
Articles
WHEATLEY ARCHIVES EXHIBITION

To be unveiled on Saturday 17th November open from 9.30am to 4.30pmA new presentation of the history of Wheatley, a village in OxfordshireWheatley’s extensive archives are well known to some, but less to others. This is about to change with a very ambitious digitisation of much of these superb records
Continue readingWHEATLEY VILLAGE ARCHIVE “OPENS ITS DOORS”
COME AND FIND OUT ABOUT THE NEW WAY OF PRESENTINGThe History of Wheatley Saturday 17th November at the Merry Bells 9.30am to 4.30pm The presentation and associated exhibition will highlight the latest developments at Wheatley Village Archive together with other aspects of the history of Wheatley. The developments include the
Continue readingWW1 Project nearing completion

The WW1 Project, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, started in 2014 and is now approaching completion. Here are a few images to illustrate some of the achievements.
Continue readingWheatley History – website revamp
The website team has developed a separate Archive sub-site WW1 Men to present material from the book ‘They Were a Wall’ produced as part of the WW1 Commemoration project. The existing site has been moved to a new advert-free platform with a more modern style and, in due course, will be
Continue readingFrom Temple Close to Templars Close
On Friday, 13 October 1307, France arrested its Knights Templar. A dawn swoop in January 1308 saw the English, Scots and Irish Templars taken in. The commander [Preceptor] at Temple Sandford was held in Oxford Castle, while his sergeants [servants] and lay-brothers continued running Templar lands under open arrest. Wheatley
Continue reading‘They Were a Wall’ – free download
The book ‘They Were a Wall – Wheatley in a World at War 1914-19’ is now available as a pdf file for free download – click ‘They Were a Wall’ book. If you’d like a printed copy for £4.99 plus postage please visit or email the Wheatley Village Archive – see
Continue reading‘A Country fit for Heroes to live in’ – Prime Minister Lloyd George, 1918
New homes rewarded the returning soldiers of 1919 when local authorities became major landlords, with subsidies and powers to compel land purchase. Wheatley’s housing stock rose by 30% (100 homes) in the 1920s, half of them the Wheatley Urban District Council black-and-white faced ‘Tudorbethans’ on the new London Rd [‘The
Continue readingThe Holton Park Archive
Kevin Heritage of Wheatley Park School has created an excellent website chronicling the history of the Holton Park Estate, now the site of Wheatley Park School. It covers eras from Roman and Saxon times to the present day, and contains many fascinating documents and images. Of particular interest are two videos, of
Continue readingWORLD WAR 1 Commemoration November 2014
Book Launch & Exhibition Friday 14 November at 7.30 pm in the Merry Bells: Public meeting and launch of the book They Were a Wall: Wheatley in a World at War 1914-19. Speakers: John Fox, Judith Ormston and John Prest. Copies for sale @ £4.99. Free entry, refreshments provided – wine,
Continue reading‘They Were a Wall – Wheatley in a World at War 1914-19’
The Wheatley Branch of the Royal British Legion suggested a book to mark Wheatley 1914-19 and the Wheatley Society joined in. A village team led by Bill Jackson, researched and composed the book in 2013-14. ‘They Were a Wall’ appears in November, its title the Bible quotation topping the village
Continue reading