Swalcliffe Barn, 6 miles west of Banbury, was acquired by the Trust
in the mid 1980s . It is one of the finest medieval barns in the country
and was constructed by New College in the early fifteenth century. It
was leased to Oxfordshire County Museum in 1990 and opened to the public
in 1991. The County Museum Service uses the barn to display
agricultural and trade vehicles from Oxfordshire. The Friends of
Swalcliffe Barn also have an exhibition of Swalcliffe history and open
the barn to the public between Easter and October.
See Swalcliffe Barn on the County Council's website for details:
https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/leisure-and-culture/museums/swalcliffe-barn
OBT originally encouraged the National Trust to acquire the property of William Morris, Lord Nuffield, the car manufacturer, with the furnishings as they were when Lord and Lady Nuffield lived there. It is a fascinating social history as well as celebrating the life of an important historical figure. Lord Nuffield also began his legacy to ensure that iron lungs were available free across the UK and abroad. They were manufactured in part of Lord Nuffield's Morris car factory from 1938 and 5000 were distributed during the polio out break after the war. Many parts of the iron lung look like car parts, the one on display at Nuffield Place was donated by him to the Memorial Hospital in Darlington. The OBT Grants were given to ensure the iron lung was properly displayed within the house.
Ascott Park near Stadhampton has been a major focus of activity. It
is an attractive area of parkland that once formed the centre of a great
estate run by the Dormer family.
The Trust have researched the history and carried out an excavation
to locate the long lost house and gardens associated with the Dormers.
Anyone looking for a good short walk can follow the historical trail set
up by the Trust and and ponder the many mysteries this fascinating
stretch of countryside has to offer. See the Ascott Park Historical
Trail on the County Council's website for details.
Further information about Ascott Park:
Ascott Park Trail leaflet
History of Ascott Park
Excavation report for Ascott Park
Repairs have now been completed to the Conduit House in Albert Park, Abingdon. This is a small, hexagonal stone building, probably of 16th century date. It was built to collect water from nearby springs, and then feed it down a conduit to a fountain in Ock Street. The Conduit House, which is a Grade II listed building. is owned by Christ's Hospital, an Abingdon charity. The stonework had got into bad condition, and a comprehensive programme of repairs was undertaken. Far more work turned out to be needed than was originally thought. The repairs were undertaken, to a very high standard, by a specialist firm, Bespoke Stonemasonry Ltd. for Christ's Hospital. The Oxfordshire Buildings Trust made a grant of £5,000 towards these costs.
