Oxford Open Doors (14th & 15th September 2024)
Oxford’s residents live surrounded by some of the country's most celebrated heritage sites. Yet access to the city and its history has often been complicated by the closed-off nature of some of these buildings, from the medieval rubble walls that once encircled Oxford to the smartly dressed stone walls that cordon off many of the University’s colleges. Today, the city is full of projects that focus on opening up local history and deepening our understanding of the range of Oxford’s heritage and culture.
Oxford Preservation Trust is a local charity dedicated to conserving the historic character of Oxford, while also being an active voice in planning, campaigning for thoughtful and sustainable change. An important part of our work is enabling public access to our historic buildings and to much of the 1000 acres of green spaces we manage.
Our flagship engagement event is the annual Oxford Open Doors weekend (14 & 15 September 2024), a free festival giving Oxford locals the opportunity to explore historic buildings, community spaces and cultural institutions that might not normally be free or accessible. The event was set up as a small engagement project in 2007, with 32 venues taking part in its first year. In 2024, thanks to close collaboration with the University of Oxford and support from Oxford Preservation Trust’s members, our participants and volunteers, Oxford Open Doors has expanded to include over 120 venues and events across Oxford. Now one of the largest Heritage Open Days events taking place nationally, the buildings, talks, tours, walks, music and art events and family activities that make up Oxford Open Doors are a chance to experience the range of Oxford’s history and culture, open to everyone without charge.
In common with the Faculty of History’s Community History programme, Oxford Open Doors is an opportunity to showcase brilliant collaborative work in progress in the city. The University plays an important part in this. Local music groups are set to perform in historic university and college buildings (for example, the Sheldonian Theatre and Exeter College). Additionally, university researchers will be running an Uncomfortable Oxford tour about the history of medicine.
The programme also includes community and local history projects from across the city. Some examples include, Oxford-based multimedia artist Rawz’s Forgotten Stories of Oxford tour, a screening of a recent film about local icon Olive Gibbs, an exhibition at Makespace’s The Community Works about the historic parishes of St Ebbe’s and St Thomas’s. In east Oxford, local historians will be running tours of Slade Camp, an infantry training camp during the second world war later converted into temporary homes by the Council, before being left to nature in 1970.
The record number of venues this year includes a number of OPT’s own heritage sites. The Painted Room is a rare survival from a former inn on Cornmarket Street, decorated with vivid Elizabethan wall paintings. The Rewley Road Railway Swing Bridge is an award-winning conservation project commemorating the industrial history of the city. The OPT team will be based in the Castle Yard, where the Castle Mound will also be open to take in the views across the city’s dreaming spires.
Oxford Open Doors offers a unique platform for local groups, community organisations and the University to collaborate on a city-wide event that promotes access to Oxford’s historic places and cultural spaces. The event’s success has pivoted around their shared passion for Oxford and Oxford Preservation Trust looks forward to many more years of Oxford Open Doors to come. We are always looking for new participants and events so please get in touch if you have a project in mind for 2025.
More information about Oxford Open Doors weekend on 14th and 15th September can be found on our website: oxfordpreservation.org.uk/oxford-open-doors
