30th April 2006

The search page has been replaced by a Google search. An advantage of the Google web indexer is that it can search not only HTML but also Word, the format used for Oxoniensia online. As a result, the online content is now available in the index. The scanning of old volumes has fallen a little behind because of the need to produce new ones; however, we hope to add some new content soon.

21st June 2005

At the AGM of OAHS held in Corpus Christi College George Lambrick was elected President. Outgoing President Malcolm Airs paid tribute to his academic reputation and his standing as a national figure in archaeology. The meeting approved accounts from the treasurer and reports from the officers for 2004 before moving to the college garden for wine and strawberries.

13th June 2005

John Steane retired as chairman of the Listed Buildings Subcommittee at its AGM on 13th June. His successor David Clark described John's departure as the end of an era and paid tribute to John's 'leadership by example' and his carefully researched and documented planning comments. John Steane, who is a Vice-president of OAHS, will continue to act as caseworker for West Oxfordshire.

19th April 2005

Tony Dodd, the secretary of OAHS, has decided to stand down at the 2006 AGM, and the committee is looking for a replacement. The duties of the secretary are

It will be useful if the new secretary understands how to use email, because the committee works largely by email these days; but it is not essential to understand the website because Tony is willing to continue as webmaster if necessary.

The Listed Buildings Committee is also looking for a new secretary to write its letters and keep its minutes.

If you would like more information please give Tony a call (01235 525960).

18th January 2005

Malcolm Barres-Baker writes:

Members of the Oxford Architectural and Historical Society may be interested in my history book on the Earl of Essex's spring 1643 campaign, which discusses events in Oxford, the Royalist camp at Abingdon, Chalgrove, disease in Oxfordshire etc.

It can be bought from Amazon  and should be available or orderable from local bookshops.
 

15th May 2004

Dr Eberhard Sauer of Edinburgh University has accepted the invitation from the Oxford City and County Archaeological Advisory committee to give the 2005 Tom Hassall lecture. His subject will be: Vespasian's base: the Alchester fortress. More information about the excavation can be found here.

22nd April 2004

George Lambrick, retiring president of the Council for British Archaeology, will be nominated as President when Professor Airs retires at the 2005 AGM.

14th October 2003

The Society is very pleased to welcome the next editor of Oxoniensia, Julia Elliott.  Julia brings a wealth of editorial experience to the position, having worked for Oxford University Press in various capacities for most of her career, most recently as a senior editor for Oxford Dictionaries.  She also worked briefly on The Architects’ Journal, and in the past year her interest in buildings and architecture has led to an MSc in Historic Conservation at Oxford Brookes/OUDCE which she has just completed.  She says she is looking forward to learning more about Oxfordshire’s local history and archaeology as she takes up the editorship and we are sure that Oxoniensia will be in good hands under her direction.

Julia is about to start work on volume LXIX for 2004 while the current editor, Adrienne Rosen, will complete volume LXVIII for 2003.  The two editors will be working closely together and we look forward to a smooth transition for the journal.

21st November 2002

Elizabeth Leggatt will be retiring as membership secretary this year after no less than 24 years in office. Members will long remember her careful attention to their enquiries and her extraordinary knowledge of the membership. She will be replaced by Peter Marsh, and from the start of 2003 all membership enquiries should be addressed to him; Elizabeth will remain on the committee until the 2003 AGM. Note: Penny Cookson, whose name appears on the card as membership secretary, was unable to take on the job for personal reasons.

30th July 2002

Regrettably publication of Oxoniensia is delayed this year. It is hoped that copies will be with subscribers by the end of August.

18th June 2002

The Society's AGM was held on 18th June. Reports were received from officers and sub-committees. The rules were changed to allow the society to fund, as well as to report, research.  The new President, Malcolm Airs, conducted business with exemplary efficiency allowing members to proceed to the important business of eating strawberries and drinking wine.

7th August 2001

The Westgate Library in Oxford and the Centre for Oxfordshire Studies will be closed from 27th August to 17th November inclusive. The following local libraries have Local Studies Centres: Abingdon, Banbury, Henley and Witney.

County Archaeological Services will be relocated to Holton for the period. However, there will be no public access to the Sites and Monuments Record. Staff will have limited access to the SMR using a digitised version, and straightforward enquiries may be submitted by telephone or letter. Mail addressed to Westgate will be forwarded and the usual telephone numbers will be redirected.

2nd May 2000

The next President of OAHS will be Dr Malcolm Airs, who is Reader in Conservation and the Historic Environment at Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. Dr Airs will succeed Trevor Rowley as President at the AGM in June/July 2001.

11th December 1999

Those who attended the President's lecture on November 30th will know that Trevor was only able to show a few of his fascinating 'before and after' shots of landscape change in Oxfordshire before the bulb in one of the projectors failed. Trevor will therefore repeat the lecture on February 8th in the lecture room at Rewley House at 5.30p.m.

10th October 1999

The President of OAHS, Trevor Rowley, has sent the following letter to all County Councillors:

We are disturbed at the reported proposal by Oxfordshire County Council to assign a head lease of the castle to the Osborne group.

Though we are by no means opposed to the use of part of the castle site as a hotel, we believe that the current proposals from the Osborne group contradict the Council’s own conservation plan in many ways that need to be resolved; I enclose a note of a few of the problems.

We also believe that the management of the site should not be in the hands of a single developer but should be in the hands of a body responsive to local consideration and interests, from whom, in turn, one or more commercial user may hold part or parts of the site. I enclose a copy of a letter describing a similar arrangement in Sussex.

Finally, it is our view that there needs to be a further period of public consultation before any final use is agreed. Oxford County Council’s previous consultation exercise showed substantial support for a scheme which turned out not to be feasible; if a totally different scheme were to be substituted without similar consultation the impression might well be created that local opinion was not being taken seriously.

Until these three points have been addressed — the conservation plan adopted and developments that contradict it suitably amended, a suitable management framework devised, and a further period of public consultation conducted — we believe that any consideration of assignment of leases to developers is premature.

Why Osborne’s proposals are incompatible with the Conservation Plan for Oxford Castle

1. The five car parks that they propose would ring round the listed buildings with an unacceptable scum of vehicles (contra policy 14.3 (p. 47) “to remove car parking from the environs of significant buildings and areas of the site and minimise its future impact on the historic site”).
2. Public access to two thirds of the site would be impossible because of the proposal to privatise the great cell block A (to make a hotel) and the so-called house of correction (to make a gymnasium). This conflicts with policy 1 (p. 4) “To preserve and open to public enjoyment the visual amenity, historic personality, open spaces and nationally important buildings of Oxford Castle”.
3. The setting of the mound and Old County Hall would be fatally compromised by the construction of yet another restaurant. This conflicts with policy 15.3 (p. 47) “to retain the present prison entrance as a major access point to the site”. It negates the idea of upgrading the forecourt “to form a public open space of some grandeur at a major gateway into the town”.
4. The idea of locating a concert hall, so excitingly advocated some months ago in The Oxford Times has apparently been abandoned.
5. Most disturbing, however, are the proposals to hand over the head lease to the Osborne Company.  The future of Oxford Castle should be in the care of a Castle trust composed of representative Oxford City and County citizens, as advocated by the Oxford Civic Society and Oxfordshire Architectural and Historical Society. As the conservation plan policy 12 (p. 44) puts it “to create a broad variety of use for the site and help to ensure the fullest extent of public use and appreciation, it would be preferable if the personality and functions of the castle in its new role were sufficiently varied that no single organisation, use, ethos or style visibly dominated or controlled it.”