Lunchtime Talk: 'The Story of the Welsh Migration to Oxford: "You can't stop them singing!"

Sharron Jenkinson was brought up on the edge of Florence Park Estate in Cowley, Oxford and later became a history teacher. When studying, she researched the Welsh migration to Cowley. In the 1990s, Sharron’s husband, George, became a member, and later Chairman, of Oxford Welsh Male Voice Choir and Sharron became their archivist and events organiser. In 2018, to celebrate the choir’s 90th year, Sharron wrote ‘From the Valleys to the Spires – A history of Oxford Welsh Male Voice Choir.’

In this talk, Sharron tells the story of the Welsh migration to Oxford through the eyes of several of the choir’s early members. The choir began in the depression years when many Welsh men travelled to Oxford to seek work in Morris Motors and Pressed Steel. Their families followed, and the word spread that Cowley was a good place to work and settle. The quote in the title comes from a cartoon in the Oxford Mail in 1938 and sums up the importance of singing to the Welsh community.

The choir has continued to thrive and is an important part of Oxford’s rich cultural musical scene. The talk includes musical extracts which illustrate how the repertoire has developed over the years, although, notably, more is sung in Welsh now than in the 1930s!

Tickets cost £6 and are available to buy online (via Plinth) or at the Museum shop. Tickets for this event also include free entry to the Museum’s galleries.

Part of the Sounds of the City exhibition and events programme.

Further information

Complimentary tea and coffee will be available to enjoy during the talk. We recommend arriving before the start of the talk if you would like to grab a refreshment.

Sales from tickets help support our work to deliver fun and accessible family activities, community engagement projects, schools workshops, exhibitions and special events for Oxford’s people in our Museum spaces.

Tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Refunds will only be issued if the event is cancelled or if there is a significant change to the advertised programme.

Access

There is step-free, level entry access to the Town Hall via the entrance closest to Carfax Tower (to the left of the main steps as you face the Town Hall). Inside the Museum, Museum Makers is accessible via a platform lift to the Galleries and then a lift to the basement.

Accessible toilets are available in the Museum (close to Museum Makers) and in the Town Hall on the ground floor, before entering the Museum. Please contact the Museum team if you’d like to talk to a member of staff about your access requirements. Further access information can be found on our page dedicated to access at the museum.