Community

Charlbury Museum

Run entirely by volunteers, the Museum is in part of the Corner House, in Market Street, opposite the Deli in the centre of Charlbury.  Our aim is to preserve the history of this ancient town and foster a sense of its history among residents and visitors.  We were delighted to reopen in July last year after our long closure due to the Covid pandemic.  We welcomed a pleasing number of visitors to view our newly restored wagon, to learn about how World War II changed the town, and how the growth of the gloving industry provided employment for so many residents, especially women, in the 19th century.

We reopen for the 2022 season on Easter Saturday, 16th April.  We will be open Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons, and on Bank Holiday Mondays.  Meanwhile check out our new website at. www.charlburymuseum.org.uk

JUBILEE!  Our exhibition this year echoes the national celebrations of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.  Our display includes photographs, objects and memories from the Queen's coronation, and also looks back at how Charlbury celebrated other royal occasions in the past.  And we have singled out 70 objects around the museum linked to this year's Jubilee, one for each year of the Queen's reign.

And NEW for this year: a QUIZ to test how observant you are as you walk round Charlbury. Look at the 20 features illustrated and see if you can tell us where they are in the town (all visible from the pavement).

Meanwhile, we still have a few copies of our booklet The History of Charlbury through ... objects, photographs and memories from Charlbury Museum, price £8 (+ £2 p&p if applicable).  The articles first appeared on the town website and were published in a full colour booklet in December 2020.  Enquiries to curator@charlburymuseum.org.uk

Please do get in touch if you have any queries about the history of the town or have queries about relatives who used to live here. Please contact us at curator@charlburymuseum.org.uk

Can you help? Yes, why not join our friendly team of volunteers who held to steward the museum when we are open.  If you are interested, please contact Ann Lovett at info@charlburymuseum.org.uk  

Our permanent exhibition
Charlbury Museum is one of the finest small museums in the county. Its five rooms are crammed with exhibits revealing the history of this ancient market town, together with a large collection of documents, photographs of Charlbury and its people at work and play in years gone by. We look forward to welcoming you to the museum and there are books, DVDs, cards and other items to buy as a souvenir. 

There are five rooms to explore. On Sunday 13th October 2019 the restored wagon returned to the museum, after years of painstaking work by Michael Jones, Conservator, and his team. The wagon, discovered at Coldron Mill near Spelsbury, used to stand in the museum garden and had become very dilapidated. It was donated by Miss Elsie Corbett and Miss Susan Thomson in 1964. The Wagon Room was built for it in 2000/2, after a massive fund-raising exercise organised by the Charlbury Society (the Museum's parent body), the Corner House and the Town Council. The delicate exercise of transporting the wagon back to Charlbury was skilfully planned by Michael Jones, and carried out with the generous help of Charlbury Beer Festival volunteers.

To request special visits outside normal opening hours, please email  curator@charlburymuseum.org.uk

Access: Charlbury is accessible by regular trains from Oxford and Worcester. Buses run from Oxford (Stagecoach S3), and the X9 between Chipping Norton and Witney [no buses on Sundays or bank holidays].

Wheelchair users are welcome. Refreshments are available in local cafes and pubs and there are regular coffee mornings on Fridays and Saturdays at the Corner House. Toilets are available at the Corner House during museum opening hours.

Keep an eye on our noticeboard for  news of special events.

Links: To find out about other Oxfordshire Museums contact www.museumsocc.org.uk

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