The Playing Close through the centuries
Today the Playing Close is a well-kept, tranquil green space surrounded by trees in the centre of the town, mostly used for recreation. It has been an important part of Charlbury life for hundreds of years but was a very different place in the past. If you had visited in the 1800s you would have found a noisy place on which people had built hovels, dug sawpits, dumped dung heaps and traded animals. It sat on the edge of town with fields stretching away up what is now Wychwood Paddocks and beyond.
Many of the houses you see around the Playing Close today were already there but one was a working farm, others occupied by working craftsmen. The town lock-up was in one corner in a building that later housed the town’s fire engine. The British School was expanding along one side, offering a basic education to the poorer children of the town.
The museum’s exhibition this year explores its history, how the Close was gifted to the town in 1592, the stories of the houses which surround it, and the lives of the people who used it.
We re-open on Saturday 5th April at 10.30am. Our opening hours are
Saturdays 10.30-12.30am
Sundays & Bank Holidays 2.30-4.30pm.
We look forward to seeing you!