March Lecture

Dear all,

On March 14th we have Liz Woolley coming to talk to us again. She will be speaking Child labour in nineteenth-century Oxfordshire: ‘It will do him more good than going to school” ‘Child labour’ evokes an image of young children toiling in the grimy factories and mines of the Midlands and the North. Yet in rural Oxfordshire, child labour was as much a feature of everyday life in the 19^th century as in industrialised areas. This talk tells the story of our county’s child workers, many of whom started work part-time at the age of six or seven. They worked in agriculture, in domestic service and in lace-making, gloving and in a host of other small-scale occupations. The talk highlights the differences between girls’ and boys’ experiences of work, and the particular fates of pauper apprentices. It also shows that, contrary to popular belief, cottage industry and agricultural work were by no means the ‘soft option’ in comparison with work in the factories and mines of industrialised areas.

Liz Woolley is a local historian specialising in aspects of the history of Oxford and Oxfordshire. She is particularly interested in the history of the city’s “town” – as opposed to “gown” – and in the everyday lives of rural people across the county, chiefly during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Liz is an experienced speaker, guide, tutor, researcher and writer who is keen to help individuals and groups to enjoy finding out about the history of their local area.

For anyone who missed Keith Westcott’s talk about the discoveries at Broughton, he will be repeating it at Bloxham to the village history group there on March 20th , 7.30 pm in the Jubilee Hall, off Brickle Lane. Get there early!

This next Sunday (10th March, 2 – 4 pm)there is an exhibition in Eydon village hall put on by the Eydon Historical Research Group. They will be launching their 11th publication, a collection of articles about various aspects of their local history, and the exhibition will show a number of old photographs and a selection of historical artifacts.

I have attached some information about two archaeology conferences taking place in Northamptonshire, one on Sunday 17th March and one on the 6th April.

The OLHA bulletin for March is available to you all by clicking this url.

with best wishes

Deborah Hayter

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