Oxford opens its doors

Oxford Open Doors weekend, organised by the Oxford Preservation Trust takes place on the weekend 14-15 September. The public will be able to visit locations that are not usually open to visitors such as the town hall, some of the city's universities and college buildings.

This year the Open Doors programme concentrates on two themes; design and elegance in Oxford and the Nuffield legacy to mark the 50^th anniversary of Lord Nuffield's death. Visits will include the car industry in Cowley and places in the city that have benefited from Lord Nuffield's contribution to the university, to science and to medical research and health care.

Lord Nuffield (1877-1963) is best remembered as the founder of Morris Motors and of Nuffield College Oxford.

William Morris, later Lord Nuffield, started work as a maker and repairer of bicycles, then moved on to motor cycles and finally to cars. He became one of the first British industrialists to use mass production methods in car manufacturing in the first half of the 20^th century. His Morris Oxford, Morris Minor and MG cars became famous world-wide.