Group Leader
Wendy Morgan 842663
We meet in the Town Hall on the second Monday of each
month at 2pm, and visit places of historical interest on
alternate months. Room hire cost is covered by donations
from those present.

Our next meeting is a trip to Sulgrave Manor this Monday 21st May. June 18th meeting is a guided tour of the Swinford Museum at Filkins at 2.30pm. Enquiries to christine.beale@tiscali.co.uk

U3A History Group’s visit to the Wychwood Brewery, Witney on Monday evening 16^th April.

10 of us, ladies outnumbered 3 to 7, gathered at the bar for a pint to start the tour, David was our guide, helped by Christopher and took us through the history of the brewery from the start in 1841 by Clinches to the present day as a subsidiary of Marstons of Wolverhampton who injected money into developing the brands so that at the present time there are 35 different brews a year and 28 million pints produced annually. We then went step by step through the brewing process : the mashing mixing boiling and fermentation with all the different types of malted barley, the mixes of which along with the hops yeast and water produce the different beers. For instance, chocolate, crystal and pale barleys make up the Hobgoblin beer – developed in 1988 and now the 3^rd best selling premium beer in the UK. The hops are dry frozen and pelletised do that they can be used the year round. The water is “ Burtonised” ie. – gypsum and mineral salts are added to improve the flavour to match the water at Burton on Trent. Every pint of beer needs 4pints of water! We sampled the hops – English Fuggles and Goldings, and the malted barleys – a bit like wine tasting!!In the Fermentation room, we saw the 6 huge vessels and learnt about the “double drop” method, where the liquor( water hops and barley) and yeast, cooked in the Wychwood room, drops into tank no.1 then into the one below – leaving some yeast in the top tank – and then cools naturally. The Brakespear Triple is the exception – 1.) top tank  2) bottom tank. 3) fermentation in the bottle – with three lots of hops added ie. 2 hoppings in the boil, and one in the fermentation tank no.2 – where the hops are added in two pairs of tights for extra flavour!!!!A tanker lorry collects at 5am and 3pm every day and takes the beer to Wolverhampton for bottling or casking. The culmination of the tour was a serious tasting session of 6 or 7 beers including two flavoured beers – one with apple juice added and one with ginger – different! We all felt the tour was very informative and well conducted – a very enjoyable evening.  PAULINE HOLDSWORTH

On March 14^th 10 of our members visited the Ashmoleon Museum for a talk on the Tudor and Stuart period of English history. Out guide took us around looking and talking about various items relating to that period in the museum; coins, embroidery, silverware, clothes, china and cutlery and informed us in a very interesting way how these items evolved from the medieval period. Losing some members of our group to the ‘Bermuda Triangle of the Lifts’ and thankfully finding them again we ended our time with tea in the Museum cafe with our guide.  For those U3A members who have not yet visited the Ashmoleon Museum we strongly recommend that you do. Our April meeting was a tour of the Wychwood Brewery, Witney and in May we shall have a conducted tour of Sulgrave Manor.

Each month until October (No meeting in August) we shall be visiting places of interest. For details contact christine.beale@tiscali.co.uk or phone Wendy Morgan 01993 842663. 

Our next meeting is on April 16th. Visit to the Wychwood Brewery, Witney. 7 – 9pm. Fee required from History Group members. Enquiries christine.beale@tiscali.co.uk

In February  we were given a talk by Fred Robertson on the King James Bible that celebrates its 400^th anniversary this year. He gave a very interesting account on how the bible became written and then how the English version came about. The first versions of the Old Testament were in Hebrew, Cyrillic and Amaric. Then later the Egyptian Pharoah had the Hebrew version translated into Greek for the use of the Jewish slaves who could not understand Hebrew! The oldest version surviving in the 4^th century AD was in Greek and then a Hebrew one in the 9^th century AD. In 400AD St Jerome produced a Latin version which in 1456 at the Council of Trent decided this should be the authorised version for the Roman Catholic church. During the 16^th century with the invention of the printing press several bibles were printed in the language of the people and in 1611 the King James Bible was published in English which could then be read by all and not just the priests

March 14^th. A conducted tour of the Ashmoleon Museum with a talk on the Tudors and Stuarts. Contact Wendy Morgan 01993 842663  or email christine.beale@tiscali.co.uk

HISTORY GROUP MEETING IN JANUARY

Elizabeth Harfield, a member of the Shilton History Group, gave a very informative and interesting talk on medieval Shilton. The earliest part of the church dates from Norman times and the village was first built on the high ground as was the church. It was formerly part of the Manor of Faringdon and it was in 1205, when King John gave the village to the Cistercian Order at Beaulieu Abbey, that documents acknowledged the village’s existence which until then had belonged to the monarchy and was not mentioned in previous records. The villagers worked for the Abbey where all the proceeds of sales from the farmland were sent as well as wool from the sheep. We were shown the accounts that Robert, Prior of Shilton, had to submit to the Abbey and it made very interesting reading on the life of medieval Shilton. Some old buildings and remains from the Cistercian time can still be seen in the village. At the Dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII the Abbey was bought by the Earl of Southampton, Shilton became part of the Diocese of Lincoln Cathedral and remained in Berkshire until 1844 when it became part of Oxfordshire.

 Our next meeting is on February 20^th at the Town Hall. A talk by one of our members, Fred Robertson, on the King James Bible. For information contact Wendy Morgan 01993 842663 or email christine.beale@tiscali.co.uk

A special request.

One of our members is also a member of the Catholic church of St Joseph’s in Carterton. As some of you may know it is undergoing renovations. During the renovations one of the many objects found, was this metal item. If anyone can identify what it might be, (even if it is a modern object) please contact the site through the link at the top right of this page. Thanks for your help.

DURING DECEMBER, JANUARY AND FEBRUARY THE HISTORY GROUP WILL BE MEETING IN THE TOWN
HALL 2PM 3RD MONDAY OF THE MONTH. FOR DETAILS CONTACT WENDY MORGAN 01993 842663

VISIT TO OXFORD TOWN HALL.

13 members of the History Group were given a conducted tour of Oxford Town Hall on November 21^st and this was the third building on this site. The first building was the Oxford Guildhall built in the 13^th century and this was replaced by a rather austere looking Town Hall in the 18^th century and in 1893 the present Town Hall was built on the site in an elaborate Gothic style. First, we went into the Lord Mayor’s Parlour which was panelled in wood and decorated with shields in the decorated plaster ceiling and on the walls. Oxford has had a Mayor since 1211 and a Lord Mayor since 1962 and photographs of the previous Lord Mayors were around on the walls. The Main Hall was decorated in blue paint and white carved wood with a wonderful decorated curved ceiling and huge delicate silver chandeliers. With a stage, organ and a balcony surrounding the room this is used for weddings, concerts and entertainments.  In the Assembly Room, also named the Banqueting Room, there was a huge fireplace tiled with ornate carvings and pillars with a Minstrel Gallery over it. Around the walls were paintings of Oxford residents of note. Next door was the Old Library which once held law books. We were allowed into the Court Room to see where the Crown Court is held and looking in the Dock we saw the steps down to where once prisoners were brought in from the cells, after being taken there in an underground passage all the way from the Oxford Prison; thankfully no longer used. Next the City Council Chamber which meets every 2-3 months and here political parties are segregated on three sides and each councillor has their own named seat and desk, the Chairman having a very large, grand carved wooden seat under a canopy.  The last visit was down to the basement where precious silver items are kept in locked cases and then up to the Reception where we saw the huge silver mace that is still used for special occasions and also present at Council meetings. This was a very enjoyable and informative tour and we were all amazed at the sheer grandeur of it all. Not at all like our very own Town Hall!
                                               

On October 17^th 12 members of the History Group had the opportunity of a guided tour of the 15^th century Fairford Church with an informative talk on their medieval stained-glass windows; which very few parish churches have. The episodes of Christ’s life are illustrated in the windows in the east end of the church in the chapels and were a means of teaching illiterate parishioners the Bible. Prophets, apostles, bishops and kings, also saints and sinners were all depicted in the beautifully stained-glass windows all around the church walls and also in windows on the inner walls. The windows were made in the beginning of the 16^th century and the faces of the biblical characters were modelled on prominent people of the day. Some damage has occurred over the centuries by careless workmen, also by storm damage and later by poor repair work, but careful restoration in later years has preserved these wonderful medieval stained-glass windows for us to enjoy. The windows survived the Reformation, Civil War in the 17^th century and the 2^nd World War (where they were removed for safety). It was a very interesting tour for our group and the church is well worth a visit.

The History Group had a conducted tour of the Oxford Town Hall on November 21^st and will have a Christmas-themed meeting 2pm in Carterton Town Hall on December 19^th. Contact Wendy Morgan 01993 842663 or email  christinebeale@tiscali.co.uk