Antiquing Around Oxford

Antiques abound in Oxfordshire and all around England.  Walk through any college in Oxford and you'll see their halls filled with antiquities.  If collecting or looking for antiques is your interest, Oxfordshire is a great place to visit.  It is filled with antiques shops and barns, auctions houses, and even whole towns filled with antique stores.  No matter what your interest or budget may be, there are places near Oxford worth a visit if you are in search of something old and interesting.  

I've just barely scratched the surface in the realm of antique hunting here -- there are just so many outlets, one could spend years on the "hunt".   I have thoroughly enjoyed what I have see so far and look forward to adding to this list soon.   Let me know of your favorites and I'll add them too.   

The Swan at Tetsworth

For the Posh Collector. Lovely Cafe.  They have monthly auctions too. 

High Street Tetsworth, 

Oxfordshire, OX9 7AB

Antiques on High

85 High Street, Oxford, OX1 4BG Tel. 01865 251075 

Vintage clothes, costume jewellery, bags, accessories and even vintage Japanese kimonos. No bargains here.

The Old Flight House

Northampton Road, Bicester, OX25 3TJ

A large selection of quality antiques and vintage interior items plus a delightful Cafe

Wallingford, Oxfordshire

A town  just south of Oxford that has a dozen antique stores.

http://www.antiques101.co.uk/wallingford.html

Lechlade

A lovely town with several antique and collectable stores.  

Lechlade-on-Thames, Gloucestershire

Fannie's Attic

A combination of antiques, vintage, and giftware.

1 Lynmouth Road

Reading RG18DE - Berkshire

Hitchcox's Antique Warehouses

Six old warehouses full of furniture.  Not fancy but bargains abound.

The Garth, Warpsgrove

Charlgrove, Oxfordshire

Garden Centers

Garden Centers in the UK are so much more than garden centers.  They are exceptional gifts stores filled with toys, housewares, clothing, kitchenwares, books, stationary, and even antiques.  I've seen some some lovely pieces at local garden centers.  

The Burford Garden Co, Shilton Rd, Burford, Oxfordshire,  OX18 4PA

Yarnton Garden Center, Sandy Lane, Yarnton, Kidlington, OX5 1PA

Charity Shops

They abound in nearly every village, town and city in England.  Not all will have antiques or furniture, but all will have something vintage that is interesting. 

For a list of Charity shops in Oxford: 

http://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/oxford/guide/shopping/charity-vintage

http://www.oxford.gov.uk/Direct/OxfordCharityShopsMapOctober2010.pdf

Unicorn

Ship Street, off Cornmarket. 

Treasure trove of almost everything and then some, all piled precariously together. 

Auctions:

http://www.mallams.co.uk/

http://www.pspauctions.co.uk/

Even old reclaimed church antiques:  http://www.ribble-reclamation.co.uk/church-antiques-reclaimed.html

For a comprehensive list of antiques store throughout Oxfordshire and beyond:

http://www.antiques-atlas.com/listings/berkshire/?type=as

The Swan at Tetsworth

 Hitchcox's Antique Warehouses

Wallingford (also Agatha Christie's home for nearly 30 years)

Wallingford

From the Buford Garden Center

More to come.... send me your favorites. 

Bonfire Night in Oxford

Tonight was bonfire night in Oxford.  Each year South Park hosts the city's biggest bonfire preceded by fireworks and a small fair.  Thousands of people gather to watch the spectacle.  It is all in honor Guy Fox and his foiled plot to blow up the Parliament in London in 1605.  

 Trees silhouetted by the fireworks

 An enormous pile of pallets ignited by fireworks 

 The sparks catch and the fire begins

Remember, remember the fifth of NovemberGunpowder, treason and plot.I see no reason, why gunpowder treasonShould ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, guy, t'was his intentTo blow up king and parliament.Three score barrels were laid belowTo prove old England's overthrow.By God's mercy he was catch'dWith a darkened lantern and burning match.

So, holler boys, holler boys, Let the bells ring.Holler boys, holler boys, God save the king.And what shall we do with him?Burn him!

Museum of The History of Science

In the middle of Oxford is the world's oldest surviving purpose built museum building, the Old Ashmolean on Broad Street, Oxford.   It is now the Museum of the History of Science.  The museum is small and you need only an hour or so to see all of the exhibits.  There are many beautiful scientific instruments on display, some of which are nearly 1000 years old.  The instruments are not only ingenious but many are beautifully crafted and are, in their own way,  works of art.  It is well worth a visit.   

Some of the highlights at the museum include Albert Einstein's writing preserved on a blackboard; Lewis Carroll's and T.E. Lawrence's cameras; and Marconi's original morse code devise. 

This is Albert Einstein's actual writing on a blackboard that has been preserved since May 1931.  

This is the photographic gear that Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, used while taking photographs of Alice and her sisters.

This is the camera used by Lawrence of Arabia

Surgery instruments from the early 1800's

A drawing from 1730 that shows the museum just right of the Sheldonian.

For more information:  http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/