Oxfordshire Museum

What to see at the Oxfordshire Museum

The Oxfordshire Museum is located in the 18th-century Fletcher’s House, which is a lovely old stone building typical of the Cotswold region.

The museum’s collection includes artefacts dating back to Roman and Anglo-Saxon times and it is made up of 11 galleries with eclectic displays.

Exhibits include:

• Displays relating to Oxfordshire in Victorian times including an early flushing toilet.
• Dinosaur exhibits including a garden area with dinosaur footprints plus a Megalosaurus.
• A gallery with exhibits about Oxfordshire’s royal forests.
• A gallery with displays about Woodstock’s history and the influence of Blenheim Palace on the town.

There are some interactive exhibits and activities for children including costumes so they can dress up as dinosaurs

The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum is a smaller museum within the museum that shows the history of the Oxfordshire regiments.

For a museum about Oxfordshire, there is a lot of important aspects about the county that simply are not covered here. For instance, the university isn’t mentioned even though it is such a major part of Oxfordshire’s history and culture, particularly for people living around Oxford. However, one does get the impression that this is the point; that the museum is there to show visitors that there is more to Oxfordshire than Oxford.

Some visitors comment that the museum could be better organised. For example, labelling on exhibits could be made a lot more informative and the galleries could be laid out so you are actually seeing artefacts based on a logical chronological order.

Despite its drawbacks, the museum is worth a visit as it does give an insight into the county beyond Oxford. The museum is right in the town centre and entry is free so there is no reason not to visit.

Visiting the Oxfordshire Museum

The museum is in the town centre across from the Bear Hotel.

Admission to the museum is free and it is fully accessible for visitors with non-motorised wheelchairs.

The museum has a nice cafe that serves cakes and light lunches plus a small gift shop.

Most people spend around an hour visiting the museum.