This special event marks the publication of A Jericho Scrapbook: Inside an Oxford Community Saved from Destruction, originally compiled in 1955 by Constance Hawtrey and published this year with comprehensive notes and appendices by local historian Mark Davies, as part of the Jericho 200 celebrations.

Featuring an astonishingly wide range of reminiscences, photographs, sketches, and ephemera (and even the odd ghost story!) about this sometimes controversial Oxford suburb, Constance Hawtrey’s A Jericho Scrapbook is now complemented by Mark Davies’ new appraisals of the origins of Jericho, of the ironworks which became a mainstay of the area, and of Miss Hawtrey’s own life, including her time as an early student of St Hilda’s College.

In this talk, Mark will highlight key moments in Jericho’s early history, from before the University’s purchase of land for its Printing Press in 1825 and the establishment of the future Lucy’s ironworks the same year. It was also in 1825 that the first streets of houses began to replace lush meadowland running down to the Oxford Canal. Jericho’s subsequent unsavoury reputation contrasts with its embrace of cultural icons such as the Pre-Raphaelites, Thomas Hardy, Inspector Morse, Philip Pullman, and Alice in Wonderland.

Join us for a journey through Jericho’s inspiring history and discover a unique perspective on Oxford’s ‘dangerously hospitable’ 200-year-old suburb.

£5