Banbury and District Chamber of Commerce Charlbury Business Community Eynsham Business Network Carterton Chamber of Commerce Watlington District Business Partnership Monument Park Chalgrove Bicester and District Chamber of Commerce Kidlington Wake Up To Woodstock Thame First The Henley Partnership Goring Business Network Wallingford in Business Didcot Abingdon Wantage and District Chamber of Commerce Faringdon Chamber of Commerce Chipping Norton Guild of Commerce Witney Members Oxford City & Suburbs Burford Chamber of Trade Shrivenham Oxfordshire-wide groups Neighbours
Oxfordshire

Search OTCN
 

Level A conformance icon, W3C-WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
Valid CSS!
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional

Twitter
 

Oxford's Covered Market Oxford Civic Society

Heritage Lottery Fund logo







 
'WHO is Oxford’s Covered Market?'

A major business heritage initiative which will tell the fascinating stories of the people behind Oxford’s Covered Market is underway.

The project called ‘WHO is Oxford’s Covered Market?’ is a joint venture between OTCN Ltd, the not-for-profit limited company which is the driving force behind the Oxfordshire Town Chambers Network, and Oxford Civic Society.

Made possible by a £50,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), the project will reflect the personal histories and personalities of the Covered Market traders, their customers and other influential people, and investigate how these have shaped the heritage of this unique commercial building.

Project Milestones

We’re underway
Photo
The Oxford Civic Society's Tony Joyce and traders met up to mark the announcement of the £50,000 Heritage Lottery Fund award for the 'WHO is Oxford’s Covered Market' project.
Would you like to play a writing part in our Covered Market heritage project? We’re looking for volunteers to join the team who meet up with traders and craft the words that will make up their written portraits. See here for more details.


Pictures and Portraits team in place
Photo
Following a tendering process pioneering academic charity, The Oxford Muse Foundation and acclaimed local photographer, David Fisher, joined the project team.

Founded as a charity with the aim of improving personal, professional and intercultural relationships, The Oxford Muse is the brainchild of Dr Theodore Zeldin CBE. It is taking responsibility for developing the self-portraits of the Market traders past and present, which are at the heart of the project. Headington-based photographer David Fisher is taking portrait photographs of those involved for a high profile project exhibition.



 
Did you used to work in Oxford's Covered Market? OTCN and Oxford Civic Society are keen to trace former owners or managers of Covered Market stalls to play a part in this exciting project. Please get in touch via   or join our Facebook group 'I worked at Oxford's Covered Market'

HLF Rep drops in
Photo
Paul Hudson, Chair, South East of England Committee, Heritage Lottery Fund, (pictured right) stopped by to meet Covered Market traders and get an update on how the project was going. He said: "I was very impressed by the enthusiasm and pride of the traders and their customers in wanting to record the long and fascinating story of what is one of Oxford's really special assets. There are very few covered markets left and it adds greatly to the retail vibrancy and choice that Oxford offers. The project demonstrates that heritage is just as relevant to the here and now and supporting the business and tourism aspects of the local economy. I look forward to seeing the exhibition at the end of the project."



Primary School focus

Cameras in hand, 22 year six pupils from West Oxford Primary School focused on the project in a week of specialPhoto lessons.

During the week one of the traders briefed the children about the Covered Market, and the project's photographer, David Fisher, shared tips on using a camera and getting the best shots. The children then spent time in the Covered Market taking photographs which will be part of a major end-of-project exhibition.

West Oxford Primary Headteacher, Julie St Clair Hoare, says: "I'm excited that our children are exploring and learning about the rich local resource that is the Oxford Covered Market. Having their own unique and creative photographic impressions valued and displayed will be very affirming and memorable for them."

WHO is Oxford’s Covered Market Overview

The project has four key elements: an oral history study of the people behind the Covered Market, the creation of a set of photographic portraits of those involved, development of tourism material to help tell the stories uncovered to shoppers and visitors, and the building of a legacy exhibition, including The Covered Market online and printed material.

The HLF grant will be added to by a range of sponsorship contributions, including a donation by the legacy fund from the former city centre management company, OX1, which was wound up last year.

The OTCN's partner for the project is Oxford Civic Society, a citizens' membership group concerned with the quality of Oxford's built environment and its impact on people's daily lives. The Society's threefold priority is to protect Oxford's heritage, appreciate today's city and shape its future. See www.oxfordcivicsoc.org.uk/

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, HLF invests in every part of our diverse heritage, and has supported more than 33,900 projects, allocating over £4.4billion across the UK, with over £428 million granted in the South East alone. Details at www.hlf.org.uk


Pictures by Alison Nicholson/OTCN and The OX1 Image Library

This OTCN-led project has been kindly supported by:

Darbys logo     RM logo
 
  A Bill Buck production for OTCN Ltd © 2010 Disclaimer Comments on the site?