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.
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.
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:
Here is an article by Carol Anderson written to accompany an exhibition of photographs recently on show in the Wychwoods Library in Milton
Our library exhibitions continue to highlight some of the fascinating images in our archive. This exhibition featured an interesting set of photos of Wychwoods children at school in the mid 20th century.
We invite you to recognise some of the individuals in these pictures!
Perhaps you might even be one of them?
Education in the Wychwoods
In the Wychwoods, private education sporadically existed from at least the 18th century. Anglican and Nonconformist churches ran Sunday Schools, teaching reading but not writing. Gradually, industrialists championed mass education as crucial for maintaining the nation’s manufacturing edge.
Yet, not everyone agreed. Some feared that widespread education would discourage people from performing essential agricultural work, leaving others hungry. Fortunately, this fear did not prevail. For over 120 years, each of the three Wychwood villages—Ascott, Milton, and Shipton—had its own school.
These schools received support from local benefactors. Board schools, established by the 1870 Education Act, offered non-denominational education, while National schools adhered to Church of England teachings.
Read the full story in Carol’s review, either online here by downloading the article to read later.
Our programme of photograph displays continues in the Wychwoods Library in Milton. We aim to change the theme regularly throughout the year. In doing so, we will be hoping to demonstrate the huge variety and breadth of subjects to be found in our archive.
Details of the Milton under Wychwood Library opening times are here
Your Thoughts?
We would welcome your feedback and comments – and especially would like to hear from you if you recognise individuals in our photo displays, or have any stories or memories relating to any particular image
Here is an article written to accompany an exhibition of photographs currently on show in the Wychwoods Library in Milton, depicting local examples of corrugated iron.
Corrugated iron, sometimes affectionately referred to as “wriggly tin”, once ruled the world as a cladding material for many kinds of building: housing, factories, workshops, schools, churches, chapels, barns, and all types of farm buildings. Its ease of use, durability, and speed of construction were all factors in its success all over the globe.
It is not surprising to find that there were many interesting examples of buildings in corrugated iron across the Wychwoods, though most have now disappeared.
Our Wychwoods Library exhibition celebrates some fascinating examples of this versatile building material in use.
When to Visit
Details of the Wychwoods Library in Milton opening times are here
To complement our latest photo-sampler exhibition in the The Wychwoods Library in Milton, here we revisit a few recent and historic weather events courtesy of WLHS members and other contributors locally.
Shipton in the Snow
First-off, we were pleased to find this superb aerial view of Shipton under Wychwood created by Hamish Fenton, which forms part of his library of Shipton images.
From around 2am on Dec 10th 2017, around 6 inches of snow had fallen with temperatures around freezing. Trees heavily loaded with snow brought powerlines down resulting in no electricity for most of the village and some neighbouring areas.
In Jim Pearse’s article ( here), he explains the abandoned benefits of the old ridge and furrow system. The width of modern machinery – drills, sprayers and combines – causes difficulties on ridge and furrowed land. They hit the ridges too hard and miss the furrows. Jim tells us this is the main reason for the modern levelling of these fields.
Ridge and furrow in the Evenlode valley looking south from the Ascott Road near Shipton. Ridge and furrow often shows up clearly in frost or snow (as here), or in the early morning or late evening in oblique, low sunlight.
But ridge and furrow has an advantage on grassland since, after prolonged heavy rain, a flat field will be waterlogged whilst furrows channel away all the excess water allowing the ridges to dry more rapidly. We witness the effects in recent years, and this year included, of prolonged rain on fields locally.
Another Discovery
Here [ Link ] was another contribution from local resident Ian Sanders. Again, the arrival of a dusting of snow can reveal hitherto invisible lines in the landscape.
Old course of the Evenlode from Shipton bridge
On Sunday 24th January 2021 the snow came, transforming the landscape, and revealed a watercourse running across the field to the left of the Evenlode as you look northwards from the bridge.
Ian tells us that if we compare this to the 1830 map of the area, we see that the river did not run straight to the bridge as now, but meandered across this field in very much the same pattern as the watercourse that shows up in this snowy scene.
If this watercourse is in fact the old course of the river, then it confirms the accuracy of the 1830 map.
Weather Related Features – The Wychwood Magazine
Readers of The Wychwood magazine are regularly updated by the weather reports of local meteorological expert John Miskin. Examples of his reports can be found here, and here.
In his 2018 article “Let’s Talk About the Weather” , John mentions particularly the winter of 1981/2. This winter features also in a couple of the images in our January 2024 library display.
Joey out for his walk in January 1982 in Ascott Road
Large digger from local quarry in Shipton High Street. Spent days clearing snow in January 1982 from Chipping Norton road and then the village roads
John tells us that 1981/2 was particularly hit by snow, when over 40cm of snow fell in December and January. It was on the night of the 12/13th January 1982 that he recorded the lowest temperature of -20.7°C (-5.2°F). In fact, it is possible that the temperature could have been as low as -22°C in the frost hollow 450 metres on the Ascott Road heading away from Shipton.
The thermometer reading from the night of 12th/13th January 1982
The maximum temperature on the 13th was only -9.8°C (14.3°F) after a particularly heavy snowfall and under clear skies.
Here are some images of winter 1982 in and around Shipton from John’s collection
Near the tennis courtsChurch View Lane Burford Road A361The Red Horse – now the Wychwood InnChurch Walk
Update June 16th 2021:Exhibition now closed. Many thanks to all visitors and for all your comments and interest.Congratulations also to Joshua Hope and Belle King for your beautiful prizewinning colouring!
An exhibition of photographs from the Wychwoods Local History Society archive is now on view in Milton-under-Wychwood library. The exhibition features some historic views and personalities of the High Street in Milton.
The exhibition coincides with Local and Community History Month, which is sponsored by the Historical Association.
All are welcome, of course, and we look forward to any comments and feedback from regular and new library visitors. The exhibition continues throughout May and into June.
Please use our Contact Us page to let us know what you think of the exhibition.
Children’s Colouring Competition
As a special feature during the event, the society is running a colouring competition for children. Featuring a choice of two historic Wychwoods characters for children to colour, the competition has two prizes of a £10 book token courtesy of the Society.
Copies of the picture to colour are here ( Click on the links):
Please hand your entry into the library any time during the exhibition.
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