Many of Oxford’s charms are hidden away behind high walls and some are seldom, if ever, open to the public. On March 30, Oxford Preservation Trust will hold a meeting in the Divinity School at the Bodleian Library to entice owners and managers of anything or anywhere in the city, that might be of any interest to anyone, to participate in this year’s Oxford Open Doors — an event which over the past couple of years has done much to let us all see more.

In just three years the Oxford event has grown to become the third largest event in the nationside Heritage Open Days scheme, initiated by English Heritage.

Last year the Oxford event attracted more than 39,000 people to 135 events, many at places normally closed to the public. That compares with 8,000 people visiting 25 events in 2007.

Debbie Dance of Oxford Preservation Trust said: “Oxford Open Doors fits in well with one of the original purposes of the trust, which was to bring the Town and Gown sides of Oxford to work closer together.”

She added: “The idea of the meeting for invited guests in the Divinity School is to strengthen our relationship with the businesses of Oxford.

“We have introduced a corporate membership scheme, which is going very well, but of course we would like to have more corporate members and would like to hear from anyone interested.

“After all, it is the businesses of Oxford — architects, lawyers, shops, surveyors — that are largely responsible for making the city what it is today, and we need to work with them. We have always worked well with the universities and with the councils, but perhaps we have not engaged enough with local businesses.

“We want them to see a side of Oxford they perhaps normally never see. We want to get to know them and work with them and also offer them an opportunity to meet people interested in the city. Last year the overwhelming majority of visitors surveyed were from the city and county, but a significant number made a special trip from further afield.”

Oxford Open Doors will this year run on September 11 and 12 and the Oxford Preservation Trust plans to build on the success of previous years.

It has seen individual membership grow steadily to more than 1,500, with a membership fee of £25 a year. New entrants opening their doors this year include the police.

To mark this year being the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society, a science theme will run through the 2010 Open Doors programme, so the organisers would particularly welcome interest from Oxford’s many science companies.

At last year’s event, All Souls College (not often open) proved the biggest draw, with 3,500 visits.

Another 2,500 visited the Bodleian Library. On the town side, 1,600 visitors ventured down the old prison tunnel at County Hall and into the Town Hall and the old court there.

Oxford’s waterways were a huge draw, too, with the canal walks on history and ecology oversubscribed.

Ms Dance said: “We were thrilled that one of the greatest hits of the event was new architecture and much more of this was requested for this year.”

Oxford Preservation Trust was founded in 1927. Founding trustee Sir Michael Sadler described the Oxford he knew then as “a jewel in a sea of green”.

Now Ms Dance says that the trust is committed to guiding change, not stopping it. Its highest profile project to date is Oxford Castle Unlocked, the opening up in 2007 of an entire new area of Oxford dominated by its oldest building, St George’s Tower.

This cost £6m and was achieved with the help of £4m from the Heritage Lottery Fund, £1.5m of work from developer Trevor Osborne, and £500,000 raised by the trust.

The trust now owns and gives public access to more than 700 acres of land including: the open land at Boars Hill, the Victoria Arms at Marston and river walks near Swinford Bridge.

Outside the city the trust also owns a 15th century merchant’s house in Abingdon which is open to the public. In addition, Ms Dance points out that South Parks and Shotover Country Park owe their existence to the trust, which gave them to Oxford City Council during the 1950s. Now Ms Dance says the trust has just acquired the lakes at Wolvercote, which will open to the public for the first time on May Day weekend.

Another project now under way is a bid to restore the street railings of North Oxford. As in many cities, most of these were removed during the Second World War to be melted down to make armaments.

Ms Dance and county council conservation officer Sarah Billam visited Sandawana Castings in Witney, a subsidiary of W Lucy and Co., where traditional railings are still made, and the trust has now commissioned its first pattern for railings in the Southmoor and Kingston Road area.

It is hoped railings will be restored to two houses this year.

Ms Dance said it was projects such as this that illustrate how the trust deals with the past, present and future of Oxford.

Of course the trust’s highest profile project, which does just that, is the opening up of the castle, where the cafe and crypt are available for corporate hire.

For information on Oxford Preservation Trust and Oxford Open Doors, call 01865 242918.