Oxford Road: Local History Resources for Schools

In September 2019, it was announced that Reading was one of 69 historic high streets selected to develop plans for Heritage Action Zones. One of those zones is Oxford Road, a main thoroughfare through Reading and a diverse hub of culture and creativity. As part of this project, we created a collection of resources exploring the history of Oxford Road.

We worked with Oxford Road Community School to test these resources. Children in years 5 and 6 researched local history and took part in local projects like the local community garden. They looked to the past and prepared for a future with efficient transport and strong community pride. Watch the video below to see the highlights of their work. You can also find out more about what they did and in our Oxford Road Community School project blog.

 

The resources below cover topics like local people, transport, local shops and important changes in Oxford Road's history. 

You can use them to create your own Local History Project for Take Over Day 2021. 

Oxford Road Resource Pack | 590.95 KB
Oxford Road Timeline | 142.88 KB
Living On Oxford Road - Information and Activities | 1.75 MB
Stories of Oxford Road - Information and Activities | 830.02 KB
Interview template - Worksheet | 143.6 KB
Buildings on Oxford Road - Information and Activities | 1.38 MB
Holy Trinity Church - Information | 770.22 KB
Grovelands Church - Information | 1.24 MB
Battle Inn - Information | 1.35 MB
Map of Oxford Road | 344.05 KB
Identifying Architecture - Information and Activities | 1.14 MB
Transport on Oxford Road - Information and Activities | 1.59 MB
Working in Transport - Information and Activities | 1.65 MB
Census worksheet | 87.5 KB
Using Ancestry - Information and Activities | 1.08 MB
Photographs of Oxford Road - Photographs and Activities | 1.95 MB
Dann-Lewis Photography Company - Information | 726.92 KB
Soldiers of Oxford Road - Information | 1.94 MB
The People of Oxford Road - Information and Activities | 1.82 MB
1887 Directory Worksheet | 1.79 MB
1903 Directory Worksheet | 1.94 MB
1914 Directory Worksheet | 1.09 MB

Oxford Road Community

We spoke to some of the members of the local community about their experience of Oxford Road and some of the historic buildings that were part of that experience.