History of Oxford: From Early Medieval Settlement to Post-Industrial City

Overview

Although Oxford is famous worldwide for its university, that institution is only one facet of an urban centre which originated long before the University. Oxford emerged as a religious centre in the early Middle Ages, and a burh (fortress) was added in the 9th century. Later still, Oxford became a county centre with a significant royal presence (including a castle from 1071), and a textile industry became established. The University developed in the 12th century, and has remained important within the town’s economy, though with a changing relationship to the town (ranked as a city from 1542). 

In the late 14th and 15th centuries, Oxford declined in wealth and population in relation to other major centres. Although some recovery occurred in the late 16th and 17th centuries, it was left behind, relatively speaking, from the late 18th century by the expansion of towns and cities at the forefront of the industrial revolution. This changed when Oxford itself became a major industrial centre through the development of car manufacturing in the 1920s–30s – part of the ‘second industrial revolution’. 

Further significant change occurred again with the contraction of employment in car manufacturing from the 1970s. As de-industrialisation has affected Oxford, the city has had to develop a new economic identity and future based on service and ‘knowledge’ industries. 

This day school, presented by a team of urban historians, will explore the content and course of Oxford’s changing economy. It seeks to present inhabitants of the city, and others interested in Oxford’s history, with an overview and analysis of central features of Oxford’s history.

It has been organised in association with the Oxford Historical Society, a trust founded in 1884 (now also a registered charity) which has published about 150 volumes of historical documents and studies related to Oxford’s history.

This event will close to enrolments at 23:59 UTC on 20 November 2024.

Programme details

9.45am:            
Registration at Rewley House reception

10am:
Oxford’s origins and Anglo-Saxon development
David Radford

Economic development and change, 12th to 17th centuries
Robert Peberdy

11.15am:
Tea/coffee break

11.45am:
Economic change and industrialisation, 18th century to 1970s
Malcolm Graham

1pm:
Lunch break

2pm:
The Oxford Historical Society
Robert Peberdy

2.15pm:           
Gown, town, and urban co-existence in eighteenth-century Oxford
Nigel Aston

3.30pm:
Tea/coffee break

4pm:
Oxford and de-industrialisation from the 1970s
Simon Gunn

5.15pm:
Summary and discussion

5.30pm:
End of day

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee (includes tea/coffee) £120.00
Baguette lunch £7.30
Hot Lunch £19.25

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit or are a full-time student in the UK you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees.

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutors

Mr David Radford

Speaker

David Radford has been the Oxford City Council Archaeologist since 2008. Previously, he worked as a planning archaeologist in Buckinghamshire and Heritage Officer at Colchester Museums.

Dr Robert Peberdy

Speaker and Course Director

Educated at Loughborough Grammar School, Merton College, Oxford, and Leicester University, Dr Peberdy is a former Assistant Editor of the Victoria County History of Oxfordshire. He contributed to Burford: Buildings and People in a Cotswold Town (2008) and is co-editor (with Philip Waller) of A Dictionary of British and Irish History (2020).  

Dr Malcolm Graham

Speaker

Malcolm Graham is a local historian of Oxford and Oxfordshire who was Local Studies Librarian for City and County between 1970 and 1990 and subsequently Head of Oxfordshire Studies with the County Council until he retired in 2008. He studied History at Nottingham University, did a MA in English Local History at Leicester and was awarded a PhD by Leicester for a study of Oxford's Victorian suburbs in 1985. His publications have included six Oxford Heritage Walks published by Oxford Preservation Trust between 2013 and 2020, the first two of which featured Cornmarket and St Giles’. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1999 and received a life-time personal achievement award from the British Association for Local History in 2021 for his work in Oxfordshire.

Dr Nigel Aston

Speaker

Nigel Aston is  a Research Associate at the University of York and Reader Emeritus in Early Modern History at the University of Leicester. His last book was Enlightened Oxford. The University and the cultural and political life of eighteenth-century Britain and beyond (OUP, 2023).

Prof Simon Gunn

Speaker

Simon Gunn is Emeritus Professor of Urban History at the University of Leicester. He has written extensively on the history of British cities since the mid-19th century. With Peter Mandler and Otto Saumarez Smith he is currently editing The Modern British City, to be published by Lund Humphries in summer 2025.

Application

Please use the 'Book' button on this page. Alternatively, please contact us to obtain an application form.

Accommodation

Accommodation is not included in the price, but if you wish to stay with us the night before the course, then please contact our Residential Centre.

Accommodation in Rewley House - all bedrooms are modern, comfortably furnished and each room has tea and coffee making facilities, Freeview television, and Free WiFi and private bath or shower rooms. Please contact our Residential Centre on +44 (0) 1865 270362 or email res-ctr@conted.ox.ac.uk for details of availability and discounted prices. For more information, please see our website: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/accommodation