Local Oxfordshire talks – September 2016

Information provided by the OLHA (www.olha.org.uk)

7^th – Otmoor – Christopher Lowe “Islip inns”. Islip Village Hall, 8:00pm.

8^th – Wootton & Dry Sandford – Mark Davies “Daniel Harris – Oxford Castle’s Gaoler Extraordinaire”. Wootton Community Centre, 7:30pm.

10^th – Stanford in the Vale – Julie Ann Godson “The Water Gypsy: how a Thames fishergirl became a viscountess”. Small Village Hall, 7:45pm.

12^th – Goring Gap – Garry Alder “St Thomas’ Church, Goring”. Goring Village Hall, 8:00pm.

13^th – Thame – Sally Botwright “The History of the City of London”. Church Barns, Church Road, 7:30pm.

14^th – Deddington – Barrie Trinder “Industry in Banbury 1700-1960, an Overview”. Windmill Centre, Hempton Road, 7:30pm.

14^th – Wallingford – Hilary Green “Surviving the Death Railway – the Missing Story”. St Mary’s Church, 8:00pm.

15^th – Abingdon – AGM and Robert Evans “Tales from God’s Acre: Some Sunningwell Lives”. Northcourt Centre, Northcourt Road, 7:45 pm.

15^th – Sibfords – Gillian White “Robert Dudley, Queen Elizabeth and the Kenilworth Entertainment”. Sibford Gower village hall, 8:00pm.

15^th – Wychwoods – Tony Hadland “From Trevithick to Barnes Wallis: Engineering in the Family ”. Milton under Wychwood Village Hall, 7:30pm.

17^th – Longworth – A walk around Witney led by Witney Historical Society members. 10:00am.

19^th – Adderbury – Martin Bloxsom “The Importance of Local Railways in WW1”. Methodist Chapel School Room, Chapel Lane, 7:30pm.

19^th – Bicester – AGM followed by Rowena Archer “Mediaeval Women”. Clifton Centre, Ashdene Road, 7:30pm.

19^th – Kennington – Martin Buckland “The Wilts and Berks Canal: Past, Present and Future”. Methodist Church, Upper Road, 7:45pm.

21^st – Thame – Outing to Stoke Bruerne Canal and Museum with a short cruise, and Canons Ashby (NT).

21^st – Vale of White Horse Industrial Archaeology Group – Simon Wenham “Salter’s Steamers”. Denchworth Village Hall, 7:30pm.

26^th – Oxfordshire Family History Society – Emma Walsh “The Joys and Trials of Having Non-conformist Relatives”. Exeter Hall, Oxford Road, Kidlington, 8:00pm.

27^th – Enstone – John Boardman “Alexander the Great and his lasting influence”. Venue tbc, 7:30pm.

27^th – Sutton Courtenay – Timothy Walker “The Oxford Botanic Garden: the last 393 years”. Village hall, 7:30pm.

28^th – Dorchester – Jane Thick “Art through the eyes of the Historian: pictures as historical evidence”. Village Hall, 7:30pm.

29^th – Aston – Allan Ledger “A Spencer Love Affair”. Fellowship Centre, Cote Road, 7:30pm.

30^th – Benson – Lynda Warren “Sugar & Spice (The Spice Trail)”. Parish Hall, 7:30pm.

Elizabeth of Bohemia, 1596 – 1662

On May 12th Sylvia Joinson gave us a most interesting talk on the life of Elizabeth of Bohemia, 1599 – 1662.

She was the Daughter of James VI of Scotland (who later became James I of England), and Anne of Denmark. She was born in Dunfermline Palace and baptised in Holyrood House in Edinburgh, since she was close to the Scottish line of succession. She had one elder brother, Henry, who was expected eventually to succeed to the Scottish throne.

Elizabeth was brought up in her early life in Linlithgow by Lord Livingstone and his wife. In 1603, Queen Elizabeth of England died, and since she had no heir, James VI succeeded her, becoming James I of England and VI of Scotland.

Elizabeth grew up in the care of Lord Harington and his wife, who lived in Coombe Abbey near Coventry. She developed the usual attainments for a young lady – she spoke several languages, was very musical, and was a good horse rider. At the age of 9, she became caught up with the Gunpowder Plot. The Conspirators planned to proclaim her Queen and bring her up as a Catholic. But this came to nothing after the plot was discovered.. Henry and Elizabeth were now brought down to live in London, and In 1610 Henry was invested as Prince of Wales.
Attention soon turned to the question of Elizabeth’s marriage. Various possibilities were considered, but in the end it was decided to marry her to Frederick V, Count Palatine of the Rhine, who was a Protestant, and the same age as Elizabeth. The marriage was arranged for February 1613, but unfortunately her brother Henry died only a couple of months beforehand. Nevertheless, the marriage went ahead, with lavish celebrations, and the couple set sail from Margate to Flushing, and then to Frederick’s home in Heidelberg. Unfortunately Elizabeth was not popular among the population of the Palatinate. She never managed to learn German, and her manners were disapproved of.

In 1619, Frederick was offered the throne of Bohemia, whose capital was Prague. He accepted the offer, even though he was a Protestant, and Bohemia was officially Catholic. They were crowned in 1619 in Prague, but a year later were defeated by a Catholic revolt, and they were forced to leave the Kingdom. They lived for a while near Berlin, then were invited by the Prince of Orange to live in exile in the Hague, in what is now the Netherlands.

At the age of 36 Elizabeth was left a widow with 10 children when Frederick died of a fever. At the Restoration she returned to England, her son Rupert having fought in the Civil War. She found a great friend and supporter in Lord Craven who is said to have built Ashdown House on the Berkshire Downs for her. She died in London in 1662, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, close to her elder brother, Henry Prince of Wales.

Her hopes that her daughter Sophia might marry Charles II were disappointed, but Sophia was later married to the Elector of Hanover, and it was Sophia’s son George who was invited to succeed Queen Anne as King George I, and who thus began the dynasty that still exists today.

Local Oxfordshire talks – May 2016

Information provided by the OLHA (www.olha.org.uk)

3^rd – Henley-on-Thames – Derek Toms “Phillip II of Macedonia: Why was he so Important to Greece?”. King’s Arms Barn, King’s Road, 7:45pm.

3^rd – Hook Norton – AGM followed by David Shirt “The Rollright Stones”. Baptist Church Hall, Netting Street, 7:30pm.

9^th – Chipping Norton – Martin Greenwood “The Roll of a Country Carrier”. Methodist Room, West Street, 7:30pm.

9^th – Goring & Streatley – Judy Dewey “Wallingford Castle”. Goring Village Hall, 8:00pm.

9^th– Radley – Ian Brown “Abingdon’s Lost Abbey”. Primary School Hall, 7:30pm.

10^th– Marcham – Valerie Burton “The History of Witney Blankets”. Marcham church, 7:45pm.

10^th – Thame – Liz Woolley “Leisure and entertainment in Victorian and Edwardian Oxford”. Church Barns, Church Road, 7:30pm.

11^th – Deddington – Alice Foster “Stanley Spencer”. Windmill Centre, Hempton Road, 7:30pm.

11^th – Soldiers of Oxfordshire Trust – Liz Woolley “Oxfordshire and the Spanish Civil War”. Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, Park Street (behind the Oxfordshire Museum), Woodstock, 6:45pm.

11^th – Wallingford – Ben Ford “The Excavations at Westgate, Oxford: the story so far”. St Mary’s Church, 8:00pm.

12^th – Didcot – Nick Humphris “Chedworth Roman Villa”. Northbourne Centre, Church Street, 7:30pm.

12^th – Wootton & Dry Sandford – Silvia Joinson “Elizabeth of Bohemia”. Wootton Community Centre, 7:30pm.

15^th – Oxfordshire Gardens Trust – Visit to Kirtlington Park. 2:00pm.

16^th – Adderbury – Martin May “For to Get to the Other Side”. Methodist Chapel School Room, Chapel Lane, 7:30pm.

16^th – Bicester – Ellie Reid “Dressing Up the Past: Historical Pageants in 20th Century Oxfordshire”. Clifton Centre, Ashdene Road, 7:30pm.

16^th – Kennington – Tony Rogerson “Oxford Dambusters”. Methodist Church, Upper Road, 7:45pm.

16^th – Oxfordshire Family History Society – Carol Anderson “Glovemaking in West Oxfordshire”. Exeter Hall, Oxford Road, Kidlington, 8:00pm.

17^th – Iffley – Allan Chapman “Mary Somerville and the world of science”. Church Hall, Church Way, 7:30pm.

18^th – Clanfield and Bampton – Mark Davies “A Literary Tour of Oxfordshire Waterways”. Bampton Village Hall, 7:30.

18^th – Littlemore – Ben Ford “Archaeological discoveries at the Westgate”. Giles Road Community Centre, 7:30pm.

18^th – Sutton Courtenay – AGM and John Talbot “The history of Sutton Courtenay street and place names”. All Saints’ Church, 7:30pm.

18^th – Vale of White Horse Industrial Archaeology Group – [subject to confirmation] Anne Gould “Robert Stevenson, builder of lighthouses”. Denchworth Village Hall, 7:30pm.

19^th – Abingdon – Richard Dudding “Radley Church in the civil war”. Northcourt Centre, Northcourt Road, 7:45pm.

19^th – Longworth – Bill King “The Upper Thames Patrol”. Southmoor & Kingston Bagpuize Village Hall, 7:30pm.

19^th – Sibfords – Chris Mason “Swift stories”. Sibford Gower village hall, 8:00pm.

24^th – Enstone – Davina Huxley “My history-making ancestors”. Venue tbc, 7:30pm.

25^th – Dorchester – Richard Smith “Oxford student pranks: a history of mischief and mayhem”. Village Hall, 7:30pm.

27^th – Benson – Colin Oakes “Pepys – Plague and Fire”. Parish Hall, 7:30pm.

31^st – Kidlington – Bill King “On two wheels: the fascinating story of the bicycle”. St John Ambulance Hall, High Street, 7:50pm.