Events and Excursions

Gile Gilbert Scott in Oxford

Excursions
Outings are usually guided walks within public open space with, in a few cases, access into a church or other public building, and this element may have to be omitted if access is not available at the time. The number of places for each outing is limited but we will keep a reserve list in case of cancellations.

We are not charging for the cost of the guides but, if there is cost for access into buildings, we will ask for payment in advance. Transport costs must also be paid in advance and a secure online PayPal link will be sent on confirmation of the booking. Refreshments may be offered, the cost of these can be usually made on the day.

Each member must make a separate booking as we have a limited number of places for each excursion. If a member would like to bring a friend, please give the friend's name but use the member's email address so we can allocate the booking correctly.

These excursions are only for OAHS members but if you would like to join OAHS, please see our Joining Details Page

To see any bookings you have already made, please log in to view your membership details and scroll down to Event Bookings where you can see all bookings you have made.

If you need to cancel, please email excursions@oahs.org.uk

Confirmation and joining details will be sent by email. Please watch for announcements on the website, and make sure that we have your email address - you can check the details we hold for you by logging in. There will not be any paper booking forms.

If you have any queries please contact the Excursion Secretary: excursions@oahs.org.uk.

Disability Policy
Members with limited mobility must contact the Excursions Secretary, email: excursions@oahs.org.uk) before booking an excursion to discuss whether special access arrangements can be made to buildings or locations. The Society will do its best to accommodate special needs, but reserves the right to refuse access to its events where, in the judgement of the Committee, the safety of an individual or of other participants is put at risk.

A History Walk round West Oxford


Date: 25 April 2024
Time: 14.00-16.00
Leader: Malcolm Graham
Location: West Oxford
Cost: £5.00
No of Places: 20
Closing Date for Bookings: 22 April 2024


Book a place

A History Walk round West Oxford starting at Osney Bridge - stout footwear required.
Malcolm was awarded his doctorate in Local History at the University of Leicester and worked for many years as Oxfordshire County Council’s local historian.


A tour of Lincoln College including the Chapel


Date: 16 May 2024
Time: 11.00
Leader: Mark Kirby
Location: Lincoln College
Cost: Free
No of Places: 40
Closing Date for Bookings: 13 May 2024


Book a place

The tour will include a visit to Lincoln College Chapel which is a fine example of early seventeenth-century ecclesiastical architecture, almost unchanged since the end of that century. It was built by the Visitor of the College, Bishop John Williams of Lincoln. Both he and the main part of the College Fellows were Reformed conformists, theologically moderate Calvinist, and entirely comfortable with the rather grand decoration of the Chapel. A programme of restoration to the fine woodwork and stained glass windows has now been completed, and the Chapel looks as fine as it did in 1700.

This visit will be led by Mark Kirby, architectural historian and Fellow of the College, who is an expert on the stained glass in the chapel.


A Guided History Walk round New Hinksey


Date: 04 June 2024
Time: 14.00-16.00
Leader: Liz Woolley
Location: Hinksey Park
Cost: £6.00
No of Places: 20
Closing Date for Bookings: 28 May 2024


Book a place

New Hinksey was established in the late 1840s as result of the building of Oxford's first railway line. It was an 'island' suburb, half a mile out of Oxford and surrounded by open fields and water meadows until development to the north linked it to the city thirty years later.
Liz has been leading themed, local history walks, in and around the city, for the past 20 years. She also runs courses at the Oxford University Department of Continuing Education and is Secretary of the Oxfordshire Local History Society.


Visit to Rewley Abbey and the newly restored Stephenson Swingbridge


Date: 02 July 2024
Time: 14.30-16.30
Leader: Tom Hassall
Location: Said Business School, Frideswide’s Square
Cost: Free
No of Places: 25
Closing Date for Bookings: 28 June 2024


Book a place

Tom will lead a walk to visit the location of Rewley Abbey, the newly-restored Stephenson swingbridge and inside the Said Business School.
Tom Hassall has lived and worked in Oxford since graduating from the university in the late 1960s. He was involved with the archaeology of the original Westgate Centre!


A Tour of the village of Appleton


Date: 17 July 2024
Time: 14.00-16.00
Leader: Trevor Rowley
Location: Appleton
Cost: Free
Options: Tea and Cakes at The Plough
Option Cost: £6.50
No of Places: 20
Closing Date for Bookings: 12 July 2024


Book a place

A History Walk round the village of Appleton, to include the exterior of the manor house and (hopefully) a visit to Northmoor Lock with one of only five surviving paddle and rymer weirs in the country. Tea and cakes available at The Plough, Appleton for a charge of £6.50, bookable in advance and payable on the day.
Well-known local historian, Trevor Rowley, is also a resident of the village and runs regular courses at Oxford University's Department of Continuing Education.
Photo: David Clark


Historic Swedish Ironwork in Oxford


Date: 28 July 2024
Time: 09.00-11.00
Leader: David Clark
Location: Oxford
Cost: Free
No of Places: 15
Closing Date for Bookings: 25 July 2024


Book a place

A tour of Oxford’s surviving examples of historic Swedish ironwork, from early C18 to the early C20, viewing the transition from wrought to cast iron and various fashions in design.
David Clark is a local archaeologist with a special interest in ironwork. He has been prominent in the Oxfordshire Buildings Record and OAHS, and is a former President of the Vernacular Architecture Group.


Iffley Excursion


Date: 15 September 2024
Time: 14.00
Leader: Geoffrey Tyack
Location: St Mary's Church, Iffley
Cost: Free
No of Places: 20
Closing Date for Bookings: 12 September 2024


Book a place

Geoffrey Tyack will lead a walk around the exterior and interior of St Mary's Church, Iffley for approx 1 hour. Then the tour will continue to walk around the village for a further hour to look at the older houses and two former school - one of which is now the church hall.

Iffley church dates from the late 12th and early 13th-century, and is one of the finest parish churches of that date in England. There is some fascinating and well-preserved Romanesque sculpture both inside and outside, good Victorian and 20th-century stained glass, including a window by John Piper, and excellent examples of contemporary church art by Roger Wagner and others.

Refreshments will be available at the recently re-opened pub or the Isis Farmhouse which is a short walk over Iffley Lock

Geoffrey Tyack is the current President of OAHS. He is an architectural historian, and has written extensively on the architecture of Oxford and Oxfordshire.