What was a cramped, cliched and university dominated museum has been completely rethought, refurbished and reopens next week.
Yes, the Museum of Oxford is getting ready to welcome visitors from Monday in Oxford Town Hall in St Aldates following a £2.8 million refurbishment to tell the history of our city and its people, with new displays of objects, images, aural histories and interactive exhibits. AND IT’S FREE!
Boasting three times the gallery space the museum is now totally accessible, and filled with a whole host of new exhibits and information, a shop, meeting and workshop rooms and exciting virtual technology, as Oxford’s history is explored in an interactive, community-based way. And it’s a revelation!
see the infamous Cutteslowe Wall with its spikes still intact, marvel at the knuckle bone pavement made of sheep and cattle bones from Park End Street, or find out about the Medieval Jewish Quarter on Fish Street
The ground floor features two new galleries which showcase the changing story of Oxford through its history and people.
The Museum of Oxford was originally established in 1975 in the former city’s main library within the Town Hall building and the new look was funded by The National Lottery, Oxford City Council and various benefactors, with work starting in 2018.
Discover the Cold War bunkers at Water Eaton or the city’s Children’s Hospital, revel in Oxford’s sporting wins from speedway to football, marvel at the Frank Cooper marmalade tin taken by Scott to Antarctica
“Every city leaves its mark” Museum Operations Manager Vanessa Lea tells me “so this is Oxford’s stories told through the different communities from the Romans to the Royalists, the Welsh car workers to the LGBTQ+ community and the Windrush descendants, so it’s thematic rather than chronological.
So where did they start? “We asked the local residents what they would like to see because we wanted it to be about the city, and while the university is part of that, this is definitely town not gown.”
You can click the Wall Of Fame to find out where Morse, Harry Potter and numerous other films, stars, music and events happened
Which is why you can see part of the infamous Cutteslowe Wall with its spikes still intact, marvel at the knuckle bone pavement made of sheep and cattle bones from Park End Street, or find out about the Medieval Jewish Quarter on Fish Street (now St Aldates).
Discover the Cold War bunkers at Water Eaton or the city’s Children’s Hospital, revel in Oxford’s sporting wins from speedway to football, marvel at the Frank Cooper marmalade tin taken by Scott to Antarctica, view The Rolling Stones tickets from their performance in Oxford’s Town Hall or study the tiled wall taken from the long gone Salutation Tavern where Shakespeare drank. It’s all there!
You can click the Wall Of Fame to find out where Morse, Harry Potter and numerous other films, stars, music and events happened, or lift objects off the wall in a special room between Galleries 1 and 2, scan them and their history is explained right on the screen in front of you by experts, from sausages for The Covered Market to a pie for balloonist James Sadler.
A new lift makes the museum accessible to all, and along with the extensive rooms for community groups, workshops, talks and events. “It really does aim to be a museum and a community hub all at once, so we are really excited,” Vanessa adds.
And with free admission, (donations are requested) Vanessa and Katie hope we will all visit come Monday.
Please visit https://museumofoxford.org/plan-your-visit for more information.
