WELCOME TO GREAT MILTON HISTORY
OUR MOVE TO NEW PREMISES HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND WE ARE NOW LOCATED AT
REAR OF THE GARAGE, THE GREEN, GREAT MILTON OX44 7NP
WE ARE OPEN AS USUAL 10.30 TO 12 NOON WEDNESDAY OR BY APPOINTMENT AT OTHER TIMES
WE ARE NOW CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET AND OUR EMAIL REMAINS
gmhistorysociety@outlook.com
Portrait of a Village
In 1961, a reporter and his photographer from the Oxford Times, spent the day in Great Milton. The ensuing article with its accompanying photographs, which we found among our collection of old newspapers, struck us as a wonderful time capsule. The Village and its folk - not to mention the pubs, are depicted in a kindly way at a moment which - with hindsight - was the end of an era. With the consent of the Oxford Times, we reprint this article with a few additional photographs from our archive, of people and businesses mentioned in the text.
This and other publications are available from The History Room, Rear of The Garage. The Green. Great Milton
St Mary's and Great Milton
The Story of the Church and Village
‘A delight from start to finish’
‘Filled with fascinating details’
A new book about Great Milton charts one thousand years of remarkable history. The book, by local resident Andrew Meynell, is written in engaging, lively style. It tells stories of the extraordinary use of medieval relics to solve boundary disputes, tales of 19th-century villagers emigrating to Canada, and accounts of the local Dad’s Army equipping themselves with pikes to defend the village against invasion during World War II. Two of the pikes are still on display in the church.
It was Andrew’s discovery that the Home Guard used to hold their defence meetings in his Great Milton sitting room that inspired him to write the book. While it’s full of engaging stories, the book also reflects on the more serious spiritual question of what a village church represents. As he puts it, the church is a source of ‘living water’ which allows us to be ‘in touch with the deepest parts of ourselves.’
So how did this village respond through the centuries to national issues and events? And how did the church change according to the village’s needs?
All proceeds from sales will go towards St Mary’s development and restoration. And can be bought direct from Great Milton History or Andrew Meynell or ordered online from afmeynell@gmail.com (£6.00 plus £1.00 p+p).
The Great Milton History Society has been running in one form or another for over 40 years. Until late 2013 the papers, photographs and artefacts were stored in the Parvise Room in St. Mary’s Church. The tiny, damp and dusty room which is only accessible via a narrow round staircase was not suitable for general access. The purchase of The Bull by the Villagers made a new home available and the archive is now housed in its own space in a room at the pub.
Early in 2014 a handful of volunteers began the process of sorting through the archive and beginning to catalogue the contents. We have a number of continuing research projects.
We hold two or more talks a year over the winter months in the Neighbours Hall and we are keen these talks should have a specific village interest, for example:
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Village businesses
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Homes or characters
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The effect of the great war on the village