The team at Cogges is gathering memories from local residents for their Witney Remembers project. If you have a previous connection with Cogges, and you’re happy to share your story, then we're very keen to hear from you.
Learning & Community Engagement Manager, Laura Dean, says: "Our hope is that this project will give families, older people, community groups and schools the opportunity to input into the history of Cogges. It provides the possibility to uncover stories and connections to Cogges for more people to enjoy and discover. The project will not only input into a collection of Oral Histories connected to Cogges and Witney, it will also work towards the development of an exhibition."
If you have any stories photos or images from the last 50+ years, perhaps showing people visiting or working at Cogges, or pictures of the animals, machinery and events, please email Laura at: learning@cogges.org.uk
As the last family to live and work at Cogges Manor Farm, the Mawle family has left the strongest stamp on the house and farmyard. In 1877 Joseph Mawle, a local farmer, took over the tenancy and the Mawle family eventually bought the freehold and continued to live there until 1975. Joseph and his wife Elizabeth had a total of seven children – Joseph, John Francis (known as Frank), Edward, Harry, Eliza, Margaret and Ralph.
Recently, we have been fortunate enough to interview Eileen Mawle, daughter-in-law of Ted (son of Frank).
We'd love to hear from local residents willing to share their stories of working for the Mawles, doing business with them or socialising with them. We would also like to capture moments through time since 1974 when Oxfordshire County Council bought Cogges Manor Farm and converted the house and farmstead into a museum. It was sympathetically preserved by OCC for 30 years before Cogges Heritage Trust took over the management of Cogges as a charity and reopened Cogges Manor Farm to visitors in 2011.
Thanks to National Lottery Heritage Funding, this project also creates an opening for some exciting new Oral History volunteer roles, including: Interviewers, Transcribers and Editors. Take a look at our volunteer web page for more details of each role.
Please email Victoria to find out more about how to get involved at: volunteering@cogges.org.uk
Drawing credit to Alison Waite: The walled garden at Cogges 1992
