MUSEUM CAR PARKING (SIGN POSTED) ON TO THE NEARBY HANBOROUGH
INDUSTRIAL ESTATE AND ALL VISITORS WILL THEN BE TAKEN EVERY 5
MINUTES TO THE MUSEUM BY 'OXFORD NIPPER' MINI BUS
BUS & MORRIS MUSEUMS OPEN FULL CAFE FACILITIES and SHOP
Adults £3.00, Seniors £2.50, Children £1.50 and Family £7
Telephone Museum on 01993 883617 (when open) or 01993 881662
How to get to the museum
The Museum is located next to Hanborough rail station car park.
The station entrance is on the south side of the A4095 between
Bladon and Long Hanborough villages.
The A4095 links Bicester, Woodstock and Witney. (See brown tourist
signs). Travellers from east of the Museum may approach the area
via the M40 leaving at Junction 8 or 9. From the west via the
A40 Cheltenham -Oxford road. From the north via the M40 to Junction
9 or the A44 or A4260. From the south via the A34, joining the
A44 near Peartree Services on the Oxford Ring Road.
CAR PARKING Ample FREE car parking at the Museum site for coaches
and cars
On special events days all cars are asked to park as directed
by special yellow road signs to the nearby business park from
where a very frequent minibus service runs to the Museum.
The Morris Motors Brass Band
The Oxford Bus Museum recently opened a large
new display about the legendary William Morris, whose car
manufacture changed the shape of Oxford, which is housed in
a building created from some of the last remains of a Morris
car factory rescued from Cowley after demolition. Among the
treasure trove of objects relating to William Morris is a
case containing a trumpet and a trombone and memorabilia relating
to the Morris Motors Brass Band. Such bands are often associated
with collieries such as the Black Dyke Band, (who occasionally
played with the Morris Motors band), but many other organisations
formed them.
The Morris Motors Brass Band was founded in 1924
as part of William Morris's welfare drive, and soon started entering
national competitions, winning the Crystal Palace Grand Shield
in the 1930s. A signature tune, The Morris March, was written
for them by Beresford, which is featured on a programme of 1926.
The band was temporarily disbanded at the beginning
of the Second World War, reviving in 1943 to play to workers
in the factory canteen.
Between 1946 and 1955 the band went from strength
to strength under the leadership of its inspirational conductor
Harry Mortimer, becoming one of the country's leading brass bands.
During its long career, the band made over 500 radio broadcasts
and several television appearances, also performing at folk dances,
in music halls and in park bandstands.
William Morris provided a special coach for
the band, and their last coach, 14 LFC, dating from 1961,
is now in the museum collection undergoing restoration so
that in a few years it can be used for passengers. It was
specially designed with a large capacity boot to take all
the musical instruments, which raised the height of the back
half of the coach, giving the passengers a good view as they
drove to engagements. The vehicle was rescued from a Coventry
cleaning company and restoration begun by volunteers from
BMC, later taken over by the Bus Museum.
It was thought that the band only recorded one
long-playing record, but since the museum displays have been
open, four more LPs have come to light. The new museum curator
Ken Robinson is actively collecting items for the museum and
archives connected with William Morris and Oxfordshire buses
in general. He would be very interested to see any memorabilia
with the Morris name on it and would very much like the opportunity
to copy photographs relating to him.
The museum collections are constantly expanding,
and if any readers have any items connected with the band,
such as a uniform, or more musical instruments, he would be
delighted to see them.
The Bus Museum has been able to go from strength
to strength with the aid of grants from the National Lottery,
with matching funds from the Nuffield Fund, West Oxfordshire District
Council, Wren Recycling, and the Museum's own resources. It is
a wonderful example of how much can be achieved by a group of
enthusiastic volunteers.
The Oxford Bus Museum, Station Yard, Long Hanborough,
Witney (call 01993 883617 or 01993 881662), is open on Wednesdays
and Sundays from 10.30am-4.30pm and also on all Bank Holidays
and on Saturdays from March to October. Admission fees are £3.00
for adults, £1.50 for children, family ticket £6, over 60s and
registered disabled £2.
