Oxfordshire is rich in many things: fine agricultural land and areas of dense woodland; delightful towns like Burford, Woodstock, Dorchester and Henley; the stately River Thames that bisects the county; the ironstone villages of the northern border; the Oxford Canal meandering its way through remote countryside; and splendid country houses at Blenheim, Chastleton and Rousham. The jewel in the crown is the city of Oxford itself, with its ancient honey-coloured buildings and dreaming spires. This book celebrates both Oxfordshire’s well-known glories and hidden gems such as the ruined manor at Hampton Gay, the brewery at Hook Norton and the glories of Wytham Woods. Highlighting these and other gems, this book gives an enticing picture of the rich variety of experiences and sights the county of Oxfordshire has to offer.

David Meara is a retired Church of England clergyman who worked in the Oxford Diocese for twenty-seven years, and then served as Rector of St. Bride’s Fleet Street and Archdeacon of London until 2014. He has made a lifetime study of Church movements and brasses and has published extensively on the subject. He has published on a range of topics, including Anglo-Scottish sleeper trains and the scuttling of German ships at Scapa Flow. His father-in-law fought in Burma in the Second World War.