Research & Recording: Pilot Project 2026/7 - First Workshop

OGT held a very successful Research and Recording taster workshop in November, at Banbury Museum, attended by a number of our members as well as a few from Warwickshire CGT.  We are now inviting those who expressed an interest, and anyone else who is interested,  to book for the meetings which will form the backbone of the 2026 Research and Recording project.  There is no charge for the project meetings, but bookings must be made on Eventcube.  This is a pilot project to compile up to 12 short template research reports for sites on the “OGT Gazetteer of sites of local interest” in Oxfordshire. Priority is to be given to sites threatened with development or other pressure, and will be allocated in discussion with participants at or shortly after the first meeting on 15 January.

The research will be desk-based and not will initially involve site visits.  We hope to continue the project in 2027, with more funding.  You will be working on your own or in pairs, with regular, approximately bi-monthly meetings and lectures at Woodstock Museum, to guide research and provide support.  Our trainer, Claire de Carle, Chair of Buckinghamshire Gardens Trust, led the very successful Bucks Garden Trust Research and Recording Team for many years, recording a large number of sites in the path of HS2.

No specialist skills are required, other than an inquiring mind and an interest in gardens and landscapes.  You will acquire new skills in carrying out desktop documentary research, writing a description of a site, identifying a boundary for the site from OS and other maps, and researching photos that can be used in reports.  A separate guided group site visit can be organised at a later stage, to explain how to recognise typical garden design features and structures on the ground.  There is also the possibility of a special group visit to Oxfordshire History Centre to learn about the resources available for researching garden history. You’ll meet like-minded people, and contribute to the vital work of researching and recording to provide an essential understanding of Oxfordshire’s parks and gardens, in order to better protect and enjoy them. We hope you will join us!