Rotherwas Together Summer Exhibition
The Oxford is proud to be hosting the Rotherwas Together exhibition this summer. The exhibition features information about some of the brave women who worked at the Rotherwas munitions factory during both wars, and the remarkable story of the Rotherwas women’s football team. The exhibition is very special for Kington as it was home to Sadie and Honor Lloyd, two sisters who were members of the team who played in front of big crowds during the First World War.
The exhibition will be open during all our opening hours between 2nd June and 1st August; we will also host a launch night on Tuesday 2nd June, 5.30-7.30pm, where you’ll be able to meet some of the volunteers from Rotherwas Together and learn more about their project. Our bar will be open throughout.
Rotherwas Together is the Herefordshire-based voluntary organisation dedicated to researching stories and raising awareness of the munitions factory ROF Rotherwas, the Royal Ordnance Factory built during the First World War. The factory was used for filling shells, with the first ones rolling off the production line in November 1916. The munitions site closed after the Second World War and became home to many businesses from the 1960s onwards and is now the Hereford Enterprise Zone.
For more information about Rotherwas Together, visit: https://www.rotherwas.com/
The Factory Football element of the exhibition was kindly supported by the Sports Heritage Fund.
Free Digital Skills Lessons
With thanks to Richard Connelly of AbilityNet, we will be running a course of three Digital Skills lessons in The Oxford’s barn this summer. Each lesson is self-contained and you may attend one or more as you prefer. Attendance is free, but booking is essential - please email Kim at kim@openarmskington.co.uk or call her on 07301 081444 to book a place.
Monday 6th July 10.30am-12.30pm: Staying safe online and avoid scams
Monday 20th July 10.30am-12.30pm: Getting to know your mobile phone
Monday 3rd August 10.30am-12.30pm: Topic TBC
Tea and coffee will be provided at these lessons.
RESCHEDULED - Veteran Trees of the Marches talk
Join Josie Bridges, Welsh Marches Project Officer for Natural Resources Wales, for a talk on the giant and veteran trees of the region in The Oxford’s barn.
The talk will be illustrated by local artist and researcher Epha J. Roe with images from their project “Arboreal Encounters”, a series of photographs of English heritage oak trees informed by the Ancient Tree inventory.
Unreserved seating, please arrive early to ensure a place. The talk will begin around 7pm. Free, but donations warmly welcomed. Bar open throughout.
***This talk was originally scheduled for 24th March, and then scheduled for 19th May***
Two-day photography workshop for young people
Wednesday 5th August, 1-5pm & Thursday 6th August, 10am-2pm (this session includes lunch)
For 14-18 year olds.
Free, but booking essential. Contact kim@openarmskington.co.uk to book a place
Open Arms Kington will be hosting a two-day photography workshop for young people (14-18) this August. The sessions will be led by photographer Paul Ligas and explore the art of photography through hands-on sessions in composing and taking photographs on photo walks, making anthotype prints, cyanotype prints, and lumen printing. Make a connection with the natural world, build your confidence, experiment with light and nature, create your own photographic prints. No experience needed – just curiosity and creativity!
These workshops have been made possible through an award from the High Sheriff’s Fund, managed by Herefordshire Community Foundation.
Kington Wheelbarrow Race
It’s that time of year again! Kington’s iconic wheelbarrow race celebrates its 50th edition this June, and The Oxford will be part of the fun as ever, serving as a stop-off for participants, and one of the best places to watch the action. RJ Smokeshack will be serving their smash burgers and waffles and our bar will be open.
Antiques evaluation with Halls Auctioneers
Halls Fine Art Auctioneers will visit The Oxford again on Friday 5th June to put a value on your heirlooms and antiques. On their previous visits, they’ve valued an Old Master painting and a bucket from HMS Victory, so we look forward to seeing what treasures Kington has been hiding this time!
Drop-in between 11am and 2pm, £2 per item valued. All proceeds go towards the renovations of The Oxford Arms.
Creative Workshop at The Oxford Arms
May’s Creative Workshop will focus on paper-making! No experience necessary, all welcome. Payment by donation (£5 suggested).
Coffee and tea will be available, but please note that the Caravan Café will be closed on Sunday 31st May.
May's Quiz Night
Join us for May’s quiz night at The Oxford on Friday 29th May. Bar open 6-10pm, quiz starts at 7pm. Max teams of 4 people, £3pp entry. Our upcoming quiz nights will be on 26th June, 31st July, and 28th August.
EVENT POSTPONED - The Veteran Trees of the Marches: a talk by Josie Bridges
We are very sorry to announce that this talk has been postponed at the last minute due to a broken down car, our speaker is unable to get to Kington this evening!
The talk will be rescheduled, with a new date to be announced here soon.
Sincere apologies for the inconvenience!
***This talk was originally scheduled for 24th March, but postponed due to a clash with the monthly Herefordshire Wildlife Trust talk***
Join Josie Bridges, Welsh Marches Project Officer for Natural Resources Wales, for a talk on the giant and veteran trees of the region in The Oxford’s barn.
The talk will be illustrated by local artist and researcher Epha J. Roe with images from their project “Arboreal Encounters”, a series of photographs of English heritage oak trees informed by the Ancient Tree inventory.
Unreserved seating, please arrive early to ensure a place. Free, but donations warmly welcomed. Bar open throughout.
Herefordshire Histories Festival: old words of Herefordshire
The Oxford Arms will be a venue for the 2026 Herefordshire Histories Festival. We’ll have an exhibition on the old words of Herefordshire, and Richard Wheeler—author of The Old Words of Herefordshire (Logaston Press)—will be giving a talk at 1pm.
Bar and café open throughout, free entry.
Marches Makers: dance at The Oxford
As well as our exhibition on the forgotten words of Herefordshire, we’ll be celebrating the 2026 Marches Makers festival at The Oxford with morris and maypole dancing! Gidderskins Morris will perform at 11am and 2.30pm, sandwiching participatory maypole dancing taught by Jess Dawson Wright. Bar and café open 11am-5pm.
Marches Makers: exhibition at The Oxford Arms
To celebrate the 2026 Marches Makers festival, The Oxford Arms will be hosting an exhibition on the fading and forgotten words of Herefordshire.
Our bar and café will be open both Saturday and Sunday, plus we have morris and maypole dancing on Saturday 2nd May!
What's on in May
May events at The Oxford Arms. Please note that The Oxford will be closed on the weekends of 16-17 and 23-24 May.
Creative Workshop: air-dry clay slab pot making
For April’s Creative Workshop, we’ll be making pots using the air-dried clay slab method. All welcome, no experience necessary, and all materials provided. Payment by donation (suggested £5).
Plus our bar and café will be open 1-5pm, with our live 100 Club draw at 3pm.
April Quiz Night
It’s our regular monthly quiz night on Friday 24th April. Bar open 6-10pm, quiz starts at 7pm. Max teams of 4 people, £3pp entry, cash prize for the winning team.
DJ Night
Join us for our next DJ night in The Oxford’s barn, with sets from Odaat, Pink Bear, and Ad D.
7-10pm, free entry, bar open throughout.
Kington Marmalade Competition 2026
The Oxford Arms will once again host the annual Kington Marmalade Competition on Saturday 11th April, organised by our friends at Festive Foods from the Borders and the Kington Chamber of Trade. The celebrated international marmalade judge (and OAK director) Jane Maggs will once again be picking the winners and providing comments and suggestions on your recipes.
Entries will close very soon! To enter, pick up an entry form from The Grape Vine on Kington High Street or Bee’s Knees Cookshop on Church Street. There are prizes to be won, and don’t forget the under 14s category—a perfect opportunity for all budding young cooks and preserve-makers to show their talents and gain plaudits!
On the day, The Oxford will be open 11am-4pm, and our café will be open serving marmalade-themed treats. Our bar will also be open throughout.
Pirates of the Caribbean Craft and Quiz afternoon
Shiver me timbers! Our next fancy dress, craft and quiz afternoon for kids on school holidays is coming up on Thursday 9th April, 2-4pm, and the theme this time (by popular request) is PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN!
There will be a prize for the best fancy dress and the winner of the quiz.
Craft activities from 2pm, quiz starts at 3.30pm.
Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult.
Refreshments available. Payment by donation (£2 per child suggested)
Singing lessons with a professional opera singer
OAK is proud to be hosting a course of singing classes with Oleg Synytsia. Oleg has been a soloist with Odesa National Academic Opera, Kharkiv National Academic Opera, Donetsk Opera, and the National Opera of Ukraine. He has also been a singing teacher since 2008.
Classes take place each Tuesday at 2-3pm, £10pp per class. Booking strongly encouraged. To book a place, contact Kim at kim@openarmskington.co.uk. These classes are for adults; if you have a young person who is interested, please get in touch with Kim.
Creative Workshop: pysanky eggs
Back by popular demand after last year’s pre-Easter workshop, another chance to try your hand at decorating pysanky eggs ready for Easter. All materials are provided, payment is by donation (suggested £5).
Plus our bar and café will be open all afternoon - note the new BST hours, 1-5pm. And we’ll have our regular 100 Club draw live at 3pm.
Quiz Night
Join us for our latest monthly quiz night on 27th March, when we’ll have delicious Greek food available from Mr Gyro, bar open throughout, and a cash prize for the winning quiz team!
Teams of up to 4 people, £3pp entry. Bar and Mr Gyro open from 6pm, quiz starts at 7pm.
Kington Poetry Festival in a Day
Open Arms Kington welcomes Ledbury Poetry this March as we host the first Kington Poetry Festival in a Day!
We’ll have a range of drop-in activities for children throughout the day, poetry writing workshops for all ages, bookable slots on the Poetry Machine, and an open-mic poetry slam from 4pm. All daytime activities are free! Lockdown Dhaba will be serving their delicious vegetarian and vegan Indian cuisine, and our bar and café will be open throughout. Scroll down to see more details.
From 6pm, there will be a ticketed event in the barn: an evening with the BAFTA-award winning comic, actor, pianist, poet, and writer Alistair McGowan! Alistair will be reading from his latest collection of poetry, Like Never Before, in an intimate event that blends wit, lyricism and storytelling. Tickets are VERY limited in number, and limited to two per booking. Click on the button below to book. Note: after clicking on the button, you need to scroll down on Ledbury Poetry’s “What’s On” page to get to the option to buy Alistair McGowan tickets. Look for the photo of McGowan to be sure you’re clicking in the right place!
Let's Dance!
Let’s Dance! is Britain’s biggest festival of dance, and The Oxford Arms will once again host Kington’s contribution to the festival in 2026. Local dance teachers will be leading workshops and demonstrations of different dance styles throughout the day, and our bar and café will be open. Free!
Watch this space for a detailed schedule of the dance styles available with timings.
Café Mortel
Café Mortel is a “death café”—an opportunity to talk about life, death, and everything in between in a friendly and supportive environment. We’ll be joined by death doula Carrie, there’s free parking on-site at The Oxford, and tea and cake are provided.
A death café is not therapy or counselling. It is a supportive, peer-led conversation that helps participants reflect on what truly matters. Come along with curiosity, questions, or simply to listen.
Beating the Bounds: a walking and art workshop with artist-in-residence Maya Rose Edwards
Following a very successful drawing workshop last November, artist-in-residence Maya Rose Edwards returns with Beating the Bounds - the next stage in the Borderlands project, organised by Meadow Arts.
Maya will lead a walking tour from The Oxford Arms to participate in the ancient folk tradition of beating the bounds. Bring along your own stick, or take one of ours, and join a community pilgrimage of town landmarks.
Free to attend, but donations are welcomed (suggested £5). Booking is encouraged—click on the button below to find out more and make a booking.
What's on in March
March events at The Oxford Arms!
PLEASE NOTE: an earlier version of this poster featured a talk on the Giant Trees of the Marches on March 24th. This talk has been postponed due to a clash with Herefordshire Wildlife Trust’s monthly talk. A new date in May will be published soon.
Quiz Night
Join us for our monthly quiz night in The Oxford’s barn! Quiz starts at 7pm, max team size 4 people, £3pp entry. Cash prize for the winning team!
Bar open throughout.
Creative Workshop: Calligraphy
Our regular Creative Workshop will focus on calligraphy in February. This is an introductory-level workshop, and absolute beginners are welcome! All materials provided, payment by donation (suggested £5).
Plus our bar and café will be open 12-4pm, and our live 100 Club draw takes place at 3pm.
Harry Potter Half-Term Craft and Quiz Afternoon
Calling all aspiring wizards and Hogwarts enthusiasts! The Oxford will be hosting a Harry Potter-themed afternoon this half term with a fancy dress competition, crafts (wand-making, bookmark-making, and more), and a Harry Potter quiz with a prize for the winner!
Our Caravan Café will be open throughout serving drinks, cakes, and light meals.
Payment by donation (£2 suggested), under 14s must be accompanied by an adult.
Anti-Valentine's Party
If you need a break from sickly sentiment and ubiquitous pinkness this February 14th, then join us at The Oxford for something a little more fun. We’ll have games, competitions, and a broken hearts disco. Our bar will of course be open, and all are welcome (singles and couples alike)!
Creative Workshop: Painting with Spices
Join our Creative Workshop in January to learn how to paint with spices! All materials provided, payment by donation (suggested £5). We’ll also have our monthly 100 Club draw live at 3pm!
PLEASE NOTE: our bar and café will be CLOSED on Sunday 25th. Light refreshments for Creative Workshop participants will be available.
Burns Night Quiz
We’re delighted to announce that we’ll be making our quiz nights a regular monthly event in 2026! They kick off with a Burns Night special, which will feature a round of questions on Scotland as well as the regular trivia and general knowledge rounds. Kilts and sporrans are welcome, but not obligatory.
We’ll have hot food available, a prize raffle, and prizes for the winning quiz team, plus our bar will be open from 6-10pm. Entry to quiz in teams of 4 people maximum, £3pp per person entry. Quiz starts at 7pm. No need to book ahead, just show up on the night!