OAHS

Oxfordshire Past 2023

(please note the new URL: oahs.org.uk/oxpast)
If you would like to be a host, offer a talk or bring a stall for your organisation to Oxfordshire Past, please contact Becky Peacock

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Oxfordshire Past this year will take place at Abingdon Guildhall in the Council Chamber and Abbey Rooms on Saturday 17th June and will include the 2023 OAHS AGM (click for details of the agenda). The day will involve a diverse programme of talks (see below for the full programme - which is subject to change). There will be a range of stalls and exhibits to visit throughout the day. If you would like to have a stall or advertise please contact Becky Peacock . You can download the poster, advert and logo to publicise OxPast from our media download page

Abingdon is one of the oldest towns in Britain with many cafes and pleasant riverside walks. The museum is housed in the County Hall built by stonemason Christopher Kempster, who worked with Sir Christopher Wren on rebuilding churches in London after the Great Fire of 1666. Originally used as a courtroom for the Berkshire Assizes, since 1761 it has been the venue for the traditional 'bun throwing' to commemorate royal events, most recently the coronation.

Tickets cost £10 and include tea/coffee during the breaks and may be purchased in advance from this website or on the day (there is a limit to the number of places so book early to avoid disappointment). Online payments are preferred but you may send a cheque made payable to OAHS along with your name and full address to Becky Peacock, Oxfordshire Past, Janus House, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 0ES.

Refreshments

There will be two refreshment breaks of 30 minutes in the event with complimentary tea and coffee included in the ticket price. There is a 1 hour lunch break where catering is not provided. However there are places across the town to enjoy a light lunch or there are plenty of places along the river and in the town centre to enjoy a picnic.

There are accessible toilets at the venue and refreshments will be served in the same room as the event. As the venue is large with multiple function rooms, time has been allowed for movement around the building at break times.

Access

If you have any queries about accessibility at the venue please get in touch with Becky Peacock ( or call 07584 501610) to discuss your requirements and to avoid disappointment. The limited disabled car parking spaces at the venue will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
An upgraded disabled toilet is available in the Abingdon Guildhall. The facility can be accessed through the door to the old Police Cells, under the arch between the Guildhall and St Nicolas Church in Abbey Close using a standard RADAR key and there are two accessible toilets: one on the ground floor by the other toilets, and one in the far right hand corner of the auditorium.

For speakers needing to drop off equipment and/or boxes for the event - please see the map on the PDF (click to view)

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Time	Talk	Speaker
9.45	Registration
10.00	Introduction	Geoffrey Tyack, OAHS Chairman
10.05	OAHS AGM 2023	All Members Welcome
10.30	Welcome to Oxfordshire Past 2023	Geoffrey Tyack, OAHS Chairman
10.35	Recent archaeological work in the city of Oxford	David Radford, Oxford City Archaeologist
10.55	Coffee break
11.25	Oxfordshire Buildings Record activity in 2022	David Clark, Oxfordshire Buildings Record
11.50	Gozzards Ford and the Turnpike Road, Marcham	Simon Blackmore, Marcham Society
12.15	Recent archaeological work in Oxfordshire	Vicky Green, Planning Archaeologist, Oxfordshire County Council
12.40	Lunch break
2.00	Welcome by AAAHS	Roger Thomas, Chair, AAAHS
2.05	Abingdon Map Project	Roger Thomas, Chair, AAAHS
2.25	Update on the work of the Victoria County History	Simon Townley and Simon Draper, Victoria County History
2.45	Tea break
3.15	Oxford Archaeology at 50: Abingdon Vineyards	Tim Allen, Oxford Archaeology
3.40	Is this Walter Giffard's Mill Pond	Paul Sayers, Hanney History Group
4.00	Closing address	Geoffrey Tyack, OAHS Chairman

There may be amendments to the programme at short notice

Getting to Abingdon

By public transport: There are plenty of buses that connect Oxford, Didcot, Wantage, Witney and surrounding towns and villages run by three bus companies. For more information visit the Abingdon Town Council website https://www.abingdon.gov.uk/shop-eat-drink/getting-here/by-bus-to-abingdon-on-thames.

By road: Abingdon is located close to the A34 with links to the A40 and M40 to the north and to the M4 to the south.

It is possible to reach Abingdon by boat along the River Thames and there are public moorings for boats on the Thames not far from the Guildhall - see the Vale website for more details: https://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/vale-of-white-horse-district-council/about-the-council/property-and-council-land/moorings/

Unfortunately there is no railway station at Abingdon, but there are stations near by (Oxford and Didcot) that have bus services that regularly serve Abingdon.

Car parks There are car parks in the centre of the town. Please be aware these can become very busy, especially on a Saturday, and it is best to arrive early to ensure there are spaces. The car parks are all well signposted.
Rye Farm car-park is the closest car park just over Abingdon Bridge, so only a few minutes' walk from the venue, and is £4.60 for up to 6 hours parking.
Link for further information: https://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/vale-of-white-horse-district-council/parking-roads-and-streets/parking/car-parks/abingdon-car-parks/rye-farm-car-park-abingdon/
There are two disabled parking spaces at the rear of the building and drop off points outside the front of the building.
There are electric car charging points available at the Waitrose Car Park on Abbey Close, OX14 3JD (follow the road signs for Information and Theatre).

Oxfordshire Past 2024!

Are you and your society or organisation interested in partnering with us for next year's event? This year we found it difficult securing a venue which meant we could not advertise a date for the event early enough in the year. We hope that by starting now, we can avoid this issue for next year's event. Why not come along to OxPast in Abingdon and we can have a chat about next year!

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Previous Oxfordshire Past events, locations and their co-hosts

If you would like to be a host or bring a stall for your organisation to Oxfordshire Past, please contact Becky Peacock

17th June 2023	Abingdon	Abingdon Guildhall	Programme
9th July 2022	Banbury	Banbury Museum and Gallery	Programme
12th June 2021	Online		Programme
13th June 2020	Banbury	Banbury Museum and Gallery	CANCELLED
8th June 2019	Witney	The Corn Exchange	Programme
17th June 2018	Deddington	St Peter and St Paul Church	Programme
17th June 2017	Thame	Barns Centre	Programme
7th June 2016	Abingdon	AAAHS, Northcourt Centre
4th June 2015	Chipping Norton	Chipping Norton History Society and Museum
31st May 2014	Woodstock Community Centre	Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock
1st June 2013	Kidlington, Exeter Hall	Kidlington Historical Society	Programme
9th June 2012	Henley, d:two Centre	Henley on Thames A&HG
4th June 2011	Witney	W&DH&AS
5th June 2010	Benson, Village Hall	The Bensington Society	Programme
30th May 2009	Wallingford, Centre 70	TWHAS	Programme
7th June 2008	Blewbury	Blewbury Village Society	Programme
19th May 2007	Thame, Barns Centre	Thame Local History Society
3rd June 2006	Bicester, Courtyard Centre	Bicester LHS	Programme
7th May 2005	Eynsham, Village Hall	Eynsham HS	Programme
22nd May 2004	Deddington, Windmill Centre	Deddington & District HS
10th May 2003	Wallingford, Baptist Hall	TWHAS
13th April 2002	Abingdon, Northcourt Centre	AAAHS
12th May 2001	Benson, Village Hall	The Bensington Society
29th April 2000	Witney, Congregational Church	WHAS
8th May 1999	Shipton under Wychwood	Wychwoods LHS, New Beaconsfield Hall
18th April 1998	Goring-on-Thames, Village Hall	SOAG
12th April 1997	Abingdon, Northcourt Centre	AAAHS
1996	Wallingford, Centre 70	TWHAS
13th May 1995	Kidlington, Exeter Hall	Kidlington Historical Society