On Sunday 25th August, as part of the Charlbury Arts Festival, the museum organised a walk and talk event exploring the history of the Playing Close. A pleasing number of people came to hear how the Close and surrounding houses have changed over the centuries. As early as 1447 this area was used as a recreation ground. In the past it was very different from the pleasant, well-tended green space we know today. Fairs were held here, workmen used it for storing supplies and putting up workshops, piles of rubbish accumulated, bonfires were lit and horses were tied up around it. The trees were not planted until the turn of the last century. We explored the stories of some of the people who lived in the houses that border the close – a hemp dresser on the corner of Browns Lane, Quaker schoolchildren taught in Sycamore House, a thriving farm at what is now The Old Farmhouse, and the establishment of the British School in the south-west corner over 200 years ago. We hope the event whetted your appetite to learn more about this important feature of Charlbury. The museum will be staging a major exhibition on the history of the Playing Close in 2025-2026.