Museum of Oxford

The Museum of Oxford sits in the city’s 19th-century Town Hall on St Aldate’s Street, surrounded by busy streets and historic buildings. It covers Oxford’s past from prehistoric times to today, using both permanent and changing displays. The museum also provides rooms for public and private events, and runs talks, school tours, family workshops and adult learning sessions. A volunteer network of over a hundred people helps keep the museum open and active. Temporary exhibits have included displays on Windrush history and local folklore turned into digital artworks. The museum’s displays feature notable items such as Oliver Cromwell’s death mask and Cold War fallout meters. Artefacts from Oxford’s Jewish quarter and the Cutteslowe Wall appear alongside tickets from The Rolling Stones’ Oxford concert. Personal items belonging to Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell are shown, along with a tin of Frank Cooper’s marmalade taken on Scott’s South Pole expedition. Recent themes include Black British history and LGBTIQA+ history, with temporary exhibitions like Queering Spires winning national recognition. Visitors find two main galleries filled with around seven hundred and fifty exhibits. The museum’s basement has two meeting rooms, a kitchenette and baby changing areas, all with Wi-Fi and furniture for hire. Disabled access is provided by a lift to all rooms except the main entrance steps, which require an alternative route. The galleries sit inside the Town Hall, close to Oxford’s central shops and colleges, making it easy to combine a visit with other city sights.