ACTIVITIES

Photographic Archives

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 sixteen 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 digitalising some of these photographs has been started. Click here to read about this or click on images to see the first images put on this site sorted by separate location links.

In April and December 2007, the Society invited a group of older citizens of first Shipton and secondly Milton, who have memories of the village from the 1920s, to take tea with us in their respective village halls and use the opportunity to view some of the Society's photographs dating from the period 1900 to 1930 in an attempt to identify the people recorded. This initiative has been grant aided by West Oxfordshire District Council (www.westoxon.gov.uk). A third session is planned for 2008.

The Shipton Constables' Book 1807-1851 and a New Commemorative Porcelain Mug

The Society is pleased to announce publication of The Shipton-under- Wychwood Constables' Book 1807-1851 £3.00 (see publications) and the launch of a porcelain mug commemorating twenty five years of the Society's existence (see below).

The village constable's job was an arduous one and unpaid! Among other things, he was responsible for taking miscreants to justice; dealing with legal paperwork such as warrants and returns; supervising the removal of destitute newcomers and chasing up the fathers of illegitimate children; managing the parish contribution to the county militia; regulating agriculture in the parish including making bounty payments for the slaughter of vermin such as sparrows and vipers and maintaining parish boundaries. This book is a transcript of entries referring to these activities from the constables' account book covering nearly half a century. It is complemented by an eight page introduction by Doctor Margaret Ware describing the role of the constable and explaining the significance of some of the references.

The Society's 25th Anniversary meeting on 16th February was the occasion for the launch of a new commemorative mug featuring four Wychwoods historical characters as portrayed by the Society's Secretary, Wendy Pearse. Click here to read the biographical notes prepared by Sue Jourdan for each of the characters depicted. The mugs are available at £6.00 each plus £1.50 for post and packing (in the polystyrene protective box shown). To order, please contact: Graham Nelson at the History Bookshop, (email:graham@historybookshop.com) To see a photograph of available past and present committee members taken during the 25th Anniversary meeting, please click here. To read Dr Margaret Ware's article on the Society's first 21 years, click here