The Playing Close … through the centuries

Today the Playing Close is a well-kept, tranquil green space surrounded by trees in the centre of the town, mostly used for recreation. It has been an important part of Charlbury life for hundreds of years but was a very different place in the past. If you had visited in the 1850s you would have found a noisy place on which people had built hovels, dug sawpits, dumped dung and traded animals. It sat on the edge of town with fields stretching away up what is now Wychwood Paddocks and beyond.

Many of the houses you see around the Close today were already there but one was a working farm, others occupied by working craftsmen. The town lock-up was in one corner in a building which later housed the town’s fire engine. The British School had expanded along the south side, offering a basic education to the children of the town.

The museum’s exhibition explores this past, how it came to belong to the people of Charlbury, the history of the houses which surround it, and the lives of the people who used it. We are particularly pleased to be able to display a key document from 1592 which is kept by St John’s College in Oxford and which they have kindly allowed us to reproduce. Many people visited the exhibition in 2025 and it will continue to be on display for our 2026 season.

Permanent displays

Besides our special exhibition, we have displays about many other aspects of the town. Agriculture has always been an important part of the local economy. We have tools and other farming equipment on display, and of course our splendid Oxfordshire wagon, resplendent in its traditional colours of red and yellow. The town was well served by tradespeople, blacksmiths being in great demand as well as carpenters and wheelwrights and we have many examples of their tools. Also on display are goods and artefacts from the wide variety of shops (such as Allens drapery) which later drew in customers from surrounding villages.

West Oxfordshire was a centre of the gloving trade and we explore the history of the gloving factories that sprang up and the many outworkers who were employed around the town, with examples of the glove patterns and machines they used.

A large collection of old photographs of the town portrays people and events, buildings and the social life of the town as well as recording disasters and celebrations. Newspaper cuttings describe events and news from the town, and we can help with queries about local families drawing on the parish records and censuses.

Part of our gloving display

Fireman with helmet and axe

Allen's drapery

Our blacksmith's forge

Bicycle and memorabilia from WW2

Past Exhibitions & Events

2024	Tradition & Tragedy Through photographs, newspaper articles, official records and reminiscences, we explore the tragic events of 1924 when three children were drowned in the Evenlode river while Beating the Bounds that year.
2023	Hidden Treasures – Hidden Histories Items which have been unearthed in the town and which shed light on what life was like in the past . These included recent finds made by metal detectorists in and around the town
2022	Charlbury in the 1950s Exploring Charlbury when Queen Elizabeth was crowned and how they celebrated her coronation
2020/1	VE Day 75: commemorating the end of WW2 How the war affected the town and how Charlbury marked its end in 1945
2019	Wagons, Wood and Wheat A history of farms and farming in Charlbury
	Family History Day June 2019 A display of local archives, and help with family history queries
	Street Fair display September 2019 Display of photos of Charlbury in the 1950s & 60s alongside memories of past Street Fairs beginning in 1956
2018	Poachers & Pilferers, Gamekeepers and Glovers The story of Wychwood Forest, once one of the largest Royal Hunting Forests in the country
	A Walk on the Wild Side Special poetry event to link with the exhibitionThe Four Wordsmen (Ed Fenton, Adrian Lancini, John Lanyon,Rob Stepney) gave an outdoor reading of their poems inspired by the Wychwood Forest.
2017	Bonnets & Bloomers, Braces & Boots Allen’s Drapery Store, Church Street
	Sewing Bee July 2017 A weekend of creative crafts for adults & children inspired by Victorian and Edwardian textiles in the Allens exhibition
2016	Sport in Charlbury A look at the many sports that have flourished here over the yearsThe work and life of Bessie Marchant, author, who lived for many years at Gothic House in Church Street
2015	The story of the British School, founded 1815
2014	First World War marking 100 years since the outbreak of war
2013	John Kibble (1865-1951) Charlbury stonemason
2012	Charlbury in the 1950s Marking the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee