Renowned historian lends his support to the Victoria County History of Oxfordshire project

Over 140 guests joined dignitaries and professionals at Merton College, Oxford  on 26 September to welcome well-known historian and broadcaster, Michael Wood, to the county in support of the Victoria County History (VCH) project.

The VCH is a national research project to document the history of every county in England by creating a place by place encyclopaedia of each of the historic counties of England. Michael Wood led a one-off lecture revisiting his groundbreaking ‘The Story of England’ TV series, which focused on a single place throughout English history. It looked at the importance of history from the bottom up through ordinary places and ordinary people, which the VCH project in Oxfordshire aims to do.

Councillor Jenny Hannaby, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Services and Safety, said: “I am delighted that Michael Wood was able to come to Oxfordshire and support our Victoria County History project.

“The project allows us to document some of the rich and colourful history of our stunning county – from the Cotswolds, Cherwell Valley and the Chilterns to the City of Oxford.”

In Oxfordshire, the latest VCH volume covers the South Oxfordshire Chilterns and is number 20 out of a planned 23 encyclopaedias that document the history of the county pre-1974. 

This work is led by a small team based in Oxford supported by the VCH Oxfordshire Trust and Oxfordshire County Council as part of its heritage services.

The published volumes are available in Oxford Central Library, various branch libraries and Oxfordshire History Centre.

Most are available online for free at British History Online (British-history.ac.uk).

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