Oxford History Tours

Oxford History Tours The Real Walk and Talk I started welcoming travellers and organising itineraries while living in deep rural southern France.

In 2009 I co-founded Cathar Country Tours which offered top drawer tours about the Albigensian Crusade and the Langue d’Oc. While I wove the itineraries, curated the restaurants and ensured a seamless experience for our guests, my partner delivered a second to none historical tour of the region’s history. I realised that some of the travellers who approached me knew the work of local authors who w

ere friends and acquaintances of ours. Experts in their field and connoisseurs of France, they included Richard Stanley, Henry-Lincoln, Rupert Soskin and Tim Wallace-Murphy. With these local friends and acquaintances I created opportunities for authors and readers to meet and discover the region’s scenes of famous historic events together. Today I bring my infectious enthusiasm and local knowledge to Oxford. With Oxford History Tours you can be sure that your experience will be carefully crafted and accompanied by an experienced guide, an expert in their field. An Art History and History BA hons, an Associate of the British Institute of Tourist Guiding and a member of the British Guild of Tourist Guides Sophie is also an ITG certified French speaking guide.

🎶 L’un de mes conseils préférés aux visiteurs d’Oxford est le suivant : ne vous contentez pas de regarder les colleges… ...
04/09/2026

🎶 L’un de mes conseils préférés aux visiteurs d’Oxford est le suivant : ne vous contentez pas de regarder les colleges… écoutez-les aussi.
J’encourage souvent mes clients à profiter de l’occasion pour entendre de la musique sacrée dans certains des plus beaux cadres historiques d’Oxford.
Et voici un parfait exemple : The Queen’s College ouvre sa magnifique chapelle au public pour un récital gratuit du chœur du college, le mardi 8 septembre à 18h.
Le programme réunit des œuvres sacrées anglaises et portugaises couvrant quatre siècles, de la polyphonie de la Renaissance de Duarte Lobo à Stanford, Holst, Rebecca Clarke, Caroline Shaw, Eric Whitacre et John Rutter.
📍 Chapelle de The Queen’s College, Oxford
🗓 Mardi 8 septembre
⏰ 18h
🎟 Entrée gratuite
Et je dois tout de même préciser que Queen’s est aussi, selon mon étude parfaitement empirique, le collège qui a produit la personne la plus universellement connue des mille ans d’histoire d’Oxford, tous âges, langues et continents confondus :
j’ai bien peur qu’il ne s’agisse de… Mr Bean.
Sur une note plus sérieuse, Queen’s fut également le college d’Edmond Halley, astronome, mathématicien et celui dont la célèbre comète porte le nom.
Un homme étonnamment sous-estimé : modeste, brillant, diplomate… et qui, à lui seul, a largement contribué à assurer à Queen’s une place dans l’histoire.
Si l’extraordinaire histoire musicale d’Oxford vous intéresse — de la musique sacrée médiévale et des chœurs de collèges aux compositeurs, musiciens et traditions qui ont façonné la ville. Oxford History Tours peut créer pour vous une visite entièrement sur mesure.
Une merveilleuse façon de découvrir l’histoire d’Oxford consiste parfois tout simplement à s’asseoir… et à écouter.
OxfordHistoryTours PatrimoineOxford CultureÀOxford

🎶One of my favourite pieces of advice to visitors to Oxford is "Don’t just look at the colleges you can listen to them"...
04/09/2026

🎶

One of my favourite pieces of advice to visitors to Oxford is "Don’t just look at the colleges you can listen to them".
I sometimes urge appreciators of music to take the opportunity to hear religious music in some of Oxford’s magnificent historic settings. And here is a perfect example: The Queen’s College is opening its beautiful chapel to the public for a free recital by the Choir of The Queen’s College on Tuesday 8 September at 6pm.
The programme brings together English and Portuguese sacred choral music, spanning four centuries from the Renaissance polyphony of Duarte Lobo to music by Stanford, Holst, Rebecca Clarke, Caroline Shaw, Eric Whitacre and John Rutter.
📍 Queen’s College Chapel, Oxford
🗓 Tuesday 8 September
⏰ 6pm
🎟 Admission free
And I should mention that Queen’s is the college which, in my completely empirical assessment, has produced the most well known person in Oxford’s 1,000-year history regardless of age, language or geography:
I’m afraid I think it’s Mr Bean.
On a more serious note, Queen’s was also the college of Edmond Halley astronomer, mathematician and namesake of Halley’s Comet. ( An underrated modest diplomatic genius Queens College has, I think, earned its place in history.)
If you are interested in Oxford’s extraordinary musical history, from medieval sacred music and college choirs to the composers, musicians and musical traditions that have shaped the city Oxford History Tours can create a bespoke tour around it for you.
A greatt way to experience Oxford’s history can be to sit down… and listen.

🎶 L’un de mes conseils préférés aux visiteurs d’Oxford est le suivant : ne vous contentez pas de regarder les colleges… ...
04/09/2026

🎶 L’un de mes conseils préférés aux visiteurs d’Oxford est le suivant : ne vous contentez pas de regarder les colleges… écoutez-les aussi.
J’encourage souvent mes clients à profiter de l’occasion pour entendre de la musique sacrée dans certains des plus beaux cadres historiques d’Oxford.
Et voici un parfait exemple : The Queen’s College ouvre sa magnifique chapelle au public pour un récital gratuit du chœur du college, le mardi 8 septembre à 18h.
Le programme réunit des œuvres sacrées anglaises et portugaises couvrant quatre siècles, de la polyphonie de la Renaissance de Duarte Lobo à Stanford, Holst, Rebecca Clarke, Caroline Shaw, Eric Whitacre et John Rutter.
📍 Chapelle de The Queen’s College, Oxford
🗓 Mardi 8 septembre
⏰ 18h
🎟 Entrée gratuite
Et je dois tout de même préciser que Queen’s est aussi, selon mon étude parfaitement empirique, le collège qui a produit la personne la plus universellement connue des mille ans d’histoire d’Oxford, tous âges, langues et continents confondus :
j’ai bien peur qu’il ne s’agisse de… Mr Bean.
Sur une note plus sérieuse, Queen’s fut également le college d’Edmond Halley, astronome, mathématicien et celui dont la célèbre comète porte le nom.
Un homme étonnamment sous-estimé : modeste, brillant, diplomate… et qui, à lui seul, a largement contribué à assurer à Queen’s une place dans l’histoire.
Si l’extraordinaire histoire musicale d’Oxford vous intéresse — de la musique sacrée médiévale et des chœurs de collèges aux compositeurs, musiciens et traditions qui ont façonné la ville. Oxford History Tours peut créer pour vous une visite entièrement sur mesure.
Une merveilleuse façon de découvrir l’histoire d’Oxford consiste parfois tout simplement à s’asseoir… et à écouter.

🎶 One of my favourite pieces of advice to visitors to Oxford is don’t just look at the colleges you can listen to them....
04/09/2026

🎶 One of my favourite pieces of advice to visitors to Oxford is don’t just look at the colleges you can listen to them.
I often urge clients to take the opportunity to hear religious music in some of Oxford’s magnificent historic settings. And here is a perfect example: The Queen’s College is opening its beautiful chapel to the public for a free recital by the Choir of The Queen’s College on Tuesday 8 September at 6pm.
The programme brings together English and Portuguese sacred choral music, spanning four centuries from the Renaissance polyphony of Duarte Lobo to music by Stanford, Holst, Rebecca Clarke, Caroline Shaw, Eric Whitacre and John Rutter.
📍 Queen’s College Chapel, Oxford
🗓 Tuesday 8 September
⏰ 6pm
🎟 Admission free
And I should mention that Queen’s is the college which, in my completely empirical assessment, has produced the most well known person in Oxford’s 1,000-year history regardless of age, language or geography:
I’m afraid I think it’s Mr Bean.
On a more serious note, Queen’s was also the college of Edmond Halley astronomer, mathematician and namesake of Halley’s Comet. ( An underrated modest diplomatic genius Queens College has, I think, earned its place in history.)
If you are interested in Oxford’s extraordinary musical history, from medieval sacred music and college choirs to the composers, musicians and musical traditions that have shaped the city Oxford History Tours can create a bespoke tour around it for you.
A greatt way to experience Oxford’s history can be to sit down… and listen.

Elizabeth I watched St Giles’ Fair from St John’s College.Four and a half centuries later, the fair is still coming to O...
02/09/2026

Elizabeth I watched St Giles’ Fair from St John’s College.
Four and a half centuries later, the fair is still coming to Oxford.
Its story reaches back to the Middle Ages. St Giles was a 7th-century hermit who became one of medieval Europe’s great healing saints, associated with the sick, disabled and poor.
St Giles’ Church in Oxford was founded around 1130 in the open countryside outside Oxford’s city walls. It was consecrated in 1200, and tradition connects the origins of the Fair with that celebration.
By Elizabeth I’s visit to Oxford in 1566, the Fair was already part of Oxford life. She is recorded as watching it from St John’s College.
For centuries, it had a much more practical purpose too. Held at the end of the agricultural season, it was a place where seasonal agricultural workers would hire themselves out for the coming year, alongside the trading, livestock and festivities.
And there’s another wonderfully Oxford twist: St John’s held historic rights connected with the Fair, including income from the stalls, for centuries.
From medieval religious celebration, to hiring fair and marketplace, to toy fair and today the funfair we know today. St Giles’ has reinvented itself while remaining in the same place.
Oxford history you can ride.
St Giles’ Fair — 7 & 8 September 2026.

Elizabeth I watched St Giles’ Fair from St John’s College.Four and a half centuries later, the fair is still coming to O...
02/09/2026

Elizabeth I watched St Giles’ Fair from St John’s College.

Four and a half centuries later, the fair is still coming to Oxford.

Its story reaches back to the Middle Ages.  St Giles was a  7th-century hermit who became one of medieval Europe’s great healing saints, associated with the sick, disabled and poor.

St Giles’ Church in Oxford was founded around 1130 in the open countryside outside Oxford’s city walls. It was consecrated in 1200, and tradition connects the origins of the Fair with that celebration.

By Elizabeth I’s visit to Oxford in 1566, the Fair was already part of Oxford life.  She is recorded as watching it from St John’s College.

For centuries, it had a much more practical purpose too. Held at the end of the agricultural season, it was a place where seasonal agricultural workers would hire themselves out for the coming year, alongside the trading, livestock and festivities.

And there’s another wonderfully Oxford twist: St John’s held historic rights connected with the Fair, including income from the stalls, for centuries.

From medieval religious celebration, to hiring fair and marketplace, to toy fair and today the funfair we know today. St Giles’ has reinvented itself while remaining in the same place.

Oxford history you can  ride.

St Giles’ Fair — 7 & 8 September 2026.

A difference between Oxford and Cambridge: Oxford’s colleges use a range of titles for their heads, including President...
31/08/2026

A difference between Oxford and Cambridge: Oxford’s colleges use a range of titles for their heads, including President, Principal, Master, Warden and Provost... depending on the college.

At Cambridge the title is much more consistent: the head of most colleges is sumlt Master, with a small number of exceptions like President or Mistress.

An illustration of a difference the two universities with no apparent reason.

✨ Good news from Oxford’s billboards! ✨There’s now a wonderful opportunity to step inside Merton College on a guided tou...
31/08/2026

✨ Good news from Oxford’s billboards! ✨

There’s now a wonderful opportunity to step inside Merton College on a guided tour — and it’s not to be missed!

Founded in 1264, Merton is home to the oldest surviving library in Oxford, dating from the 14th century, as well as its medieval Chapel's stained glass.

And there are stories everywhere: Liz Truss is a Merton alumna, while during the English Civil War Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I, actually lived at Merton, using the Warden’s Lodgings as her Oxford home.

📚 45 minutes of extraordinary Oxford history
🕰️ Daily at 2.15pm
💷 £10 per person

A rare chance to see one of Oxford’s most fascinating colleges from the inside.

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