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Historic England: Oxford: Unique Images from the Archives of Historic England
This illustrated history portrays one of England’s finest cities. It provides a nostalgic look at Oxford’s past and highlights the special character of some of its most important historic sites.The photographs are taken from the Historic England Archive, a unique collection of over 12 million photographs, drawings, plans and documents covering England’s archaeology, architecture, social and local history. Pictures date from the earliest days of photography to the present and cover subjects from Bronze Age burials and medieval churches to cinemas and seaside resorts.Historic England: Oxford shows the city as it once was, from its streets and alleys to the buildings of its world-renowned colleges. This ‘City of Dreaming Spires’ still retains much of its medieval character and is still a city of international importance today.
96 pages, Paperback
First published July 15, 2017
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September 21, 2023
it's a daring idea: architectural photographs of buildings that have barely changed since the invention of photography.
naturally Henry Taunt's work features heavily, which is always nice to see, but for the most part the photographs are lacking all the bustle and life that makes old pictures so interesting. the accompanying descriptions are adequate, but generally lacking in detail -- in most cases they don't even include the date. bafflingly, given the tie-in to Historic England's archives, none of them have references that might help you find out more.
the first half of the book is given over to (most of the) colleges, which feels a little disproportionate. however the second half does cover some slightly more obscure sites, such as Cowley Barracks and the pleasantly understated St John the Evangelist Church opposite the Iffley Road playing fields. i particularly liked the one of St Martin's Church, now long-demolished, looming over Carfax.
some entries are accompanied by more recent (c.2012) photographs taken by the author. for some strange reason they all seem to contain scaffolding or those orange plastic barriers. i feel they could have found something better in the five year gap before publication.
it's definitely not a bad book, but ultimately i found it a bit of a disappointment, especially in light of how excited i felt when i saw it in the library.
naturally Henry Taunt's work features heavily, which is always nice to see, but for the most part the photographs are lacking all the bustle and life that makes old pictures so interesting. the accompanying descriptions are adequate, but generally lacking in detail -- in most cases they don't even include the date. bafflingly, given the tie-in to Historic England's archives, none of them have references that might help you find out more.
the first half of the book is given over to (most of the) colleges, which feels a little disproportionate. however the second half does cover some slightly more obscure sites, such as Cowley Barracks and the pleasantly understated St John the Evangelist Church opposite the Iffley Road playing fields. i particularly liked the one of St Martin's Church, now long-demolished, looming over Carfax.
some entries are accompanied by more recent (c.2012) photographs taken by the author. for some strange reason they all seem to contain scaffolding or those orange plastic barriers. i feel they could have found something better in the five year gap before publication.
it's definitely not a bad book, but ultimately i found it a bit of a disappointment, especially in light of how excited i felt when i saw it in the library.
Displaying 1 of 1 review