Oxfordshire’s best-known employers are the manufacturers of cars, blankets and cakes, as well as those dealing in tourism, education and publishing. It is still essentially a rural county and many of its trades and crafts are related to the countryside. A number of Oxfordshire businesses have been handed down through several generations, adapting and modernizing as necessary over the years. Many have finally closed after decades of trade, but are nevertheless fondly remembered, one or two even reappearing as exhibits in the county’s museums. Some major employers have failed to survive, while others have become part of high street chains and at least one has expanded to form its own.

Featured in this book are carvers and barrel makers, university employees and leather-workers, hop-pickers and bee-keepers, brewers and marmalade makers, railwaymen and bus drivers, thatchers and blacksmiths, and, of course, shops galore, including an ironmonger’s which dates back to Tudor days.

With 200 superb photographs, this book will appeal to everyone with an interest in the history of the county, and also awaken memories of a bygone time for those who worked, shopped or simply remember these Oxfordshire firms, trades and businesses.