Article
Oxford: A Potted History
David Meara
17 December 2024
Introduction
Amberley Publishing
Why do we need another book about Oxford?
That’s the question most people asked when I told them I was writing a short history of the city.
In fact, if you look along the shelves of the local history section of Blackwell's you’ll find lots of material about the architecture of the city, city walks, and the university, but little about the whole city,
town as well as gown.
So I thought there was a gap in the market for a short, accessible account of Oxford's history, with lots of good illustrations,
aimed at the ordinary visitor, tourist, or interested local.
My own links with Oxford are strong. My grandparents moved here in 1920 and lived first in Farndon Road and then in Linkside Avenue beyond the Ring Road.
My own parents first met in Oxford, married at St Columba's Presbyterian Church, and made Linkside Avenue their first home, where my brother and I were born.
We moved to London when I was three years old, but I came to study at the University of Oxford in the 1960s, met my future wife and married just outside the city.
In retirement we have returned to live in the city of my birth, for which I retain a great affection.
Oxford's Rich History
Matthew Arnold, the Victorian poet, called Oxford "Beautify city! So venerable, so lovely, so serene", and it can be all those things, but while it has retained
its beautiful buildings, it has also had to cope with the stresses of rapid expansion at the beginning of the 20th century, due to the motor industry
started by William Morris, later Lord Nuffield.
As a result Central Oxford struggles today with traffic congestion and air pollution, and the tension between
introducing initiatives to control traffic and the continuing viability of the city centre as a retail destination. In spite of this the City of Oxford
manages to remain both ancient and modern, with thriving universities and industrial, commercial and administrative facilities.
Matthew Arnold's "Beautiful City" has shown itself to be
remarkably resilient and adaptable over the 1,500 years and more of its existence, able to live with its many contradictions, and with the intellectual and
entrepreneurial energy to keep re-inventing itself to keep pace with society's changing needs.
As I researched and distilled its rich history, I wanted both to give a clear outline of the historical
events that have affected its development, but also to bring to life the bare bones of the historical narrative.
So at the end of each chapter I have added pen-portraits of local personalities whose lives have contributed to the
history of the city. In many cases I have used rubbings of monumental brasses, as they are striking and unusual
illustrations and reflect a life-long interest of my own.
Carfax Tower Oxford
Photography
The book is greatly improved and brought to life by the splendid photography of my friend Stuart Vallis, who has collaborated with me on a number of books I have written. I hope the combination of text and illustrations brings alive for you the story of this venerable City and makes you want to look at its streets and buildings afresh.
High Street Oxford
Author
David Meara
David, a resident of Kidlington village, is a retired Church of England clergyman who worked in the Oxford Diocese
for twenty-seven years, and then served as Rector of St. Bride's Fleet Street and Archdeacon of London until 2014.
He has made a lifetime study of church movements and brasses and has published extensively on the subject.
He has published on a range of topics, including Anglo-Scottish sleeper trains and the scuttling of German ships at
Scapa Flow. His father-in-law fought in Burma in the Second World War.
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