Uncovering the history of an ancient village
Eynsham Museum and Heritage Centre (EMHC) was established in 2021. Our aims are: to showcase some of the wonderful objects that bring to life Eynsham’s long and distinguished history; nurture pride in the community for its roots; and provide inspiration for future generations.
In March 2023, Eynsham Parish Council granted EMHC a lease on the Bartholomew Room in the Market Square. In autumn 2023, we held our first exhibition, Eynsham’s Lost Railway, which was so popular that it needed an extended run.
Our next exhibition, Rural Eynsham, ran from 13 July to 27 October 2024, and was very well-received by villagers and visitors to Eynsham alike. Alongside this, our popular photographic exhibition, Eynsham Past and Present, gave a fascinating glimpse into the changing face of the village. We reopened both exhibitions on 5 April 2025, and they ran until the end of August 2025.
At the end of September 2025, we opened our permanent exhibition in the upstairs gallery, Eynsham from Prehistory to the 20th Century. This runs alongside our permanent photographic exhibition, Eynsham Past and Present, in the downstairs gallery. Read more about our current and past exhibitions here.
The museum’s opening hours are weekends and bank holidays from 11am to 4pm. Entry is free; donations are very welcome.
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News
MAY 2026
Our annual Cake and Book Sale, held on 25 April, was a great success, raising the considerable sum of £824.35 for the museum. Many thanks to all our supporters and, particularly, to the people who baked and donated cakes, and who donated books. Putting the money raised together with a small grant from the Parish Council, we are now in a position to purchase another display cabinet, which will have a set of drawers for storing documents and maps relating to Eynsham. This should complete our permanent display in the upstairs gallery.
Work continues on creating a video that will give a tour of the permanent exhibition upstairs, Eynsham from Prehistory to the 20th Century, for those with mobility issues. This will be shown in the downstairs gallery.
Looking further ahead, we are aiming to hold a series of temporary exhibitions in the downstairs gallery, alongside our Eynsham Past and Present photographic exhibition. These will serve to cast light on aspects of Eynsham’s history that could not be incorporated into our permanent exhibition. Watch this space for more information!
We look forward to welcoming you warmly to the museum at weekends and on bank holidays from 11am–4pm. There is so much to take in and enjoy from the history of this remarkable, ancient village!
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** For previous news items, please go to the News archive. **
Object of the month
For more about Object of the Month, click on the next link (date heading).
- May 2026This photo from the early 20th century was taken at the front the W. Sawyer and Sons shop in Eynsham. As we saw in April’s Object of… Read more: May 2026
