The original core of this collection was deposited as accessions 1387, 1693, 1755, 1756, 1976, 2007, 2042, 2085, 2182, 2197, 2202, 2287, 2343, 2383, 2426, 2439, 2509, 2636, 2643, and 2653 between 1977 and 1987 and were catalogued as collection BOQM (Berkshire and Oxfordshire Quaker Meetings). The collection has since been augmented by accessions 2717, 2818, 2902, 3096, 3097, 3293, 3311, 3343, 3509, 3646, 3647, 3661, 3685, 3686, 3949, 4231, 4294, 4347, 4387, 4400, 4418, 4500, 4523, 4748, 4823, 4944, 4998, 5048, 5081, 5102, 5129, 5189, 5239, 5335, 5418, 5425, 5693, 5701, 5784, 5823, 5819, and 5912, which were deposited between November 1987 and December 2009, and the entire collection was recatalogued in 2009.
Accessions 5930, 6012, 6029, 6069, 6145, 6156 and 6173 were deposited between January 2010 and May 2013, and added to the catalogue in May 2013. Accessions 6229, 6366, 6367, 6368 and 6376 were deposited between November 2013 and May 2015, and were catalogued in August 2015.
The records in the collection date mainly from the 17th century up to 2013 and include minutes, accounts and other financial papers, assorted registration papers, title deeds, correspondence, and other administrative papers. A large number of items in the collection are subject to a 50 year closure period at request of depositors, but this may be waived in individual cases at the discretion of the Area Meeting. Applications for access to the records should be made to the Meeting's Custodian of Records (contact details for which can be obtained from Oxfordshire History Centre). Closed records are individually marked throughout the catalogue.
It has also been necessary to close a number of items for up to 100 years under the terms of the Data Protection Act. These closure periods cannot be waived under any circumstances.
The structure of Witney Monthly Meeting (WMM) has altered considerably over time; in 1754 it included the Preparative Meetings (PM) of Witney, Burford, Milton, Chipping Norton, and Charlbury. The Faringdon PM moved to WMM in 1790 and the Meeting has subsequently incorporated the Abingdon, Charney, Faringdon, Headington and Marlborough and Swindon PMs. The name of the Meeting changed from Witney Monthly Meeting to Oxford and Swindon Area Meeting in 2007.
A small section of the original BOQM catalogue, relating to the Vale Monthly Meeting, has been recatalogued as NQ2. A concordance of old and new reference numbers can be found at the back of the hard-copy catalogue.
The Court Rolls and other documents re Charlbury Meeting House (1750-1954, 15 items), previously given reference BOQM/VI/vi, were removed by the depositor and are now held by Friends Trusts Ltd, Friends House, Euston Rd, London.
Records of the Berkshire and Oxfordshire Quarterly Meeting are held by Berkshire Record Office.
Arrangement
The catalogue has been arranged in the following sequence:
NQ3/1 Witney Monthly Meeting
NQ3/2 Abingdon Preparative Meeting
NQ3/3 Burford Preparative Meeting
NQ3/4 Burford and Charlbury Preparative Meeting
NQ3/5 Charlbury Preparative Meeting
NQ3/6 Charney Preparative Meeting
NQ3/7 Chipping Norton Preparative Meeting
NQ3/8 Faringdon Preparative Meeting
NQ3/9 Headington Preparative Meeting
NQ3/10 Marlborough Preparative Meeting
NQ3/11 Oxford Preparative Meeting
NQ3/12 Swindon Preparative Meeting
NQ3/13 Witney Preparative Meeting
Catalogued by Karen Garvey, Ruth Imeson and Hannah Jones between 2000 and 2009. Additional re-referencing work by Kath Luker.
Additional records added May 2013 and August 2015.