The
Charlbury Society
The Campaign to Protect Rural England
Our next talk will take place on 3 December, when CPRE's Oxfordshire Director, Marcus Gilleard, will respond to the question 'What next for Oxfordshire?' This will be a Zoom presentation.
This year celebrates the centenary of the CPRE organisation and Marcus will discuss some of the challenges in protecting Oxfordshire's countryside now and for future generations.
The Zoom link will be automatically sent to members who are signed-up but if you would like to hear this talk and are not already a member or would like to access it as a guest, please contact memsec.charlsoc.org.uk
We are seeking two or three new members to join our committee to help us agree and arrange our future programme and to consider the direction in which the Society could develop. At the next AGM in May 2027, two of the existing members are required to stand down at the end of their terms of office and our constitution requires new members to be appointed.
The Society's future will be in jeopardy without new input. Do let us know if you would like more details or to have an informal chat.
In the meantime, please see below for our current season of talks.
October 2026
No Charlbury Society meeting this month.
Instead we are supporting the fundraising event jointly organised by
St Mary's & Charlbury Museum with a talk by the historian
Revd Professor William Whyte on
the history of the relationship between St John's College Oxford and St Mary's Church.
7 January 2027
ZOOM
Lost villages of Oxfordshire
Deborah Hayter
Why have so many of our villages disappeared over time?
Black Death? Sheep?
Deborah's talk will separate fact from folklore.
3 April 2027
MEMORIAL HALL
The Importance of getting
to Net Zero
Philip Sharman, DL
Oxfordshire is regarded as a leading county in the UK in respect of sustainability and moving to Net Zero. Philip, Oxfordshire's Deputy Lieutenant for Energy & Sustainability, will discuss how this is being achieved.
5 November 2026
MEMORIAL HALL
Oxford: city of wordplay, puns, printing and personas
Sean Callery
Oxford has been home for centuries to word-loving academics, publishing and famous authors and characters.
Sean offers stores throughout the history of the city and celebrates the many forms of wordplay.
4 February 2027
ZOOM
Water voles in Oxfordshire
Tom Moorhouse
Ecologist and author Tom Moorhouse will discuss the role of research in uncovering the causes of water voles' decline and solutions for reversing it.
13 May 2027
MEMORIAL HALL
Rogues of the Road: Oxfordshire's highway
men
Mike White
Notorious characters who once terrorised travellers across the county's roads will be the subjects of this talk.
3 December 2026
ZOOM
In CPRE's centenary year,
what is next for Oxfordshire?
Marcus Gilleard
Marcus Gilleard, Director of
CPRE Oxfordshire, will discuss some of the challenges in protecting Oxfordshire's countryside and plans to
protect it for future generations.
4 March 2027
MEMORIAL HALL
Local government reorganisation
Liz Leffman
During her time as Leader of Oxfordshire County Council,
Liz was involved with discussions regarding devolution. She will update us on what lies ahead.
Membership
Membership of the Society is open to all at £10 per person and runs from September to the following June. It includes our annual party and all talks.
Guests wishing to attend individual talks are also welcome for £3.00 fee.
Please contact memsec.charlsoc@gmail.com
Charlbury Society Outings
We try to organise an outing once a year. Previous visits are featured below.
October 2025, Burford. The principal theme of our tour of Burford was the importance of the town in the wool trade that brought prosperity to the region during the medieval and Tudor periods. Its strategic location along key trade routes and its position by the River Windrush made Burford an ideal market town for the purchase of Cotswold wool, highly prized across Europe for its quality. The wealth generated from the wool trade is still evident today in the buildings such as the Tolsey, the meeting place of wool buyers, where the guided tour began and the parish church of St John the Baptist, funded by wealthy wool merchants, where it finished.
August 2024, Bloxham. The National Lottery-funded Heritage Group of the ‘Building our Future’ project at St Mary's Church Bloxham had recently established a team of guides to provide tours, bringing to life its history, art and architecture. We enjoyed a fascinating afternoon being guided around the church and churchyard - followed by tea and cake.
It is a church that many of us pass regularly, but could not have imagined the treasures it contains.
October 2023, Oxford. We organised and subsidised an Oxford guided walk for our members with a specialist who shared the places where J.R.R.Tolkien and C.S. Lewis lived and worked. It was an enthralling and fact-filled tour and we resolved to arrange similar walks in the future.
The Charlbury Society Committee
The Chair position is currently vacant. The management of the Society is temporarily in the hands of the Committee collectively.
Vacant
Chair
Committee member: Jean Gilmour
The Charlbury Society values the connection to the Charlbury Museum which it has had for over seventy years. www.charlburymuseum.org.uk
