Oxfordshire History Centre is in the former Church of England parish church of St Luke, Cowley, Oxford, England. It collects, preserves and makes available the records of the historic county of Oxfordshire. It holds original records and printed material from the 12th to 21st century, which are available for all to see free of charge. It is owned and run by Oxfordshire County Council. It is recognised as a place of deposit by The National Archives. [1]
An office was established by Oxfordshire County Council in 1935 and was in County Hall in Oxford. Its remit was to collect historic documents related to the history of Oxfordshire as well as the records of Oxfordshire County Council itself. These collections were significantly enlarged when the Bodleian Library transferred responsibility for the diocesan, archdeaconry and parish collections of Oxfordshire to the Oxfordshire Record Office in 1984.
As the collections grew, storage space in County Hall was augmented by a series of remote stores. However, by the 1990s increasing visitor numbers as well as an acute need for more storage space meant that a new building was essential. The Diocese of Oxford offered the County Council the redundant parish church of St Luke in Cowley and this building, built at the behest of Lord Nuffield as a place of worship for the workers in his Cowley factories was converted with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, Paul Getty and other donors. The bells, cast by Gillett & Johnston in 1938, were sold to the Keltek Trust and eventually were incorporated into a new ring of bells at Christ Church, Hampstead, Greater London. [2] [3]
The new Office opened to the public in November 2000. [4]
In 2011 the former Oxfordshire Record Office, Centre for Oxfordshire Studies and the Oxfordshire Health Archives were merged into one comprehensive history service and renamed Oxfordshire History Centre.
Oxfordshire History Centre is open to visitors. [5]
Oxfordshire History Centre holds a wide range of records which may be of use in family history, local history or other types of research:
The Oxfordshire History Centre encourages organisations and private individuals to deposit relevant records concerning Oxfordshire. [7] [ citation needed ]
Catalogues can be accessed online on Heritage Search, [8] Picture Oxon, [9] National Archives Discovery, [10] or in the searchroom.[ citation needed ]
On site, the records are cared for by are professionally qualified archivists, a conservator, and local studies librarians.[ citation needed ] However, relevant records are also elsewhere:
Oxfordshire is a landlocked county in South East England. The ceremonial county borders Warwickshire to the north-west, Northamptonshire to the north-east, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, Wiltshire to the south-west and Gloucestershire to the west.
Radley is a village and civil parish about 2 miles (3 km) northeast of the centre of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Lower Radley on the River Thames. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The village is home to Radley College, a famous boarding independent school for boys from the age of thirteen to eighteen that consists of 690 pupils.
The London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) is the principal local government archive repository for the Greater London area, including the City of London: it is the largest county record office in the United Kingdom. It was established under its present name in 1997, having previously been known as the Greater London Record Office. It is administered and financed by the City of London Corporation.
The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford, and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. It contains more church buildings than any other diocese and has more paid clergy than any other except London.
Watlington is a market town and civil parish about 7 miles (11 km) south of Thame in Oxfordshire, near the county's eastern edge and less than 2 miles (3 km) from its border with Buckinghamshire. The parish includes the hamlets of Christmas Common, Greenfield and Howe Hill, all of which are in the Chiltern Hills. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,727.
Wheatley is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about 5 miles (8 km) east of Oxford.
Shilton is a village and civil parish about 1 1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) northwest of Carterton, Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 626.
South Moreton is a village and civil parish in England about 3 miles (5 km) east of Didcot and 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Wallingford. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the parish to Oxfordshire and from the former Wallingford Rural District to the new district of South Oxfordshire.
Charney Bassett is a village and civil parish about 4 1⁄2 miles (7 km) north of Wantage and 6 miles (10 km) east of Faringdon in the Vale of White Horse. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 314.
Enstone is an English village and civil parish about 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Chipping Norton, and 15 miles (24 km) north-west of Oxford city. The civil parish, one of the largest in Oxfordshire, consists of the villages of Church Enstone and Neat Enstone, with the hamlets of Chalford, Cleveley, Fulwell, Gagingwell, Lidstone, and Radford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 1,139, living in 453 households.
The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft, following the confirmation of his election to the See on 6 July 2016.
Britwell Salome is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England centred 4 1⁄2 miles (7 km) northeast of Wallingford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 204.
Stadhampton is a village and civil parish about 5 miles (8 km) north of Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. Stadhampton village is on the A329 road and close to the River Thame.
Stanton Harcourt is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Witney and about 6 miles (10 km) west of Oxford. The parish includes the hamlet of Sutton, 1⁄2 mile (800 m) north of the village. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 960.
Newington is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, about 4 1⁄2 miles (7 km) north of Wallingford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 102.
Marcham is a village and civil parish about 2 miles (3 km) west of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,905.
Hailey is a village and civil parish about 2 miles (3 km) north of Witney, Oxfordshire. The village comprises three neighbourhoods: Middletown on the main road between Witney and Charlbury, Poffley End on the minor road to Ramsden and Delly End on Whiting's Lane. The parish extends from the River Windrush in the south, almost to the village of Ramsden and the hamlet of Wilcote in the north, and it includes the hamlet of New Yatt. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,208.
Thomas Lawrence Dale, FRIBA, FSA was an English architect. Until the First World War he concentrated on designing houses for private clients. From the 1930s Dale was the Oxford Diocesan Surveyor and was most noted for designing, restoring, and furnishing Church of England parish churches.
Letcombe Bassett is a village and civil parish about 2 miles (3 km) southwest of the market town of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 148.
Coleshill is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire, England. Coleshill was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.
