Wood Farm: the Oxford suburb where city and countryside meet
Wood Farm is a mid-20th-century council housing estate, but the history of this area goes back to the Roman period. In the 1450s the land passed to Magdalen College. It contained valuable woodland and pasture, and disputes over the use of these resources between the college, its tenant farmers, and the villagers of Headington, went on for centuries. In 1934 Wood Farm was bought by the car manufacturer William Morris, and during the war part of it was requisitioned for a Prisoner of War camp. After the war the PoW huts were converted into housing for otherwise homeless families. The council’s Wood Farm estate – carefully planned, with community resources including a large area of woodland – developed over the subsequent two decades. This talk explores this rich and varied history.
“Thanks for your excellent talk yesterday about the history of Wood Farm. As usual, your content and delivery were spot on. Most of us didn’t know the area at all, though I was pleased that some of our members were keen to tell you about their own connections during and after the session.” Diane Pearson, Oxford U3A, October 2026.
Contact me on 01865 242760 or liz@lizwoolley.co.uk to book this talk.