OXFORDSHIRE LOCAL HISTORY NEWS The Newsletter of the Oxfordshire Local History Assocociiiiationation Issue 125 Spring 2013 ISSN 14651465----46954695 Chairman’s Musings As I compose these musings, Oxfordshire is gripped by Horse from the floodplain of the snow and ice. Having a number of unavoidable car upper Thames. This ridge journeys to make, my mind has been occupied by the mostly consists of corallian condition of the roads. The need to plot safe routes over limestone, rich in fossils. The the county’s increasingly pothole-pocked thoroughfares colour of this rock gives the has got me poring over roadmaps of the county. ridge its alternative title, the Golden Ridge, a name some say We tend to take the roads for granted, especially those was coined by the late John we use every day, but many have an interesting history. Betjeman, who lived nearby for For example, I live near Faringdon, on the A420, the many years. Thus, unlike the main road between Oxford and Swindon. Thousands of better-known Ridgeway of the people drive along it daily, oblivious to why it is where Berkshire Downs, the A420 in the Faringdon area is a it is or how its significance has changed over time. A commercially successful version that has stood the test glance at the 1:2500 Ordnance Survey map reveals that, of time. in 1877, opposite our row of cottages, was a milestone. It read ‘Faringdon 2, Abingdon 12, London 68,’ an A mile to the south of the A420 is a bridleway, running indication of the destinations most important to local from Little Coxwell to Pusey, more or less parallel to travellers in the 19 th century. No mention of Oxford or the main road. It would be easy to dismiss it as just Swindon, the prime destinations of most of the road’s another track but it appears to have been a Roman road. users today. Thus, in close proximity, we have two interesting ancient routes, one upgraded to modern standards, the Indeed, our stretch was, for some four hundred years, other downgraded to recreational and agricultural use. part of the main route from London to Gloucester via Abingdon. But the road’s history goes back much The study of our county’s roads is a fascinating subject, further, to prehistoric times. Although it is barely full of surprises and helpful to our understanding of apparent to modern travellers, the A420 follows what local history. used to be known as the North Berkshire Ridge, the geological feature that separates the Vale of White Tony Hadland ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Explore Faringdon and the Golden Ridge If the Chairman’s musings have inspired you to take a look around Faringdon and the surrounding area, a group of volunteers in Faringdon has produced a set of 8 walk cards with very clear maps and directions for some pleasant walks of between 4 and 8 miles. The cards can be downloaded from www.faringdon.org/llwalkcards.htm. The warm, honey coloured coral-rich grit stone from the Golden Ridge was used for many of the traditional buildings in the town. Faringdon is also famous among geologists for another stone - the Faringdon sponge gravel which contains fossilised sponges. The Oxfordshire Geology Trust has a map and description on its website of three sites in the town where specimens of this stone may be seen (www.oxfordshiregt.org/faringdon.htm). For further information about the local history and archaeology of Faringdon, the Faringdon History Society’s website can be seen at www.faringdon.org/hysoc.htm. Longworth, also aligned along the A420 and the Golden Ridge to the east of Faringdon, has a thriving Local History Society which is featured on page 4 of this Newsletter. 1 Oxfordshire Local History News - Issue 125 Oxfordshire Local History Association Contents page Chairman’s Musings …………………………….. 1 Officers and Committee Association News and Notices …………….......... 2 Tony Hadland : Chairman Spring Study Day and AGM …………………... 3 Norma Aubertin-Potter: Secretary Oxfordshire History Centre Update ………….…..4 Liz Woolley: Treasurer and Membership Secretary Berkshire Record Office Update ………………... 5 Chris Hall: Journal Editor News from the Victoria County History ………… 6 Vicky Jordan: Study Day Organiser Spotlight on Local Societies and Museums ……...7 Simon Townley (Victoria County History) Obituaries ………………………..……..………. 10 Malcolm Graham (ex Centre for Oxon Studies) OUDCE Courses ….. ……...………………..….. 11 Kathryn Davies (English Heritage) Notices of Events …………...…………...…..…. 12 Email Contact: New Publications ……...………...…………...… 13 Chairman: [email protected] Diary of Talks and Meetings .....………………. 15 Membership: [email protected] List of Local History Societies in Oxon ………...19 Journal: [email protected] Newsletter: [email protected] Study Day: [email protected] Notice is given that the Annual General Meeting of the Oxfordshire Local History Website : www.olha.org.uk Association will be held in the Old Manor at Mapledurham House on 18 May 2013 at 12 noon. Oxfordshire Local History Agenda The Journal of the Oxfordshire Local History 1) Apologies and declarations of conflict of Association interest. The next issue of Oxfordshire Local History , which 2) To receive the Minutes of the AGM held at the we hope to publish in April, will span the centuries - Bus Museum, Long Hanborough, Saturday, 21 April 2012. Robert Heath-Whyte revisits the mediaeval wall paintings in St Mary’s, Chalgrove . 3) Matters arising from the Minutes. Liz Woolley assesses the impact of the coming of 4) Officers’ Reports the railways on Oxford. (a) Chairman (b) Treasurer Allan Goode tells the story of the Russell Street (c) Newsletter Editor power station, Oxford. (d) Journal editor (e) Meetings Secretary Pat Preece recalls service as a World War II nurse in the Wingfield hospital . 5) Election of Officers and Committee. There will be book reviews by (among others) 6) Election of independent examiner of annual Norma Aubertin-Potter, Chris Hall, Graham accounts Hollister-Short and James Nash. 7) Consideration of matters raised by members of A second issue is planned for later this year and will which due notice (as set out in the Association’s inter alia mark the centenary of the Bliss Mill strike Constitution) has been given in advance to the (1913-14) at Chipping Norton. The aim is to explore Chairman. some neglected aspects of that prolonged and bitter struggle. 8) Any other business 2 Joint Meeting of Oxfordshire Local History Association and Berkshire Local History Association. Saturday May 18 th 2013 For our Spring Study Day we will be looking at water power , and in particular watermills . The day will be unusual on three counts – we will have talks in the afternoon, not morning; it will be a joint meeting; the Annual General Meeting will be at lunch time. Our venue is also unusual, the secluded Mapledurham estate, which is a fascinating House, mill and village on the banks of the Thames, with the Chiltern hills as a backdrop. We will be exploring the last working watermill on the Thames at Mapledurham, where flour is still ground and can be bought in the shop. There has been a mill here since the fifteenth century, the present building dating from a little later, and the miller, Cory Starling, will explain its history, and its working. A modern use of water power from the Thames is the turbine powered by an Archimedes screw, installed in 2011, to generate electricity which is sold to a large store in Reading. The number of units generated is displayed outside. Mapledurham House, the home of the recusant Blount (now Eyston) family, was built four centuries ago adjacent to the fourteenth century Old Manor, now used as a tea room. On our private tour of the Elizabethan house our guide will show us the many family portraits, interesting furniture, original plaster ceilings and great oak staircase. Outside, the grounds stretch as far as you can see in all directions. The village has old flint and brick cottages and the church of St Margaret, which unusually has an aisle owned by the Catholic lord of the manor. The Annual General Meeting will be held in the Old Manor before lunch. Part of the estate is the Caversham Heath Golf Course, situated a mile or so from the house on a minor road. Picnic lunches can be eaten here, or at Mapledurham. The golf club has a very reasonable menu of sandwiches, paninis and other bar food as well as meals such as cottage pie or fish or pasta – if you order in advance you will save waiting. After lunch we will hear two experts on watermills and their importance in the economy of Oxfordshire and Berkshire - Dr Jonathan Brown from the Museum of English Rural Life and Dr Ron Cookson from the Mills Archive. The booking form enclosed with this Newsletter gives further details. On a fine day in May the estate of Mapledurham is idyllic, an oasis of peace, yet close to Reading. We hope to meet like-minded people from our neighbouring county to share knowledge and experiences. Places are limited, so please book early. Mapledurham Watermill Vicky Jordan (Study Day Organiser) 3 ________________________________________________________________________________________________ LOCAL HISTORY AROUND THE SHIRES _________________________________________________________________________________ Oxfordshire History Centre Update As many of you will already know, Carl Boardman Electronic access to the Oxfordshire consistory retired as History Centre Manager in January after more (bishop’s) and archdeaconry probate records is still not than 25 years working at Oxfordshire History Centre available: Origins (who are hosting the images on their and its predecessors, and over 20 of those years as head website) reckon the first of the registers will be of the service. available by the time you read this, but the original documents are still some way off.