Lectures

OAHS Lecture Programme


Our annual lecture programme comprises 10 lectures. From October to December lectures will be held live at Rewley House, open to everyone and FREE to attend. There is no need to book.

In January and February lectures will be online on Zoom, and you should book a place in order to receive the link. Booking for these lectures will open in December.

The final lecture in March will be live at Rewley House and also available on Zoom.

The Oxfordshire Buildings Record Lecture 2026:
Lewknor Barn and Culham Manor: Some Puzzles Explored


Date: 13 October 2026
Time: 17.30-18.30
Lecturer: Nick Wright, Julian Munby and David Clark
Location: Rewley House
Cost: Free
No of Places: 110


No Booking Required

Members’ of Oxfordshire Buildings Record explore some puzzles that have intrigued them in recent years, including the origins of an unusually ornate medieval barn at Lewknor, the development of the little-known manor house at Culham, and the origin of some carved panelling there and at Sutton Courtenay Abbey.

Nick Wright works in conservation and undertakes research into vernacular buildings; Julian Munby was Head of Buildings Archaeology at Oxford Archaeology; and David Clark is a former President of the Vernacular Architecture Group. All three speakers are past or present officers of Oxfordshire Buildings Record.

The Antiquities Collection of Caspar Fleming


Date: 27 October 2026
Time: 17.30-18.30
Lecturer: Edward Biddulph
Location: Rewley House
Cost: Free
No of Places: 110


No Booking Required

Caspar Fleming, son of James Bond author Ian Fleming, was an avid collector of antiquities. When he died in 1975 at the tragically young age of 23, he left a collection of over 300 objects, including Palaeolithic handaxes, European prehistoric bronzes, Egyptian funerary objects, and Byzantine seals. Many of his objects now reside in the Ashmolean Museum and some are currently on display. In this talk, Edward Biddulph will discuss Caspar’s interest in archaeology and collecting and reveal the remarkable history and composition of the collection.

Edward Biddulph is a Senior Project Manager at Oxford Archaeology, and the author of The James Bond Lover’s Guide to Britain.

Oxford's Medieval Quads and Cloisters: The Architectural Context


Date: 10 November 2026
Time: 17.30-18.30
Lecturer: Nigel Hiscock
Location: Rewley House
Cost: Free
No of Places: 110


No Booking Required

Oxford’s medieval quads and cloisters provided a focus for their communities as well as protection from the outside world. They are full of interest and surprises especially when understood in the architectural context of the time.

Nigel Hiscock is a graduate of the Oxford School of Architecture, where he later taught for 35 years before retiring in 2005.

Fair and Square: Investigating the Archaeology of Park Corner, Nettlebed


Date: 24 November 2026
Time: 17.30-18.30
Lecturer: Wendy Morrison
Location: Rewley House
Cost: Free
No of Places: 110


No Booking Required

After decades of speculation about the rectilinear shapes in the landscape at Park Corner, Nettlebed, a collaborative research project was devised between the Chilterns Heritage and Archaeology Partnership (CHAP), the South Oxfordshire Archaeology Group (SOAG), and local metal detectorists, with the kind permission of the landowner.  The CHAP annual archaeological training fieldschool was held at the site in 2025, and over three weeks several anomalies were investigated. Was this a Roman Marching Camp? A Civil War enclosure? Or something else?

Dr Wendy Morrison is the Director of the Chilterns Heritage and Archaeology Partnership and Senior Associate tutor for Archaeology, University of Oxford Lifelong Learning.

How Oxford Lost a Listed Building: The Story of the LMS Rewley Road Railway Station


Date: 08 December 2026
Time: 17.30-18.30
Lecturer: Julian Munby
Location: Rewley House
Cost: Free
No of Places: 110


No Booking Required

To celebrate the 175th anniversary of the opening of the Oxford LMS station, Julian Munby will summarise the significance of this listed building, and present John Ashdown's account of Oxford’s 20th-century planning history that led to the station’s removal from Oxford.

Julian Munby FSA was Head of Buildings Archaeology at Oxford Archaeology. He has been researching the history of Oxford for many years and is a Trustee of the Oxford Preservation Trust. He currently chairs the OAHS Listed Buildings Committee.

England’s Oldest Town?: The Archaeology of Abingdon


Date: 12 January 2027
Time: 17.30-18.30
Lecturer: Roger Thomas
Location: Online on Zoom
Cost: Free
No of Places: 110
Closing Date for Bookings: 10 January 2027


Bookings will open on 31 December 2026

Abingdon claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited town in England. The town and its immediate surroundings boast an extraordinary range of archaeological discoveries, from Neanderthal handaxes and prehistoric burial mounds to its Iron Age oppidum, Roman villa, Anglo-Saxon cemetery and the site of Abingdon’s great medieval Abbey. This talk will provide an overview of Abingdon's rich archaeology.

Roger Thomas is a professional archaeologist and Oxford University tutor. He has lived in Abingdon for much of his life, and recently published a book, England's Oldest Town? The Archaeology of Abingdon.

Chastleton to Enstone: Some Themes from the Forthcoming VCH Volume


Date: 26 January 2027
Time: 17.30-18.30
Lecturer: Simon Draper, Mark Page, Simon Townley
Location: Online on Zoom
Cost: Free
No of Places: 110
Closing Date for Bookings: 24 January 2027


Bookings will open on 31 December 2026

The Oxfordshire Victoria County History’s next volume (XXII: Chadlington, Enstone and Area) will be published in Spring 2027, covering a part of the West Oxfordshire Cotswolds. As a taster, the research team will explore some of the broader themes arising from their work on particular places, amongst them the area’s links with the vast Shipton-under-Wychwood Anglo-Saxon royal estate; changing settlement patterns, including through woodland assarting and the creation of some important country parks; and the prevalence in some places of Roman Catholic recusancy. Parishes covered in the volume include Chadlington, Chastleton, Chilson (or Shorthampton), Churchill, Cornwell, Enstone, Kiddington, Kingham, Sarsden, and Spelsbury (including Ditchley Park).

William Townesend and the Building of 18th-century Oxford


Date: 09 February 2027
Time: 17.30-18.30
Lecturer: Geoffrey Tyack
Location: Online on Zoom
Cost: Free
No of Places: 110
Closing Date for Bookings: 07 February 2027


Bookings will open on 31 December 2026

William Townesend was a successful stonemason who was responsible for the construction and design of many of the most notable buildings in 18th-century Oxford. This lecture discusses his career and his achievement.

Geoffrey Tyack is an architectural historian, and the President of OAHS.

The Forgotten Road from Oxford to Bristol


Date: 23 February 2027
Time: 17.30-18.30
Lecturer: David Mitchell
Location: Online on Zoom
Cost: Free
No of Places: 110
Closing Date for Bookings: 21 February 2027


Bookings will open on 31 December 2026

David Mitchell will talk about the ancient but forgotten road from Oxford to Bristol that he discovered on a map from 1675. The route has its origins back in the Iron Age and was used by everyone in the millennia that followed: kings, armies, monks, travellers, and pilgrims. In the 18th century the rise of the turnpike roads meant it suddenly fell into disuse, and only now is its history and importance being recognised. The Oxford end of the road is particularly interesting as the building of new bridges and roads in the late 18th century changed the route west out of the city forever.

The Tom Hassall Lecture 2027:
Archaeology and Wilding: Exploring the Makeup of Archaeological Wildlife and its Role in Nature Recovery


Date: 09 March 2027
Time: 17.30-18.30
Lecturer: Anwen Cooper
Location: Rewley House and Online on Zoom
Cost: Free
No of Places: 110
Closing Date for Bookings: 07 March 2027


Bookings will open on 31 December 2026

Amidst burgeoning evidence for the beauty, strength, fragility and flux of our natural world and global efforts to protect its future survival, researchers on the UKRI-funded ‘Rewilding’ later prehistory project have spent the last four years considering seriously the character of archaeological wildlife and if and how understandings of past wildlife can play a positive role in nature recovery today. This talk presents key research outcomes including fresh perspectives on prehistoric wildlife stemming from our substantial database of archaeological plant and animal remains from over 1,000 sites, and our inspiring collaborations with wilding practitioners at Knepp Castle Estate, West Sussex and Hepple Estate, Northumberland.

Anwen Cooper leads the UKRI-funded 'Rewilding' later prehistory project at Oxford Archaeology. Her research interests include later prehistoric north-west Europe, and interpretative approaches to landscape, material culture, and archaeological practice. She was publication editor and co-author of the Cambridge Archaeological Unit’s award-winning Must Farm Pile-Dwelling Settlement.