The people of Oxfordshire certainly know how to enjoy themselves, and take part in many varied and remarkable customs, sports and traditions that are held annually around the county. Some of these, like the May Morning and Beating the Bounds, go back for centuries but have been altered and adapted over the years. Others are relatively recent revivals, such as the agricultural show at Thame, which is Victorian in origin. The last fifty years has seen an unprecedented number of new celebrations, which have become traditions in their own right. Foremost among these are the Cropredy and Towersey folk festivals. Above all, these events are community-based and often also charity fund-raisers. Some of those featured here include the Bampton Great Shirt race, egg jarping at Chinnor, the Banbury Hobby Horse festival, Abingdon Morris Dancers Mock Mayor Elections, the Pumpkin Club, and the pub game Aunt Sally, which is virtually unknown outside of the county, among many others. Illustrated with 180 superb photographs, this book features funfairs and fetes, celebrations and carnivals, games and shows, each one a unique celebration of Oxfordshire's heritage.

Oxfordshire's best-known employers are the manufacturers of cars, blankets and cakes, as well as those dealing in tourism, education and publishing. It is still essentially a rural county and many of its trades and crafts are related to the countryside. A number of Oxfordshire businesses have been handed down through several generations, adapting and modernizing as necessary over the years. Many have finally closed after decades of trade, but are nevertheless fondly remembered, one or two even reappearing as exhibits in the county's museums. Some major employers have failed to survive, while others have become part of high street chains and at least one has expanded to form its own. Featured in this book are carvers and barrel makers, university employees and leather-workers, hop-pickers and bee-keepers, brewers and marmalade makers, railwaymen and bus drivers, thatchers and blacksmiths, and, of course, shops galore, including an ironmonger's which dates back to Tudor days. With 200 superb photographs, this book will appeal to everyone with an interest in the history of the county, and also awaken memories of a bygone time for those who worked, shopped or simply remember these Oxfordshire firms, trades and businesses.v>

Oxford in the 1950s and '60s offers a rare glimpse of life in the city during this fascinating period, which started with post-war austerity and ended with Britain becoming the music and fashion capital of the world. However, as this amazing collection of over 190 photographs, mainly from the library of Newsquest Oxfordshire, show, there is much more to these two decades than pop groups and mini skirts, and it the lives of ordinary people which have been captured by skilled photographers. Including views of Oxford's streets and buildings, shops and businesses, pubs and hotels, cafes and restaurants, the Colleges and University departments, as well as some of the villages which form the suburbs of the city, this delightful book is sure to appeal to all who remember these decades and everyone who knows and loves this vibrant city.

What was life really like in a grammar school in the 1950s and '60s? For those educated at a grammar school during their heyday, this time holds very special memories. They were more than just the years of being taught Latin and domestic science, custard and semolina school dinners, and learning about the birds and the bees; they were the formative years of a generation, when those from all walks of life were given a uniform, a code of behaviour and, most importantly, pride in the institution to which they belonged. This generation of Baby Boomers holds a unique place in British history: growing up during the years when the country was emerging from the shadow cast by the Second World War, they were the first youngsters to benefit from the 'mod cons' and innovations which were gradually being introduced. With fascinating memories and details that will resonate with thousands of grammar school pupils across the country, School Songs and Gymslips is a heart-warming collection of the experiences of the author and her contemporaries during a golden era. MARILYN YURDAN attended Holton Park Girls' Grammar School in Oxfordshire during the 1950s and '60s. She has been awarded a Master of Studies in English Local History from the University of Oxford, and has written numerous books, including Oxford in the 1950s & '60s. She lives in Abingdon.

The nursery rhyme 'Ride a Cock Horse' has made Banbury one of the best-known towns in England. It is also famed for Banbury cakes and its Cross. Once an important wool trading centre, in 1628 the town was ravaged by fire, which destroyed many buildings, though some have survived to the present day. This superb selection of 200 photographs provides a nostalgic insight into the changing history of the town over the last century. Each image is accompanied by a detailed caption, bringing the past to life and describing many aspects of life in the town, including chapters on work, industry, schools, markets and local events – including the annual carnival, College Rag, and funfair – and providing a vital record of vanished vistas and past practices. This book will appeal to everyone with an interest in the history of Banbury, and will also awaken memories of a bygone time for all who know this part of Oxfordshire.

The names of Oxford's streets and roads are fascinating and in many cases unique, but in Oxford, as in Wonderland, things are not always what they seem. North Parade Avenue, for example, lies to the south of South parade, while St. Aldate's refers to both to a church and a street, though there is no saint of that name. Many names have changed over the years; although present names such as St Aldate's, Cornmarket, and Merton Street have an authentic historical ring to them, within the diamond formed by St Giles to the north, the railway station to the west, the Plain to the east and Folly Bridge to the south. Scarcely any street uses its original name. Not surprisingly, over the centuries some of these thoroughfares have disappeared altogether. This book traces the origins of names found in Oxford, not only of its streets and roads, villages, suburbs, and housing estates, but also of the various colleges which make up the University, many of which have had a considerable influence on its streets. The illustrations of "The Street Names of Oxford" range in date from 19th-century prints and old pictures to new photographs which show a much-changed city.

Our ancestors' effigies, portraits in brass and monumental inscriptions are one of the few ways in which humans can find some sort of immortality, and indeed provide a form of contact between the living and the dead. Oxfordshire resting places are marked in a variety of ways and many are works of art in their own right, providing information on birth and death dates and, in the case of those with portraits, more intimate details such as hairstyle and fashion sense. Among the gravestones featured here are those commemorating politicians, academics, soldiers, artists, poets and writers, as well as some more unusual people, including the first English balloonist, the soldier who fired the first shot at Waterloo, and a Maori lady. Local author Marilyn Yurdan takes the reader on a tour of the county's graveyards, including the largest Anglo-Saxon cemetery in England and a Medieval Jewish cemetery under Oxford Botanic Garden, and reveals the poignant, humorous, and sometimes gruesome history behind Oxfordshire's graves and gravestones.