Meet Colin the Capybara, our Deputy Operations Manager who can often be found watching over our search room. He keeps an eye out for anyone bringing in illegal pens, bags or food and drink 👀 Next time you visit us, look up and give him a wave!

If you're at a loose end over the summer, why not visit the 'Timeless Tales' folklore exhibition at the Oxfordshire Museum Look out for a couple of records from our collections including this 1687 petition of Joane Walker of Bicester stating she isn't a witch... On until 6th September and FREE!

It's box delivery day 🎉 Over 400 new archive boxes were delivered this morning and squirreled away by a big team-effort into nooks and crannies in our strongrooms and box store, all just in time before our first visitors arrived at 9:30am.

On this day in 1937 the foundation stone of St Luke’s, Cowley (our home!) was laid. St Luke’s church closed in 1993 due to declining congregations, but was offered to the County Council and converted into Oxfordshire Record Office in 2000. It later became Oxfordshire History Centre in 2011.

We herd that it’s Cow Appreciation Day... So we thought we'd share this delightful recipe book containing cures for cows from Ascott dated 1778-1813 Not sure how much the cows would have appreciated the Mercurial Ointment however, despite the inclusion of brandy...

We have a fab new volunteer who has started on a repackaging project of Oxford Method slides. The Oxford Method was a revolutionary way of designing and building new hospitals which was pioneered in Oxford in the 1960s. She has already reorganised the slides for us, next task.. repackaging!

THEN vs NOW: Magdalen Street East looking towards the Taylorian 📚 📷 | @oxhistcentre.bsky.social

This hot weather calls for one thing… ice cream! Like these children in the suburbs of Oxford in August 1931 eating ice cream delivered by Howlett's van, we hope to be doing the same thing later today too.

Since it's now #WorldCup season, we had to share this lovely informal team portrait from 1980 of England’s legendary 1966 World Cup captain, Bobby Moore and his team when he was manager of Oxford City Football Club from 1980-1981 ⚽

Yesterday we said goodbye to our Service Manager, Mark Priddey who has retired after 38 years at OHC. He joined as an Archivist in 1987 and his contribution to the service has been invaluable. His kindness, knowledge and expertise will be greatly missed Mark, we wish you a long and happy retirement

On this day in 1864, the Maharajah’s Well at Stoke Row was officially opened The well was a gift paid for by an Indian prince, the Maharajah of Benares, after he was moved by a story about a drought in Ipsden The well, with its gilded elephant, took a year to build and was in use for over 70 years

One of the more unusual crimes found in our Quarter Sessions collections... ‘Stealing Hair'... Human hair? Horse Hair? So many questions.

It's World Bee Day 🐝 This is Eliza (Queenie) Massey c.1890 who was a bee keeper and lacemaker in Juniper Hill. She was the inspiration for Flora Thompson's character 'Queenie' in Lark Rise to Candleford. In her stories Flora brought to life beekeeping folklore which she had remembered from Eliza.

Curious about the history of your house? Maybe you want to know when it was built or who lived there in the past? Whether your house is modern or much older, there is plenty to find out with our helpful guide: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/mu...

Want to learn more about the history of Thame? Come along to Oxfordshire Local History Association’s Study Day on Saturday 16th May 10am-4pm. Enjoy illustrated talks and guided walks exploring this thriving market town's rich history. Book your place here! olha.org.uk/events/study...

We hold a variety of Oxfordshire #BusinessArchives searchable on our online catalogue: heritagesearch.oxfordshire.gov.uk/collections/... One of these collections is the famous car manufacturer Morris Garages Ltd. We love these photos of the workshops based (near us!) in Oxford's Cowley c.1920-30s

This is one reason why it’s best not to keep your records in a loft or outbuildings... bird poo. Your archivist will be grateful.

Our Conservator has recently hidden 12 ‘Tinytag’ data loggers in our strongrooms and inside boxes. They record temperature and relative humidity, data which is then used to inform changes to the environment to help protect the collections. Each Tinytag also needs a name! Any ideas? #ArchiveStorage

It's April which means it's #Archive30! For today’s #SportArchives we love this football team photograph of women workers in Banbury from 1917 Female munitions factory workers during WW1 were encouraged to take part in sports to improve their health in the midst of long hours and hard work

The clocks go forward this Sunday. One of the more unusual tasks for one of our archivists is adjusting the two on our tower. It involves climbing several flights of stairs and a ladder - fortunately, the others in our building require much less effort!

Spotted outside our conservation studio! Not one of our regulars… but to be fair to Mr/Ms Fox our website does say we have a café selling a small selection of hot and cold drinks. #EYAWildlife

A reminder that this vacancy is closing on Monday. Please forward to anyone who might be interested!

Oxfordshire History Centre@oxhistcentre.bsky.social · 5mo ago

We are hiring! 🎉 We are seeking to appoint to our History Service Manager role on a permanent basis following an upcoming retirement. For further details, please see the following link: careers.oxfordshire.gov.uk/jobs/job/His... Closing date: Monday 23rd March Interview date: Friday 1st May

Was your ancestor a criminal?! We’ve recently added an Oxfordshire Quarter Sessions name index for 1687-1830 to Heritage Search (not including Oxford City). One of the Quarter Sessions' roles was to deal with criminal cases including theft and assault. heritagesearch.oxfordshire.gov.uk/indexes/qs

Just a little reminder that this exhibition starts today at the Westgate Library in Oxford

Oxfordshire History Centre@oxhistcentre.bsky.social · 5mo ago

This fascinating (and free!) exhibition commemorating the men from South Oxford who died in WW2 will be at the Westgate Library, Oxford from 12-30th March It builds on last year’s popular exhibition '24 Men of Grandpont and Cold Harbour 1939-45' by including new research on the men from New Hinksey

We have a mystery we hope someone can solve! 🕵 Does this building look familiar to you? We believe it could be somewhere in North Berkshire or maybe even Oxfordshire. Let us know in the comments if you recognise it!

This is Felicia Skene (1821-1899), a pioneer social worker who supported Oxford's homeless and women fleeing sex work. She became the first female visitor allowed into prisons in England and advocated for prisons to be places of reform instead of punishment. #IWD2026 #GiveToGain

We are hiring! 🎉 We are seeking to appoint to our History Service Manager role on a permanent basis following an upcoming retirement. For further details, please see the following link: careers.oxfordshire.gov.uk/jobs/job/His... Closing date: Monday 23rd March Interview date: Friday 1st May

History Service Manager | 23 March, 2026 | Jobs and careers with Oxfordshire County Council

Jobs and careers with Oxfordshire County Council - About Us Oxfordshire History Service is responsible for archive and local studies provision for the county of Oxfordshire. The service collects, pres...

careers.oxfordshire.gov.uk

This fascinating (and free!) exhibition commemorating the men from South Oxford who died in WW2 will be at the Westgate Library, Oxford from 12-30th March It builds on last year’s popular exhibition '24 Men of Grandpont and Cold Harbour 1939-45' by including new research on the men from New Hinksey

This is Robert Boyle (1627-1691), an Anglo-Irish chemist and one of the historical figures highlighted this year as part of LGBT+ History Month which is celebrating LGBT+ people in Science and Innovation. He lived and worked in Oxford for 13 years and was a founder of modern chemistry #LGBTplusHM

On this day in February 1793, a John Price and Hannah Fowler were married in a Quaker ceremony in Chipping Norton. The marriage certificate contains a whopping 68 signatures of persons witnessing the marriage!