ENGLAND: THE OTHER WITHIN

Oxfordshire and District Folklore Society

1907.1.10 Glass bottle found in Oxford

Alison Petch,
Researcher 'The Other Within' project

At a meeting of the Council of the Folklore Society in 2 June 1948 a resolution was passed to establish an ‘Oxfordshire and District Branch of the Folklore Society’. ‘Its objects shall be to collect, record and study the folklore of Oxfordshire, and the neighbouring counties, and to further the study of the international folklore of these districts.’ (Beatrice Blackwood uncatalogued correspondence and memories of BB, folder ‘The Folklore Society 1948-49, agenda for the meeting). The Oxfordshire Branch was set up partly because of the difficulty of getting into London for national Society meetings, partly to enable courses of lectures in the winter outside normal meeting times, and partly to help collect material in Oxfordshire and neighbouring counties. They hoped to recruit from villages throughout Oxfordshire, and proposed to supply lecturers for local Women’s Institutes.

The first course of lectures was planned to take place in the Autumn of 1948, and Blackwood arranged for them to be held in the Geology Lecture theatre at the Oxford University Museum. However, the new branch quickly ran into problems. The Oxfordshire team could not even agree on a suitable name with the parent Society in London. Those in London felt that the branch was superfluous, and providing services that were already supplied in London, particularly when Ellen Ettlinger proposed setting up a local Board to answer queries, compile a bibliography, collect information and material, and draft questionnaires. For her part, Blackwood resigned from the Oxfordshire Folklore Society in June 1949, citing the burden of her other professional commitments as the reason for her departure.

Obviously, eventually, the dispute about names was resolved, and by 1950 the somewhat convoluted name of 'Oxfordshire and District Folklore Society' had been established. Ellen Ettlinger had continued her involvement, she served as Vice-Chairman of the Society for most of the time it survived. Peter Opie, who talked to the Society and may have been a member stated:

Again England is blessed with a great number of local societies and county associations and field clubs, local history and archaeological societies, and dialect societies, all interested in folklore to a greater or lesser extent, and often publishing notes on folklore. I have counted just on forty societies I know of, ranging from the Oxford and District Folklore Society, founded in 1948 and comparatively new, but, of course, interested in folklore exclusively and holding nine meetings a year—to an old-established society such as the Devonshire Association whch last year published its fifty-third Report on Folklore...

[p.468, Peter Opie, 'The Present State of Folklore Studies in England', Folklore, Vol. 68, No. 4 (Dec., 1957), pp. 466-471]

In 1950 the Annual Record of the Society reports that 'these ... meetings have proved that there is much interest in folklore in the county, and also that there is a great deal of material on which work still needs to be done'. [Annual Record no. 2, October 1950, p.1] The Society's activities seem to comprise two basic forms, meetings and private research work carried out by members. The seasonal series of meetings were held in the Geology lecture theatre at the Oxford University Museum (of Natural History). National and local speakers (one per meeting) were invited to give a talk. Short accounts of these meetings were written up in the Annual Record of the Society. One of these speakers was J.F. Parker of Bewdley.

It is also clear that some (possibly, many) members of the Society undertook private research into the folklore of their local areas, which they then reported to other society members. On June 23rd 1950 it was reported that a meeting had been held 'for those who had been working during the previous months' to read or send in reports'. [Annual Record no. 2, October 1950, p.1] In a later edition it is made clear that these accounts were held by the Honorary Secretary, Christina Hole. The current location of these accounts is unknown to the author.

At first the subscription for members was set at 5 shillings per annum, though this was quickly raised to 10 shillings. [Annual Record no. 2: p.2, Annual Record no. 4: p.1] A wide variety of members was obviously sought:

The Oxfordshire and District Folklore Society has had another year of quiet and steady progress. The ordinary membership has been maintained, notwithstanding the normal wastage due to the departure of undergraduate members whose time at the University has ended.

[Annual Record, no. 3: October 1951 p.1]

Although the Society had been established for those with an especial interest in the local folklore the topics discussed in the seasons of lectures were very varied encompassing talks about local topics, but many more about either national or international topics including presentations about folklore in North America, Japan and Greece. Many eminent academics spoke at the meetings as well as amateur folklorists.

The first Chairman of the Society was G. Turville-Petre who was actually Edward Oswald Gabriel Turville-Petre (1908-1978), known as Gabriel. He was Professor of Ancient Icelandic Literature and Antiquities at the University of Oxford. The Honorary Secretary (later Editor) was Christina Hole. Ellen Ettlinger was the Vice-Chairman. The second Chair was E.O. (Edwin Oliver) James (1888-1972). He had been Professor of History and Philosophy of Religion at the University of Leeds, Lecturer at the University of Amsterdam and Wilde Lecturer at the University of Oxford and was later Professor Emeritus of the History and Philosophy of Religion at the University of London. Interestingly, James had studied for the Diploma at the Pitt Rivers Museum [Riviere, 2007]

By 1961 concern was expressed in the Annual Report because attendance was dropping, forlornly stating:

It must, however, be regretfully recorded that attendance at meetings is not as good as it might be. More than once, less than a dozen people have been present to hear lectures of great interest given by distinguished visiting folklorists.

[Annual Record No. 13 1961: p.1]

In 1965 "A Reminder" was enclosed in the Annual Record:

The aims of the Oxfordshire and District Folklore Society are:
(1) to foster the study of folklore in all its aspects
(2) to encourage particularly the study, collection and recording of the folklore of Oxfordshire and the counties bordering on it.
Membership is open to all who are interested in such matters. The co-operation of those who are willing to help in collecting and recording local material is particularly welcomed.

Any information concerning the traditions, customs and beliefs still existing, or remembered in Oxfordshire and the regions across its borders will be welcomed by the Honorary Secretary by whom it will be carefully filed, in the hope that one day it may help to fill the long-felt want of a standard book on local folklore.

The subscription for membership is 10/- per annum, due on August 1st of each year. ...

Despite this reminder it seems that the Society may not have continued much beyond 1965, or if it did, it did not publish its Annual Record any more nor can trace be found of its activities.

July 2008.

Further Reading

Annual Records of the Oxfordshire and District Folklore Society

Peter Riviere. [ed] 2007 A History of Oxford Anthropology Oxford, Berghahn.