Our latest library exhibition running now until mid-November 2024 features a selection of images of autumn harvest activity in Wychwoods farms over the years
As with all our exhibitions in the Wychwoods Library in Milton, these images have been selected from our online archive.
See a wider selection of photographs on a harvest and farming theme >> here
Agriculture in the Wychwoods over Time
The Society has recorded many details of farming life in the Wychwoods, through its Journal and Album publications, audio recordings, evening talks and member contributions and research. Here we offer a few links to some of this material, recorded here on the Society website.
We were pleased to have a presence at the Shipton Fete on Bank Holiday Monday August 26th, and enjoyed a great deal of interest from a steady stream of visitors to our stand.
The model by the late Arthur Ashton of the sailing ship “Cospatrick” attracted much attention – this was the model’s second outing this year after its inclusion on our stand at the Milton Fete last month.
Arthur Ashton’s Model of the Cospatrick
Having the model in place allowed many visitors to our stand to connect with the story of the ship and it’s link to the memorial of Shipton Green. It was certainly a delight to have conversations with several visitors from Australia, who were aware of their family roots from those early days of emigration to the Antipodes.
Our photograph display included some key images of Shipton’s past, featuring also for the first time, a few of the recently digitised scans of a large number of slides from Shipton fetes in the 1950s and 1970s.
Again, we had many conversations around the fashions of the time, and the changes in the layout and function of Shipton Green over the years.
Four hours went swiftly by, and pre-event publicity had made sure of a good attendance. This was a valuable opportunity for us to understand a little more of which aspects of our local history are of the most telling interest to folk in our community. Thank you to all who came to chat with us.
The First Prize winners of the under 5s Fancy Dress “King and Queen” at the 1977 Jubilee Celebrations in Coombes Close, Shipton under Wychwood.
Our latest library exhibition running now until mid-September 2024 has a set of intriguing photos of Wychwoods village fetes held over the years. We also display some images of other key festivities.
These have been selected from our online archive , as well as some images from the 1970s and 1990s recently discovered in the society’s Groves Yard archive.
These latter are simple scans from old transparencies. There are many more to process, and this is one of the many tasks in progress for the archive team.
We invite you to recognise some of the individuals in these pictures!
It was with sadness the Wychwoods Local History Society learned of the passing of Dr Kate Tiller OBE.
Dr Kate Tiller in 2019
Bruern Abbey, August 2019. Dr Kate Tiller presents a copy of the newly-published Wychwoods edition of the Victoria County History of Oxfordshire to the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire Sir Timothy Stevenson. Also in the photo is Simon Townley, editor.
Kate is remembered as a key supporter of the society in its early days. It was her enthusiasm for our project which encouraged the founding society members. Her advice and practical support meant we were able to acquire and develop skills to direct our research efforts fruitfully.
As Margaret Ware recorded in her review of the history of the society: “In January 1983 we found that the fund-raising members’ evening with wine and a ploughman’s supper had grown to a substantial exhibition and well over a hundred enthusiastic people crowded into Milton Village Hall.
Among the visitors was Dr Kate Tiller of the Oxford University Department for External Studies (as it was then) who congratulated us and offered to hold a series of evening classes in the Wychwoods on ‘Sources of Local History’, which duly started the following winter”.
Largely because of the skills developed from these classes, our first journal, Wychwoods History No. 1 was published in May 1985. Kate wrote an appreciative preface for us. The journal proved extremely popular and was soon reprinted.
The Journal with Kate’s preface is available here to view or download.
We record the Kate’s passing with gratitude for the extraordinary support she offered, guiding a group of enthusiastic amateurs to achieve some professional research of lasting value.
A tribute by Geoffrey Thomas, Professor Emeritus of Kellogg College Oxford where Kate was a founding Fellow, is available here.
Committee members enjoyed a successful afternoon at the fete in Milton on July 13th, where our stall attracted a steady stream of visitors.
Once again, as is a feature for us at these events, our photo displays generated lots of conversations. Most of these start with the regular refrain along a theme: “Look, that’s my uncle/sister/ grandad/…” and the stories emerge.
We were pleased this year to include in our display, the model by the late Arthur Ashton of the sailing ship “Cospatrick”. This attracted much interest: a puzzle for some, moments of recognition for others.
We were grateful to the organisers of the fete for the ease of set-up, and pre-event publicity which ensured a good attendance and festive atmosphere.
The society was pleased to support the Ascott under Wychwood Family and Local History event at Tiddy Hall on June 22nd.
Part of the WLHS Photo Display
We organised a display of photos from Wychwoods villages, as well as demonstrations of our extensive digital photo library. It was a welcome opportunity to hear and share memories and put some names to several photos (group and individuals). Often these come to us with missing or incomplete information, and so it is always a benefit to fill in gaps and continue the learning process.
The Ascott Martyrs Family Tree
On show also was the amazing Ascott Martyrs Family Tree and some of the tools used by farmers before mechanisation. Also on show was a stand organised the Oxfordshire Family History Society, who were on hand to give advice and help for those looking to develop their family tree, or perhaps start their own journey of family history discovery.
As an extra treat, visitors were regaled with music and dance from the Charlbury-Finstock Morris who performed traditional Ascott dances outside the hall.
The Oxfordshire Family History Society
Taking a closer look …. The Wychwoods Local History Display
Here is an article by Carol Anderson written to accompany an exhibition of photographs currently on show in the Wychwoods Library in Milton.
Carol’s review – available to download here – covers the varying cricketing activities in Ascott and Milton as well as the successes enjoyed by Shipton teams over the years.
Cricket has been played in the Wychwoods since at least the mid-19th century. Jackson’s Oxford Journal records a match between Shipton and Ascott, played on 24th August 1861 (Shipton scored 89, Ascott 35).
Shipton Cricket Club: Historic Moments
The Shipton Cricket Club website records that it is believed that village matches were staged in a field on the edge of Shipton near Fiveways. This is the junction of Leafield and Swinbrook Roads, Mawles and Plum Lane.
The club also records that country house cricket was played on the present ground in the late 19th century. This was made possible by the levelling and draining of the area by the Pepper family. This family were the owners of Shipton Court, which locals will know, stands opposite Shipton’s cricket ground.
A historic timeline of Shipton Cricket Club appearson the club website here. This includes links to videos of some of the early 21st century games played by Shipton Cricket Club at Lord’s.
The club first entered the National Village Knockout Competition in the mid-90s , reaching the final in 1997.
Sam Mendes, who was a regular player at this time, hosted a meal for the team at the Groucho Club on the eve of the match. In the event the final is overshadowed by the overnight death of Princess Diana. There are doubts about proceeding with the match but it goes ahead. The result was a defeat to Caldy of The Wirral.
Here is a video of pre-match interviews, and many slices of action from the match.
.. and here are some images from Shipton’s later visit to Lord’s in 2010:
Following the success of the first village trails of Milton and Shipton, The Arts Society Cotswolds (TASC) has launched the third in the series at Ascott.
The new Ascott trail is in three parts, each beginning and ending on the village green.
Part one is focused on the centre of the village. Part two goes along the High Street and includes an optional longer footpath to Manor Farm and the site of Ascott D’Oyley castle. Part three takes you in the direction of Tiddy Hall and the site of Ascott Earl Castle.
The Village Trails created by TASC are being publicised around each village.
The New Ascott Village Trail Poster and QR Code
The Shipton Village Trail Poster and QR Code
Each trail comprises a description and image of individual landmarks in each village and invites answers to simple questions about those landmarks. All three trails have language simple enough for children to follow, but they are also suitable for all ages.
There are optional amounts of walking required. The trails need not be completed in one session.
How to get my Village Trail Copy?
Milton Village Trail Poster with QR Code
In various locations around each village, there are posters which have a QR code on them, so that the trail can be downloaded on to a smart phone or tablet and printed off as necessary.
Paper copies of the trails are also available free of charge at many locations in each village.
Or you can download from the Arts Society of the Cotswolds website here, using these links:
After the AGM, our final talk of the season included 3 presentations from WLHS Committee members, featuring stories from our archive using newly-discovered historic photographs, letters and oral history recordings
First we had a short review of the society’s work on audio recordings and oral histories by David Betterton. He played a few sample clips which typified the variety and human interest found in this archive. [ Overview here ]
John Bennett gave a review of a recently-acquired album of photographs of Milton under Wychwood dating from 1891. This album – we call it the “Marshall Album” is a treasure trove of historic images of Milton houses, from which John selected several individual properties and compared them to their appearance today. The Album itself was a gift from the guest of a prominent Baptist family in the village.
In the final presentation, Carol Anderson took us on a fascinating audit trail of the Baughan family in Milton, derived from her research around an intriguing box containing apparently random notes, receipts and letters – a box she titled “A Box of Baughans”. Her work on this revealed fascinating insights, for example, on the role of women in business administration.
Wychwoods Local History Archive Room
Further research is planned for the Marshall Album and the “Box of Baughans”, and work continues on creating extracts from the society’s oral history files.
Our collection of Oral History audio files has recently been digitised. Almost 100 audio records of selected society talks, BBC features and many interviews of Wychwoods residents are included in the WLHS archive.
To offer a brief flavour of the many interviews from the 1980s-2000s, here are a few out-takes.
By autumn of 2024, we hope to make the full selection of these audio files available on request.
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