Author: David Betterton
When Hollywood Came to the Wychwoods
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.
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 May 2026 Evening Event: AGM and ‘From Our Archive’
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.
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.
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.
AGM: Chairman’s Report
The Chaiman’s report is available here :
Reviews of all the 2025-6 season’s talks appear here >>
Dancing Days in the Wychwoods: Our Latest Library Exhibition
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:
Transcript of the Text of the Article
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
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:
Interwar and Wartime Continuity (1930–1945)
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.
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.
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.
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
Oxfordshire County Council Education Records. School Logbooks and Inspectors’ Reports (1900–1970), Oxfordshire History Centre.
References to folk dancing, country dancing, and May Day preparations in rural schools.
Local Newspaper Archives. Oxford Mail, Oxford Times, Witney Gazette (1920s–1980s).
Reports on fêtes, school displays, and WI events featuring folk dancing in the Wychwoods.
James Longshaw of Shipton, Musician
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
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.
3 Jackson’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:
Family History Research: An Interesting Find
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.
A Historical Side-Branch
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.
The full story of The Hedges of the Wychwoods (1800-1939) is here >>> [Opens in new tab]
Our April 2026 Evening Talk: Who Do You Think They Were?
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.
Library Displays: Updated List
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.
- Wychwood Weddings: Our Latest Library Exhibition
- Dancing Days in the Wychwoods: Our Latest Library Exhibition
- Wychwoods Women: Our Latest Library Exhibition
- Pubs in the Wychwoods: Our Latest Library Exhibition
- A Dog’s Life in the Wychwoods: Our Latest Library Exhibition
- Sculptural Curiosities in Milton-under-Wychwood: Library Exhibition
- Men at Work: Our latest Library Exhibition
- The Best Days of Our Lives: Our latest Library Exhibition
- Football in the Wychwoods – Our Latest Library Exhibition
- Wychwoods Harvest-home and Farming Life: Our Latest Library Exhibition
- Fetes and Festivities: Our Summer Library Photo Display
- Howzat! A History of Cricket in the Wychwoods
- Schooldays and Childhood in the Wychwoods: A Review
- WLHS Photo Displays in Milton under Wychwood Library
- Corrugated Iron in the Wychwoods: A Review
- A Winter’s Tale in the Wychwoods: Our Latest Milton Library Exhibition
- Exhibition of Photography: Milton Library
Cubs in Action 1981 – Can you Name Them?
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.
We hope to hear from you!
Our March 2026 Evening Talk: A Profile of Thomas Fairfax
Our talk on Wednesday 11th March welcomed Geoff Bayley, a graduate of Manchester University with a deep interest in 17th Century history .
Geoff presented the story of the English Civil War with a focus on Thomas Fairfax, which offered an important perspective on the events of the war.
Once again we had a good attendance, with over 60 members and guests. An enjoyable evening was rounded off by an engaging Q&A.
Here is a summary of key Civil War events with a focus on the role of Thomas Fairfax. The summary includes the milestones in Geoff’s presentation.
Fairfax and His Role in the Civil War
When the guns fell silent in 1646, Thomas Fairfax stood at the height of his fame. He had commanded the New Model Army with a steadiness that made victory seem almost inevitable, though nothing about the Civil War had been easy.
He was the conqueror of Naseby, the man who had taken Bristol, and the general to whom Oxford surrendered. Yet the moment the war ended, Fairfax found himself entering a different kind of battlefield—one in which clarity of purpose dissolved into faction, ideology, and the slow corrosion of trust.
Nothing strained Fairfax’s conscience more than the trial of Charles I. He had fought the King’s armies, but he had never sought the King’s death. When the High Court of Justice convened, Fairfax refused to attend. His wife, Lady Anne, famously cried out from the gallery, “He is not here, and he will never be here,” a protest that echoed her husband’s own silent refusal.
Fairfax did not obstruct the trial, but neither did he lend it his authority. It was an act of quiet dissent—one of the few available to a man who had no taste for political theatre. After the execution, he withdrew further from the centre of power, his sense of purpose dimmed by the knowledge that the war’s end had brought not settlement but a new and harsher uncertainty.
In 1650, he resigned his commission and retired to his estate.
The Scottish Question and Fairfax’s Resignation
The final break came in 1660. The Scots had crowned Charles II and prepared to invade England. Fairfax, who had fought to defend the rights of Parliament and the liberties of England, could not bring himself to wage war on a nation that had once been an ally in the struggle against tyranny. He believed the conflict unnecessary, unjust, and contrary to the principles for which he had taken up arms.
He backed General George Monck in his campaign that led to the restoration of the monarchy under King Charles II.
It was a moment of profound moral clarity. He stepped away from power at the very moment when power was most within his grasp. Fairfax finally returned to Yorkshire, to live quietly in retirement.
He had fought a king, refused to join the regicides, resigned rather than wage an unjust war, and finally helped restore the monarchy in a constitutional form when the nation needed peace more than principle. His actions were never driven by ambition, ideology, or self‑interest.
Geoff’s talk thus enabled us to follow the role of Fairfax throughout the war. The talk offered a revised perspective, one that has been lost over time to the focus on Oliver Cromwell’s role during the conflict and particularly in its aftermath.
About Geoff Bayley
Geoff Bayley is a graduate of Manchester University and has held a strong interest in the history of the 17th century for many years. Semi-retired from a role as Company Director in the automotive industry he decided to undertake a course at Oxford University about the English Civil war.
It was during this studying that he became increasingly aware of this man named Fairfax, so he decided to find out more about him. He discovered that this modest man was in fact the most influential figure in the outcome of the war and also in the subsequent creation of our constitutional monarchy.
Sadly Fairfax has been overlooked by history in favour of Cromwell so Geoff decided to try to put the record straight and give him the recognition he deserves.
Geoff has given numerous presentations on the subject and written a historical novel based on the life of Fairfax.
Next Talk: Who Do You Think They Were? Hints and Tips on Family History Research >>> Details here
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