Talks take place on Thursday afternoons, starting at 2pm, and usually take place in the Lecture Hall, Rewley House, 1 Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JA. These are free for Oxford u3a members but you are welcome to attend as a guest for a donation of £5 (£2 for members of all other U3As).
Most talks are recorded on Zoom for the benefit of those Oxford u3a members who are unable to attend Rewley House.
In the event of adverse weather conditions, please telephone Rewley House (01865 270360), to enquire whether the talk has been cancelled.
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Dr Muriel Pilkington – The Mitfords in the Cotswolds
21st November 2024 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Muriel Pilkington read history at Oxford and then taught history in a number of schools in Hertfordshire. Her last teaching post was as head of Wycombe High School, which is a large girls grammar school (now an academy). She was also vice-chairman of the senate at what is now Buckinghamshire New University. She took early retirement, moved to Oxfordshire and has worked ever since as an educational consultant and writer. She also had time to take up an interest in local history and some of the talks offered are based in this county, some are of national interest.
The Mitfords in the Cotswolds explains how and why a branch of a minor aristocratic family based near Morpeth in Northumberland came to have a series of homes in the Cotswolds from the early 19th century onwards. The fifth generation who lived in the area included the famous six sisters. They had an idyllic childhood in the Windrush Valley and then all went on to extraordinary lives and careers. Dr Pilkington’s talk focuses on these remarkable women. Much of the information and some of the pictures used in the talk were obtained from Rosemary Bailey (nee Mitford) who was a friend of Dr Pilkington.