UK museums
Oxfordshire museums
Oxford
museums
UK museums
Oxfordshire museums
Oxford
museums
Please mail J.P.Bowen@reading.ac.uk if you have any corrections or additions concerning the information here.
Note that the information here is not very up to date.
Please check details before visiting any of the museums
listed here to avoid disappointment.
Oxfordshire Museums
The following information is available:
This document gives details of opening times, facilities and charges
based on a local leaflet produced by OMC in 1994.
Information is correct at the time of going to press, but museums may
have to vary their hours from time to time and it is worth checking
before a special visit is made, especially around Christmas, Easter and
Bank Holidays.
See museums provide on-line information and this is linked
from the entry heading below where possible.
This information may be more up-to-date.
Please note that admission to some museums is by
appointment only.
Beaumont Street, Oxford Telephone 01865 278000 (Education Service 278015) Open: Tuesday to Saturday 10 to 4, Sunday 2 to 4 Closed: during St. Giles' Fair in early September Christmas and Easter Admission free/Toilets/Disabled: reasonable access/Shop Guided tours by arrangement School parties: ring 278015 in advance
![[Ashmolean museum]](http://www.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/images/Ashmole1.gif)
Britain's oldest public museum (founded 1683) now housed in C.R.
Cockerell's classical building of the 1840's. On display are
the University's rich and diverse collections of British,
European, Egyptian and Near Eastern antiquities: European
paintings and drawings, sculpture, silver, ceramics and musical
instruments, coins and medals in the Heberden Coin Room, Oriental art -
Chinese, Japanese, Islamic and Indian metalwork, ceramics, paintings,
textiles and sculpture.
See
telephone numbers.
Faculty of Music, University of Oxford, St. Aldates Telephone: 01865 276139 Open: Monday to Friday 2-5 Admission free Shop/Disabled access Guided tours by arrangement/Toilets
![[Ashmolean museum]](http://www.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/bat/gif-files/batelogoa.gif)
The most comprehensive collection in Britain of historical woodwind,
brass and percussion instruments; a complete bowmakers workshop and a
collection of bows; the oldest playable Javanese Gamelan orchestra
in Britain. Detailed guide books available. School and other
parties welcome (with demonstration, by appointment).
Christ Church, Oxford. Telephone: 01865 276154 Open: Winter: Monday to Saturday 9.30 to 4.30; Sunday 11.30 to 4.30 Easter to October: Monday to Saturday 9.30 to 6; Sunday 11.30 to 5.30 Admission (to College): Adults £2.00 OAP's, students and children 10 to 16, 80p Children under 10 free; Family ticket £4.00 Shop/Disabled access/Toilets Guided tours by arrangement
Old Ashmolean Building, Broad Street, Oxford. Telephone: Oxford 01865 277280 Open Monday to Friday 12 noon to 4 From 1 October, Tuesday to Saturday 12 noon to 4 Closed: Bank Holidays, Christmas Week, Easter Week Admission free/Shop Not suitable for wheelchairs Fax: 01865 277280 Email: gunther@sable.ox.ac.ukThe museum is housed in the oldest public museum building in the country, opened in 1683 as the original Ashmolean Museum. The displays include scientific instruments dating back to antiquity, fine Islamic and European astrolabes, a comprehensive collection of early chemical apparatus, watches and clocks, medical instruments, the original penicillin apparatus and Einstein's blackboard.
Christ Church, via Canterbury Gate, Oriel Square. Telephone: 01865 276172 Open: Monday to Saturday 10.30 to 1, 2 to 4.30 Sunday 2.00-4.30 Easter to end September - open until 5.30 daily Admission (via Canterbury Gate and Oriel Square): adults: £1 free to: children under 12, members of the University and Oxford Brookes University 50p to: students, OAP's, unemployed (UB40)
![[General John Guise]](http://madhatter.chch.ox.ac.uk/chch/gallery/pix/guise.gif)
Permanent collection of European Old Master paintings and changing
displays of Old Master drawings, mainly Italian, from the 14th to 18th
centuries.
Parks Road, Oxford. Telephone: 01865 272950 Information line for University Museum and Pitt Rivers: 01865 270949 Open: Monday to Saturday 12 to 5 (Days and Times vary at Christmas & Easter) Admission free/Shop/Lavatories/Disabled access
![[View of the museum]](http://www.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/oum/hompag.jpg)
The
museum houses
Oxford University's extensive worldwide
collections
of zoology, entomology, geology and mineralogy, including the local
dinosaur finds, the observation hive and
Alice's
Dodo. The
building
itself is one of the finest examples of the Victorian Gothic style of
architecture, exhibiting a wealth of naturalist carving, and the
huge glass roof over the
central museum court is supported by cast
iron shafts, decorated with wrought iron spandrels.
Main Museum, Parks Road, Oxford. Telephone: 01865 270927 Balfour Building, 60 Banbury Road 274726 Information Line for Pitt Rivers and University Museums: 01865 270949 Open: Monday to Saturday 1 to 4.30 Admission free Shop/Toilets/Disabled access by arrangement
![[Dancing figures]](http://units.ox.ac.uk/departments/prm/images/Dancing_figures2.GIF)
Described as "Oxford's best kept secret" the museum offers a memorable
experience to those who discover it. Marks peer down, boats sail
overhead. The cases are crowded with objects collected from all over
the world. Anyone interested in crafts, science, psychology, magic,
music or just other human beings will find plenty to interest them.
Five minutes away at the Balfour Building the sounds of an outstanding international collection of musical instruments can still be heard through the audio guide provided. Also a "Hunters, Gatherers, Past and Present" display.
Friends of the Pitt Rivers Museum.
)
Fletchers House, Woodstock. Telephone: 01993 811456 Open: May to Sept: Tues to Sat: 10 to 5; Sun: 2 to 5 October to April: Tues to Fri: 10 to 4; Sat: 10 to 5; Sun: 2 to 5 Closed Mondays all year These opening times exclude Bank Holidays when special arrangements apply.The County Museum at Woodstock, in a fine town house with a pleasant garden, has permanent display galleries which tell the story of Oxfordshire - its people, buildings and landscapes - from early times to the present day, and a changing programme of temporary exhibitions.
Church Lane, Cogges, Witney. Telephone: 01993 772602 Open: early April to late October, Tuesday to Friday, Bank Holiday Monday 10.30 to 5.30 Saturday, Sunday 12 to 5.30, closes 4.30 from October Admission: Adults £3.00, Children £1.50, OAP's and Students £1.75, Season tickets Car park/Shop/Refreshments Disabled access with help
Extensive repairs were undertaken on the Manor House during 1994. The first floor is now open to the public.
There are regular craft demonstrations and special weekend events.
Weather can affect the programme of special events; please confirm by
telephone.
St Aldates, Oxford. Telephone: 01865 815559 Open: Tuesday to Friday 10 to 4 Saturday 10 to 5 Admission free/Shop/Audio tour/Guided tours of Museum and Castle Mound by arrangement Disabled access difficultThe museum tells the story of the City and the University, and is the starting point for anyone who wants to learn more about Oxford. Situated opposite the Information Centre, it is housed in the historic Town Hall, also the meeting point for Oxford Walking Tours. There are many excellent models and reconstructed Oxford interiors from the 16th century to the present day, in addition to an outstanding Mediaeval collection.
The displays are designed with schools use in mind. The Education Room can be booked by school parties; worksheets and packs are available; school holiday activities and special events are regularly organised for children.
A special event, illustrated talk or demonstration is organised every Thursday lunchtime 1.15pm to 1.45pm, admission free.
The County Hall, Abingdon. Telephone: 01235 523703 Open: Tuesday to Sunday: 11 to 4 Winter; 11 to 5 Summer Admission Free/Car park nearby/Shop Regret no disabled accessStage one of Abingdon Museum's refurbishment is now complete. The basement is open as an educational resource room. The main gallery has been refitted with craftsman designed display cases and a new display of the town's collection. In 1994 the refurbishment will be continued with a new entrance hall and a historical display on the staircase.
Open: by appointment, to groups of not less than 8, for the first time this year, guided tours only Telephone: 01235 868677, 763752 or 766752 Admission: 50p Access for wheelchairs: ground floor onlyThis charming rural water mill was built in the local timber and weather- boarded style with a hipped, tiled roof and dates from 1807. The machinery has been restored by the Vale of White Horse Industrial Archaeology Group, who undertake the guided tours. A replacement water-wheel is being installed which will one day turn the stones again. The mill is owned by Oxfordshire County Council.
8 Horsefair, Banbury. Telephone: 01295 259855 Open: April to September: Monday to Saturday 10 to 5 October to March: Tuesday to Saturday 10 to 4.30 Admission free/Car park nearby/Disabled access/Shop/Refreshments Guided tours by arrangement/Tourist Information Centre/ToiletsThe museum, overlooking Banbury Cross, tells the story of "Banburyshire"; it is housed in the old boardroom of the Poor Law Guardians. There is an exciting programme of temporary exhibitions. The museum holds a large collection of photographs and glass plate negatives of the region; most of these can be viewed on microfiche by appointment, and copies can be ordered. Collections and archives of information on "Banburyshire" are available for consultation; the Senior Museums Officer welcomes enquiries. School groups meet in the lecture room for project work or pre-arranged activities on art and history in conjunction with the displays. Out of school holiday sessions and special events are regularly organised for children. A separate programme of exhibitors and displays of work for sale by local artists in the Coffee Bare is available from the museum.
Swalcliffe, Nr Banbury Chairman: 01295 788278 Schools: Contact Sibford Gower School 01295 78270 Open: April: Easter Sun & Mon 2 to 5 Sundays in May & Sept 2 to 5 Sat and Sun in Jun, Jul, Aug; Bank Holiday Mondays May & Aug 2 to 5 Other times and from Oct-March by arrangement in advance with the Swalcliffe Society (see above) or Oxfordshire Museum staff at the County Museums and Archive Store, Standlake 01865 300972 Admission Free/Disabled access/ToiletKnown locally as the Tythe Barn, Swalcliffe Barn was built for the Rectorial Manor of Swalcliffe by New College, who owned the manor. Constructed between 1400 and 1409, it is one of the dozen best barns in the country, with much of its mediaeval timber half-cruck roof intact. The Oxfordshire Buildings Trust owns it and repaired it with a grant from English Heritage. Oxfordshire County Museums lease the barn as "display storage" and visitors may see some of the collection of agricultural and trade vehicles.
The Old Surgery, Church Street, Wantage Telephone: 01235 771447 Open: Tuesday to Saturday 10.30 to 4.30; Sunday 2.30 to 5 Admission free Car park nearby/Shop/Toilets Disabled access: most of the site Guided tours on requestHoused in a converted 16th/17th century cloth merchant's house with modern extensions and a reconstructed barn, the museum has permanent displays showing the geology, local history and archaeology of Wantage and the Vale of the White Horse, and a programme of temporary exhibitions. In the upper gallery local community groups are invited to exhibit on local issues.
As a branch museum of Oxfordshire's Department of Leisure and Arts,
schools are warmly invited to use the museum and education room.
Contact the museum administrator. This year the barn will be
refurbished; there will be a temporary closure of some parts of the
museum. Please ring to confirm the object of your visit.
30 Pembroke Street, Oxford Open: Tues/Wed/Fri/Sat 10 to 6 Thursday 10 to 9 Sunday 2 to 6 CLOSED Monday Admission: £2.50 Concessions: £1.50; Friends: Free Free Admission: Wednesday 10 to 1; Thursday 6 to 9 SHOP: The bookhouse at MOMA for 20th Century Visual Culture; Café MOMA Disabled: access to all public areas; toilets.Described by the Independent as "one of Europe's most influential museums", the Museum of Modern Art has established an excellent reputation for its pioneering exhibition and education programme. Exhibitions of 20th Century painting, sculpture, photography, film, video, architecture, design, performance and, in particular, art from other cultures (Russia, Eastern Europe, Japan, Africa, India, South America, China) together with a wide variety of related activities: talks, music, film and events make up the Museum's broad programme.
35 Speedwell Street, Oxford. Telephone: 01865 246601 Open by appointment/Admission free Disabled access/Guided tours/ToiletsThe exhibits comprise a selection of telephone and telegraph equipment illustrating the history and evolution of telecommunications.
Open: Monday to Friday 10 to 12.30, 2 to 4 Admission free Guided tours: for parties by arrangement Car Park/Disabled access/ToiletsThe militaria of the county regiment of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, now incorporated in the Royal Green Jackets. Includes a fine medal collection, uniforms, badges, pictures and regimental silver.
A fine private collection of over 40 historic dolls' houses (1700-1900) with their period furniture, carpets, dinner services, silver, miniature books and inhabitants.
61 Brook Street, Benson. Telephone: 01491 838414 Open: April to August by appointment only Admission Free/Picnic area/Guided Tours Car park nearby/Disabled access and toiletsA fine collection of about 450 veteran bicycles dating from 1818 to 1930.
Didcot Railway Centre
Great Western Society, Didcot. Telephone: 01235 817200 Open: Daily 12st April to 25 September: 11 to 5 Weekends all year: 11 to 5 (close 4 Nov to Feb and closed 25/26 Dec) Admission: £3 to £5 depending on the event; reductions for children, OAP's etc. Disabled access with help
![[Steam locomotive]](http://www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/hrgwr.gif){kind=small}
Recreating the golden age of the Great Western Railway near
Didcot station with steam
locomotives in the engine shed, signalling displays,
Brunel's broad
gauge railway, small relics display.
Steamdays with train rides first
and last Sunday of each month, Bank Holidays, all Sundays June to
August and all Wednesdays 27 July to 31 August.
Long Wittenham. Telephone: 01865 407365 Open: Saturdays and Sundays 2 to 5 Easter to August - Bank holiday weekends: 11 to 5 Limited weekday opening in July and August - please telephone for details. Closed: December 1-26 1997 Admission: Adults £3.00, over 60's £2.50 Children (6-15 years) £2.00, under 6 free Car Park: limited/Shop/Toilets Wheelchair access restricted; contact the museumSkillfully detailed miniature landscapes show English rural life and railways from around 1930. Featured many times on radio and TV, Pendon celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 1994.
The Monastery Guest House. Telephone: 01865 340056 or 340007 Open: Easter Weekend from 3.30 on Good Friday including Easter Monday 10.30 to 12.30; 2 to 6 Weekends only in April and first half of October May to September: Tuesday to Saturday and Bank Holiday Mondays 10.30 to 12.30 2 to 6; Sunday 2 to 6 Admission free Disabled access to Abbey, toilets, museum not suitable for wheelchairsExhibition on the rich history of the Dorchester area from early times, with aerial photos of prehistoric sites, displays of Roman, Saxon and Mediaeval material, and unusual items from the Old Grammar School dating from 1652.
Marian Fathers, Fawley Court, Henley-on-Thames. Telephone: 01491 574917 Open: March-Oct Wednesdays, Thursday and Sunday 2 to 5 Admission: Adults £2.00m OAP's £1.50, Children £1.00 Some disabled access/car park/shop/refreshments/toilets/guided toursSplendid historic and cultural Polish collections: paintings, books in several European languages, documents of the Polish kings with their signatures (16-18th centuries), 15th century arms and armour, and domestic items. The museum is housed in a manor house dating from the 12th century, rebuilt in 1684 by Sir Christopher Wren and decorated by Grinling Gibbons and James Wyatt.
Flint House, High Street, Wallingford. Telephone: 01491 835065 Open: March to November: Tues to Fri: 2 to 5; Sat 10.30 to 5 plus June to Aug: Sun & Bank Hol Mon: 2 to 5 Admission: Adults £1.50; Children under 16 free. Group visits by arrangement regret no wheelchair access to upper floor. New fact sheets for schools:. Telephone: 01491 651127This small gem of a museum, housed in part of a mediaeval hall-house, has been recently refurbished. It includes features on "The River Thames through Time", Saxon and Mediaeval Wallingford, with a model of the Castle, a Victorian Street Scene, pub, shop, workshop and domestic area. A walk through Saxon and Medieval Wallingford, including a personal audio commentary and a display of recent local Roman excavations are now in operation.
Friends of Wallingford Museum.
Huntercombe, Nettlebed, Henley-on-Thames. Telephone: 01491 641224 Open: 2nd and 4th Sundays May to September: 2 to 5 Admission: Adults £2.50 Concessions: £1.50; Children: 50p Disabled access: ground floor only/WC/TeasNuffield Place is the former home, 1933-63, of Lord Nuffield, founder of Morris Motors. The house is a rare survival of a complete upper-middle class home of the 1930's. Built in 1914, it was enlarged in 1933 for Lord Nuffield. It retains the majority of the furniture acquired by Lord and Lady Nuffield, and many rooms are still decorated in the 1930's style. Much of the furniture was custom-made by Cecil A Holiday of Oxford; some is antique, with fine quality clocks, rugs and tapestries.
The four-acre garden was laid out during and just after the First World War.
Sound recordings of Lord Nuffield and 1930's music are played. Classic and veteran cars are often on display.
Filkins, Near Lechlade. Telephone: 01367 860334 Open: First Sunday of May to September 2 to 5 or by arrangement Admission: free Car park: nearby Disabled: access Guided tours of this Cotswold village by arrangementHoused in a 17th Century cottage, this fine collection of local domestic, agricultural, trade and craft tools forms one of Oxfordshire's oldest small museums, set up by the late Mr George Swinford in the 1920's.
The High Street, Burford Telephone (enquiries): 0136 781 294 Open: 26 March to 30 October 2 to 5 Admission: Adults 40p Children 10p Car Park nearby/Shop: small Guided tours by arrangement Regret no disabled accessThis early Tudor Court House contains a wide-ranging collection, including the town's Royal Charters from 1350 and an unusual dolls' house, illustrating vividly Burford's social and industrial past.
Market Street, Charlbury. Telephone: 01608 810060 Open: Easter to October: Sundays 2 to 4 Bank Holiday Mondays 2 to 4 other times by appointment: 01608 810060 and 810609 Admission: adults 30p; children free Disabled access with helpMuseum displays illustrating the traditional crafts and industries of Charlbury, with maps and photographs.
Blenheim Sawmills, Combe. Telephone: Hon Sec 01993 891785 Open: 3rd Sunday in May 3rd Sunday in August 3rd Sunday in October 10 to 5 Admission: Adults £1; Children 50p Car Park/Shop/Refreshments/Picnic area/Toilets Disabled access: part of the siteMid-19th century sawmill, with working steam beam-engine, original Cornish boiler and a working blacksmith's forge. A pattern-maker's shop on the first floor houses a collection of tools, models and displays of the Society's collection. Riverside picnic area.
BR Station Goods Yard, Long Hanborough Telephone: Secretary 01865 240125 (evenings) Museum, Sundays: 01993 883617 Open: Sundays only 11 to 4.30; other days by special request Admission: Adults £1 Concessions 50p Disabled access/Car park/shop/toiletsThe museum houses over 30 vehicles, from the Oxford horse trams to the buses of the 1960's, some roadworthy, others in course of restoration.
The Court House, Bloxham. Telephone: 01295 721256 Open: Easter to September: Sundays and Bank Holidays 2.30 to 5.30 October: SundayThe museum is housed in the Old Court House, which still belongs to the Bloxham Feoffees, trustees of the ancient Bloxham charities. The collection reflects past life in this ancient and beautiful village, one of the largest in the ironstone area of North Oxfordshire.
The Estate Yard, Farnborough Hall, Farnborough, Banbury OX16 1DU
Telephone: museum: 0129595 89593, after hours: 01926 313677,
office: 01926 332213
Open: Wednesday and Saturday 2 to 6 April to September inclusive
Admission: adults £1
Concessions: 50p - people in 17th century style dress: free
Disabled access with help. Books, souvenirs, refreshments
On 23 October 1642, the Army of Parliament commanded by Robert
Devereaux, 3rd Earl of Essex, clashed at Edge Hill with a Royalist Army
commanded by King Charles 1. Thirty thousand Englishmen fought this,
the first major battle of the English Civil War. The museum
commemorates the events of that day, and of those times, with displays
of arms, armour and period costume, together with dioramas and maps of
the Battle.
Butlin Farm, Claydon, Banbury. Telephone: 0129 589 258 Open: Monday to Saturday 10 to dusk Sunday 10.30 to 5.30 Admission: Adults £1.50 OAP's and children £1.00 Family £5.00 (under 5 free) pre-booked school groups less 20% Car park/Shop/Guided tours/Toilets Disabled: partial access/Picnic areaHoused in a former granary and cowshed, the displays show 19th and early 20th Century material from the homes, farms, offices and craftsmen's workshops of North Oxfordshire.
Also shown are a 1912 Aveling and Porter Steam Roller, diesel rollers, tractors and other stationary steam engines.
Chapel Square, East Hendred. Telephone: 01235 833312 Open: April to September - Sundays 2.30 to 4.30 October to March - First Sunday in the month: 2.30 to 3.30 other times by arrangement Admission free Car park nearby, roadside Disabled: partial accessDisplays of material of local interest, housed in an interesting 15th century chapel, including a temporary exhibition on a local subject.
Broad Street, Uffington. Telephone: 01367 820 259 Open: Easter to October: Weekends and Bank Holidays only 2 to 5 At other times by arrangement Admission: Adults 60p OAP's and children 30p Car park nearby/Shop Disabled access Guided tours by arrangement
![[Image]](http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/1896/tom6a.gif)
The life and works of Thomas Hughes, author of
Tom Brown's School Days,
with other historical material from the area. Special exhibition on the
White Horse Hill excavations.
Membership details from:
Emily Leach
The River & Rowing Museum, Henley-on-Thames
Meetings are held monthly, usually on Saturdays, and give members the chance to meet archaeologists and become involved in a variety of activities such as - recording buildings, field walking and identifying archaeological finds. Visits are made to excavations and other archaeological and historical sites, as well as to various museums.
The membership fee is £5.00 per year and members receive a membership badge and card, entitling them to discounted entry to archaeological sites and museums throughout the country.
Members also receive a magazine, four times a year, containing articles on archaeology in various parts of Britain and abroad, competitions, letters and articles from members.
For further details please send a s.a.e. to:-
Carol Anderson
Oxfordshire County Museum
Park Street
Woodstock, Oxon OX20 1SN
Great Western Society, Didcot
The Secretary, OMC
Oxford Area Office
Leisure & Arts
Central Library, Westgate
Oxford OX1 1DJ
(Chair: Jane S.M. Bowen.)
OMC is Registered Charity No. 296735.
Maintained by Jonathan Bowen as part of the OUCL archive.