Museum of Oxford
| Museum of Oxford | |
|
Oxfordshire | |
|---|---|
| |
| Type: | museum |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SP51370615 |
| Location: | 51°45’6"N, 1°15’26"W |
| City: | Oxford |
| History | |
| Address: | St Aldate's |
| museum | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | Museum of Oxford Development Trust |
| Website: | museumofoxford.org |
The Museum of Oxford is a history museum in Oxford, the county town and sole city of Oxfordshire. The museum covers the history of Oxford and its people,[1] including both permanent and temporary displays featuring artefacts relating to Oxford's history from prehistoric times to the present day.
The museum also acts as a public meeting space which people and organisations rent for both public and private events. Other activities facilitated by the museum include frequent public talks by historians and local cultural organisations,[2] organised school tours, family activities, adult learning workshops, and an older people's program.[3]
The museum contains a gift shop stocked with items related to Oxford's history and cultural heritage, including books, toys, food, clothing, postcards.
The museum is to be found in Oxford city centre, located inside Oxford Town Hall on St Aldate's Street.
History of the museum
The Museum of Oxford was first opened in 1975 inside Oxford Town Hall, occupying the former premises of the Oxford Public Library.[1] The museum is situated inside Oxford Town Hall, which was first opened in 1897 and was built by the architect Henry Hare in the Jacobethan style.
In 2005 the museum was awarded a financial grant by the Big Lottery funding scheme, Home Front Recall. This project aimed to collect and preserve memories of the Second World War from residents in Oxfordshire to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the war's end.[4]
In 2009 Oxford City Council considered closing the Museum of Oxford to save money, as the upkeep of the museum was costing £200,000 a year. However the closure of the museum was opposed by the Oxford Civic Society, who campaigned for its continuation and helped the museum organise a rota of volunteers to keep the museum running on a reduced cost.[5]
In 2018 the museum acted as a temporary home to archaeological artifacts uncovered during the construction of Oxford's Westgate Shopping Centre.[6][7]
In recent years, the museum has been extensively refurbished and expanded.
The Museum of Oxford focuses solely on the history and culture of the City of Oxford, with a focus on the people of the city who are residents rather than the University of Oxford. Such themes included within the displays include football, women's rights, policing, entertainment, engineering, social history, Jewish and Christian history, archaeology, and British military history.
Key exhibits
Some of the museum's most notable items and exhibits include:
- Oliver Cromwell's death mask
- Artefacts from Oxford's Jewish quarter
- Oxford's city crest, gifted by Elizabeth I
- A chunk of the infamous Cutteslowe Wall[8]
- Cold War artefacts for measuring nuclear fallout[9]
- Tickets from The Rolling Stones concert in Oxford[10]
- Personal possessions of Lewis Carroll, author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland[9]
- Personal possessions of Alice Liddell, the inspiration for Alice of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland[11]
- A tin of Frank Coopers Marmalade which was taken on Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated journey to the South Pole [9]
Pictures
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Museum entrance (inside town hall) -
The main gallery from the gift shop -
The main hall from seating area -
A Historical reenactment in the Museum of Oxford
Outside links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hibbert, Christopher, ed (1988). "Museum of Oxford". The Encyclopaedia of Oxford. Macmillan. p. 265. ISBN 0-333-39917-X.
- ↑ "Museum of Oxford to host Bailey Bridge talk". 25 January 2018. https://www.oxford.gov.uk/news/article/650/museum_of_oxford_to_host_bailey_bridge_talk.
- ↑ "older people's program". https://museumofoxford.org/learn/older-people.
- ↑ "Museum of Oxford's People's War Page". https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/user/92/u1101292.shtml.
- ↑ "Museum of Oxford: Oxford Museum's future has been secured". 16 May 2012. https://www.oxcivicsoc.org.uk/museum-of-oxford/.
- ↑ Keys, David (5 March 2018). "Alchemy, flushing toilets and blood-letting: The secrets of mediæval Oxford revealed". The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/oxford-university-archaeology-dig-secrets-mediæval-beer-mugs-students-a8239266.html.
- ↑ Ffrench, Andrew (9 February 2018). "Historic friary tiles now on show in artwork at Westgate Centre". Oxford Mail. https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/15983591.historic-friary-tiles-now-show-artwork-westgate-centre/.
- ↑ Herring, Naomi (6 September 2018). "CUTTESLOWE WALLS: How two estates were divided by class". Oxford Mail. https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/16692392.cutteslowe-walls-two-estates-divided-class/.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Museum of Oxford reopening: Century-old marmalade tin among exhibits" (in en-GB). BBC News. 2021-10-11. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-58639707.
- ↑ "Town not Gown: sneak peak at the new museum of oxford and what to expect when it reopens on monday after a £2.8 million refurbishment!". Ox in a Box. 7 October 2021. https://www.oxinabox.co.uk/town-not-gown-sneak-peak-at-the-new-museum-of-oxford-and-what-to-expect-when-it-reopens-on-monday-after-a-2-8-refurbishment/.
- ↑ Lovett, Charlie (13 November 2015). "Footsteps: Finding Alice's 'Wonderland' in Oxford". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/15/travel/alice-in-wonderland-oxford-lewis-carroll.html.