ELW813
ELW814
ELW815
ELW816
ELW817
ELW818
ELW819
ELW820
ELW821
ELW822
We hope to hear from you!
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