The Wychwoods Local History Society was founded by village members in 1981.
The society meets once a month from September through to May with up to nine evening talks. The Society researches and publishes local and family history. It also arranges periodic outings and exhibitions.
The Society holds a large collection of old photographs of people and places in the three Wychwood villages of Shipton, Ascott and Milton as well as copies of the parish registers from the sixteenth century, nineteenth century censuses, poor law records and many old documents and books, all of which are available for local and family historians, both from within the village and worldwide. A programme of digitising some of these photographs is well under way. Read about this here and see the current set of images, available as albums, themes and slideshows.
Members carry out original research covering many aspects of village life and history including oral history, archaeological field walking, a comprehensive church survey and hedge dating. Research of this type was published in our journal “Wychwoods History” each year until 2016, a publication that has an academic reputation. Two books of local photographs have been published as well as a village walk leaflet. An oral history project interviewing women who lived in the Wychwoods during World War Two was published as That’s How it Was. (see Publications ). An example publication sponsored by the Society is The Churchwardens’ Accounts for The Church of St Mary The Virgin Shipton under Wychwood 1554-1691 edited by Jack Howard-Drake. (Full text available here).
Meetings usually take place in Milton Village Hall and visitors are welcome. Our events programme is here. Current membership is £15 for an individual and £20 for a couple or overseas member.
The Society’s Constitution was revised in 2014 and can be read here.
Looking Back on the Development of the Society
