Planned Lectures
Tue, 7 Apr 2026
About the lecture:
Fifty objects across the archive have been selected from the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum to provide moments of insight into the county’s military history. These objects reflect on the personal stories of not only those who fought in both the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and Oxfordshire Yeomanry regiments, but also those living in Oxfordshire who have been impacted by conflict.
James has been a teacher and he lives in Aston near Witney.
He is Chair of the Aston History Group and has recently published a parish history, which he co-wrote and edited..
Tue, 5 May 2026
About the lecture:
Revealing the Origins of the Viking Age through the scientific analysis of silver.
Dr Jane Kershaw is the first Gad Rausing Associate Professor of Viking Age Archaeology at the University of Oxford.
Her research encompasses gender, artefact and wider historical themes, drawing extensively on the material culture record. In this talk, she will report on the results of a recently-completed 5-year European Research Council project entitled ‘Silver and the Origins of the Viking Age’.
Tue, 2 Jun 2026
About the lecture:
Pub names in Great Britain are a rich, centuries-old tapestry of local history, heraldry, folklore, and humour, often acting as a “living history book” that reflects the social, political, and cultural shifts of the time. They were historically used to identify establishments when much of the population was illiterate, making visual, easily understood names essential.
“The Naming of Oxfordshire Pubs” is a talk about how, in the past, pubs have been named and will be illustrated with examples from Oxfordshire, including the Henley area,
Andrew has a background in teaching. He lives in Aston nr Witney and is Chair of the Aston History Group.
He is a co-author of a history of their parish which has recently been published.
Tue, 1 Sep 2026
About the lecture:
This lecture evening is still being planned.
Tue, 6 Oct 2026
About the lecture:
Godfrey’s talk will complement the visit by some Society members to the Abingdon Abbey Buildings.
He will review the history of the buildings and will reflect on how the funding of the enhancement project progressed over a significantly long period.
Finally, he will offer some comments on the Trust’s ultimate aims for the completed venture.
Godfrey spent his working career as a lawyer, initially as an academic and then as a member of the judiciary.
Some 15 years ago, he spent four years completing Oxford University’s Undergraduate Certificate and then Diploma in Archaeology. He has been a trustee of a number of charitable trusts in London and Oxford and is currently a Trustee and vice Chair of the Friends of the Abingdon Abbey Buildings Trust.
This role brings together his interests in Law, History and Archaeology.
Tue, 3 Nov 2026
About the lecture:
Lucy Lawrence, Principal Archaeology Officer at Buckinghamshire Council, will share the results of recent archaeological works undertaken across the border in southern Buckinghamshire
Lucy Lawrence studied archaeology and classical civilisation at the University of Nottingham.
After graduating in 2000 and two years living abroad, she started work for Wessex Archaeology at the Heathrow Terminal 5 excavations.
She then transferred to Oxford Archaeology, where she spent 12 years, initially working in the field, before moving into their in-house consultancy team. In 2015 she joined Cotswold Archaeology as part of the Milton Keynes consultancy department.
Lucy became Principal Archaeology Officer of Buckinghamshire County Archaeology Service in 2018.
Tue, 1 Dec 2026
About the lecture:
The History of Marlow 1651 – 1803: War to War
After the turbulence of the Civil War, Marlow’s fortunes and development stepped up a pace as the Georgian building boom and major new industries transformed the town. Several larger than life individuals arrived from all directions to make their mark. But at the end of the period the country faced a serious new threat, this time from outside.
Geoff has lived in Marlow since 1998 and has been interested in local history for almost that long.
He has taken lead responsibility for the Marlow Society’s involvement in heritage and local history for over 10 years and is currently a member of the society’s very active local history group, which carries out research, publishes articles and arranges talks on a variety of Marlow-based topics.
This talk has its origins in the Marlow Museum exhibition that Geoff and others worked on in 2019 called “The Story of Marlow”.