In Memoriam: Diana Wood

Dr Diana Wood, formerly Departmental Lecturer in Local History and course director of the Undergraduate Diploma in English Local History, died suddenly in July 2012 aged 71. She was a distinguished scholar and teacher of medieval history and will be remembered by many OUDCE local history students. Dr Adrienne Rosen, Lecturer in Local and Social History, remembers her.

'Diana's first employment after leaving school was in publishing, and this early editorial experience was put to good use throughout her later career. She was an adult student at Birkbeck College in London for a BA and then a PhD which was published as Clement VI: The Pontificate and Ideas of an Avignon Pope (Cambridge University Press, 1989).'

'An academic post at the University of East Anglia followed, although Diana had already moved to Oxford and was determined to stay in spite of the lengthy commute between Headington and Norwich for which she liked to claim improbable new speed records. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and from 1985 to 1999 she edited and contributed to many volumes of Studies in Church History, the conference proceedings of the Ecclesiastical History Society. Her textbook on Medieval Economic Thought was published by Cambridge University Press in 2002.'

'In 1998 Diana became a history tutor for OUDCE. At first she protested that she was 'not a local historian', but within a very short time she found that this new approach was close to her own interests and she settled happily into teaching weekly classes around Oxfordshire. Then a temporary post replacing Chris Day as course director of the Diploma in English Local History came up, Diana stepped in, and one year eventually stretched into six.'

'As course director of the Diploma she was an inspiring teacher and a generous adviser, and she soon established a following of students who shared her enthusiasm for the medieval period. She also directed some memorable weekend conferences at Rewley House on topics in medieval social and economic history and arranged publication of the lectures by Oxbow Books as Women and Religion in Medieval England (2003) and Medieval Money Matters (2004). Her lasting legacy to OUDCE's local history community was her collaboration with landscape archaeologist James Bond on the 'James Bond Walks', an annual Oxfordshire hike for students, with expert commentary and a pub lunch.' (Photo kindly provided by Malcolm Stewart.)

'Following her retirement from OUDCE in 2006, Diana continued to pursue her research, writing and teaching in local and social medieval history. She served for three years as editor of the journal Oxoniensia for which she found a new printer and distributor, revised the layout, and tightened up the production schedule. She did not like archaeological reports that were unduly technical and turgid, or poorly written historical articles, but somehow could always persuade authors that her amendments were an improvement.'

'She published two articles in the journal on Oxfordshire topics, and one of her last publications was the entry on medieval chantries and hospitals in the Historical Atlas of Oxfordshire (2010) edited by Kate Tiller. Her long-term research project on the medieval Sunday sadly remains unfinished except for one early article.'

'Diana was always involved in music, particularly as a choral singer, and for many years she ran the Byrd Consortium which specialised in early church and secular music. Her friends will also remember her devotion to her Papillon toy spaniel dogs. Diana's home in Oxford was Headington Quarry, an area that she loved and to which she returned after a brief period in Kent, and she was buried there in the churchyard of Holy Trinity. She will be missed by her many friends at OUDCE and in the local history community.'

Dr Adrienne Rosen is a Lecturer in Local and Social History, and Course Director of our Undergraduate Advanced Diploma in Local History.

Published 26 January 2013