Chris Raworth, fairground model maker
I was delighted to be invited to meet Chris Raworth at his workshop in Middle Barton, catching him just after he had assembled his set of gallopers for the last…
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Cecily Peele, author, illustrator, mapmaker (1892-1984)
I have long been enchanted by Cecily Peele’s “MAP OF OXFORD’S HISTORY; WITH SOME OF HER WORTHIES”, (above) published in the 1930’s. A cursory glance at this funny, colourful pictorial…
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Chiang Yee’s Oxford
Opposite Meadow Walk on St Aldates, there is a shop where tourists like to buy souvenirs after their visit to Christ Church. It’s appropriately called ‘Alice’s Shop’ as this pretty…
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Looking for Gerald
If there isn’t already a grotesques and gargoyles tour of Oxford there really should be. Characterful stone carvings celebrating all of life from monsters to mermaids, demons to dragons, professors…
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Free Triton
You might catch a glimpse of his imposing figure from the window of your carriage as you chug past Oxford on the Cherwell Valley Line from Banbury to Didcot. Walking…
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Cordelia and her hyacinth vases
This is the time of year that I set off on my bicycle to enjoy the beauty of Cordelia Hall’s display of hyacinth vases. Her home is situated on one…
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John Towle and his paper house
Take one look at the faded photograph of the charming villa above and you might think this a story about Oxford house prices. Far from it. It’s the tale of…
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Accident, suicide or murder: A Tudor Oxford mystery
The Oxford University Church of St Mary the Virgin is sometimes overlooked as a place to visit, standing as it does in competition with its more flamboyant neighbours in Radcliffe…
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John Pusey, Captain of the Tower
On a cold Thursday evening I find myself climbing the vertical ladder that leads up into the belfry of St Giles Church, a tower that has stood sentry over those…
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The Oxford Sausage, a book of poetry
I was delighted to receive a small package from a reader of this blog. It was a copy of a book first published in 1764. They thought I’d be interested…
