Research Projects

Current heritage-related projects at Oxford University

Lab-in-your-pocket

Lab-In-Your-Pocket is an ongoing research project based at Oxford's School of Geography and the Environment and is further supported by the Oxford Resilient Buildings and Landscapes Lab.

National Trust Partnership Project

The National Trust Partnership is a collaboration between Oxford University and the National Trust which has been established to create new opportunities for interdisciplinary research, knowledge exchange, public engagement with research and training.

Maritime Industrial Heritage and the Venice Arsenal

16 June 2023

The Universities of Oxford and Bologna are hosting a series of talks and events during the Venice Biennale 2023. The Biennale takes place in the Venice Arsenal, one of the most spectacular and important sites of maritime industrial heritage in the world

OCHRE

OCHRE is a cross-disciplinary initiative which brings together interested researchers and professionals in the University who work in heritage and conservation science.

Other successful heritage-related projects

Use Lime Mortar: novel decision-making tool and videos

18 November 2019

Practitioners and scientists in collaboration, have developed an online pilot tool to offer guidance and information for choosing the right binder and aggregate and follow best practice.

Historic Environment Image Resource (HEIR)

29 October 2019

HEIR, the Historic Environment Image Resource, contains digitised historic photographic images from all over the world dating from the late nineteenth century onwards.

Understanding Authenticity in China's Cultural Heritage

29 October 2019

Notions of "authenticity" are both culturally constructed and historically contingent. n this network, we discuss the construction "authenticity," and its consequences, in relation to China's cultural heritage.

Making Maritime Memories: The British Country House and the Sea

03 June 2019

The project will work with properties that celebrate maritime connections: Buckland Abbey, home of Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596) and Shugborough Hall, owned by Thomas Anson, brother of Admiral George Anson (1697-1762), who circumnavigated the globe.

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Refugee Heritage: the archaeology of the Calais 'Jungle'

03 June 2019

Together, and in partnership with refugee groups, we will develop a programme of recording and interpreting a large collection of more than 3,000 objects from the Calais "Jungle" made by the artist Gideon Mendel.

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Chaucer Here and Now

03 June 2019

Flash of Splendor and researcher Marion Turner will use the Knowledge Exchange Fellowship to fund a Chaucer Day, featuring newly-commissioned poems, music, and visual art.

Hashtag Heritage: understanding visitor engagement with free sites using social media

03 June 2019

This project is a knowledge exchange project between Dr Kathryn Eccles and English Heritage, piloting the analysis of social media data to understand how visitors engage with free-to-access heritage sites.

Structural response of ageing masonry arch bridges

31 May 2019

Structural response of ageing masonry arch bridges Masonry arch bridges form an integral part of the European transportation network.

Ivy on Walls Research Project

31 May 2019

The principal aim of the project is to systematically investigate whether Common ivy (Hedera helix) as well as other types such as Canary Island ivy (Hedera canariensis), are acting biodeterioratively or bioprotectively with the stone walls.

Assessing exposure of heritage buildings to wind-driven rain in the 21st century

31 May 2019

Wind-driven rain is a prominent environmental risk to built heritage, but while predicted climate changes are well established, it has been until now uncertain how this will manifest in wind-driven rain.

The mystery of the decaying "Emperor Heads"

31 May 2019

Researchers from the University of Oxford are hoping that the STFC's ISIS facility will help them solve a mystery - why a set of busts outside the Sheldonian Theatre decayed within a few short decades when their predecessors endured for two centuries.

Open Cabinet: AR access to Oxford's collections

24 May 2019

The Open Cabinet project is exploring the potential of augmented reality (AR) technology to enhance the student and public visitor experience in the University's museums.