Abingdon, Oxfordshire
The town centre of Abingdon was refurbished in 2007, as part of the council's redevelopment plan. The roads around the area have been changed: notably the one-way system around the centre has been partially changed to two-way. While this has slightly reduced traffic within the historic town centre, congestion has greatly increased elsewhere. Local businesses have also complained that the increased traffic has driven shoppers away. [3].
Also planned for the town centre is a roof over the pre-1970s shopping precinct and the removal of two kiosks. The market square was repaved and a new tourist information centre is planned.
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Economy
Industrially, Abingdon is best known as the location of manufacture of MG cars (1929–1980). The Pavlova leather works, now closed down, used to be a major employer. Abingdon was home to the Morland Brewery, whose most famous ale was Old Speckled Hen, named after an MG car. Greene King bought Morland for £182M in 1999 and operations were moved to Bury St Edmunds. The site of the brewery has now been redeveloped into residential housing.
Today Abingdon is close to several major scientific employers the UKAEA at Culham (including the Joint European Torus (JET) fusion research project), Harwell Laboratory, the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and the new Diamond Light Source synchrotron, which is the largest UK-funded scientific facility to be built for over 40 years. Many inhabitants work in Oxford or commute by rail to London, from nearby Didcot. The Army now occupies Dalton Barracks, which, prior to 1993, was the Royal Air Force station, RAF Abingdon.
Abingdon has a business park which has offices for several national and international companies including Northern Rock bank. Until recently, Vodafone had offices in the town, acquired as part of its take over of Mannesmann in 2000. The Science Park is home to the headquarters of Sophos, the anti-virus company. Research Machines, an educational computing supplier, commonly refer to themselves as being Abingdon-based, which is technically true - even though their HQ is actually in nearby Milton Park, Milton, they have an Abingdon post code (as does the rest of Milton Park). Penlon Ltd, a medical equipment company, are Abingdon-based, formerly based close to the site of the former railway station, although having recently moved to the outskirts of Abingdon, the former premises having been redeveloped as residential housing. Another major employer is the British head office of the German appliance company Miele.
In 1924, carmaker MG was founded and set up its business at a factory in Abingdon. By the outbreak of the Second World War 15 years later, MG was established as one of the most favoured brands of sports car in Britain. After the war, the MG factory continued to churn out increasing volumes of popular sports car which were available at competitive prices. But the factory closed in October 1980 on the demise of the ageing but still popular MG B range, and was demolished within months.
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Sites of interest
Of a Benedictine abbey there remains a beautiful Perpendicular gateway (common local knowledge, however, is that it was actually rebuilt out of the rubble of the original, and a little cursory examination of the patternation of the stonework will apparently divulge this) and ruins of buildings such as the mainly Early English prior's house, the guest house and other fragments. Other remains from the former abbey include the Unicorn Theatre and Long Gallery, which are still used for plays and functions including an annual craft fair.
The picturesque narrow-arched Abingdon Bridge over the Thames, near St Helen's Church, dates originally from 1416. St Helen's Church itself dates from around 1100 and is the second widest church in England, having 5 aisles and being 10 ft(3 m) wider than it is long.[4]
The most distinguished landmark in Abingdon is probably the building which now houses the Abingdon Museum, which was formerly the county hall of Berkshire (the town was county town until it ceded that title to Reading in 1867): a building hailed as the "grandest town hall in Britain" and built by Christopher Kempster, who worked with Christopher Wren on St Paul's Cathedral. The hall stands on pillars, leaving a sheltered area beneath for a market or other municipal functions, and overlooks the main market square. The museum and town hall is run by English Heritage.
A large gaol, built by prisoners of the Napoleonic Wars in 1811 stands on the south edge of town next to the Thames. It has had various uses, most recently as a leisure centre, but is now (in 2007) empty and awaiting a planning decision.
The Roysse Room was the site of Abingdon School (then 'Roysse's School') from 1563 until it moved to its current site after an indenture by John Roysse, who had been born and educated in Abingdon before he moved to London . The room is now part of the civic offices.
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Culture and folklore
A longstanding tradition of the town has local dignitaries throwing buns from the roof of the Abingdon Museum for crowds assembled in the market square on specific days of celebration (such as royal marriages/coronations/jubilee), although many residents are unaware of this, due to the rarity of occurrences. The museum has a collection of the buns, dried and varnished, dating back to bun throwings of the 19th century. Since 2000, there have been bun throwing ceremonies to commemorate the Millennium, the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2002 and the 450th anniverary of being granted a Royal Charter in 2006.
The centre of town and the whole of Ock Street (half a mile) are closed every October for two days for the Ock Street Michaelmas Fair, once a hiring fair but now maybe Britain's longest narrowest funfair. The much smaller Runaway Fair, the following Monday, was traditionally for workers who had found their new employers too much to stomach within the first week.
Abingdon has a very old and still active Morris Dancing tradition, passed on by word of mouth since before the folk dance and song revivals of the 1800s.[5][6]
Every year a Mayor of Ock Street is elected by the inhabitants of Ock Street; he then parades through the town preceded by the famous Horns of Ock St, a symbol of Abingdon's Morris Dance troupe.
The Friends of Abingdon's Unicorn Theatre, housed in the old Abbey buildings, is the site of first productions of many stage adaptations of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, by Stephen Briggs.
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Twinned towns
Abingdon is twinned with:
It also has connections (through the Vale of White Horse District) with:
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Famous Abingdonians
- See also Abbot of Abingdon, Abingdon School and List of notable Old Abingdonians.
- Ælfric of Abingdon, 10th century Archbishop of Canterbury
- Saint Edmund of Abingdon, 13th century Archbishop of Canterbury: He was born in Abingdon, as were his sisters, Saint Alice of Catesby and the Blessed Margaret Rich.
- Stephen of Abingdon, 14th century Lord Mayor of the City of London.
- Sammy Chung, British former football manager.
- Kate Garraway, GMTV presenter.
- Alain Menu, World Touring Car Championship driver, lives in Abingdon.
- Radiohead, the rock band, who formed when studying at Abingdon School, although they are commonly associated with Oxford, as that is where they played most of their gigs prior to being signed.
- Dorothy Richardson, novelist who was born in Abingdon. She was the first writer to publish an English-language novel using what was to become known as the stream-of-consciousness technique.
- Matthew Taylor, Premiership footballer: He plays for Bolton Wanderers F.C., grew up in the town and attended John Mason School.
- Thomas Tesdale, 16th century local benefactor and eventual founder of Pembroke College, Oxford.
- Dean Whitehead, Premiership footballer: He plays for Sunderland A.F.C. and was born in Abingdon.
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Education
- Abingdon and Witney College: provides further education.
- Abingdon School: private, boys, 11–18. The thirteenth, if not the sixth, oldest school in the country.
- The Consortium: state, mixed, a partnership of schools including Fitzharrys School, Larkmead School, John Mason School. The Consortium also includes Abingdon and Witney College.
- European School, Culham: semi-private multilingual school.
- Our Lady's, Abingdon (formerly Our Lady's Convent): private, girls.
- St Helen and St Katharine: private, girls, 9–18.
- The Manor Preparatory School (for girls) is based 2 miles (3.2 km) out of Abingdon in the old Shippon Manor House.
- Larkmead: secondary school
- John Mason: secondary school
- Fitzharrys: secondary school
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References
- ^ Abingdon. Royal Berkshire History.
- ^ Traders fear bigger Tesco. Abingdon Herald.
- ^ http://www.radleyvillage.org.uk/news/news002_comment_0407.htm Abingdon Integrated Transport Strategy (ABITS), The Current Situation, April 2007
- ^ St. Helen's Church.
- ^ Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers.
- ^ Mr Hemmings' Traditional Abingdon Morris Dancers. This Is Oxfordshire.
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External links
- Abingdon Town Council
- Bibliography of Abingdon's local history
- Great Western's Abingdon Branch Railway
- Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers
- Abingdon Vale Cricket Club
- Abingdon Touring Theatre
- AAAHS: Abingdon Area Archaeological and Historical Society
- Royal Berkshire History: Abingdon
- Abingdon Guide
- A History of 3 Stert Street, Abingdon
- Abingdon Men Who Served in World War 1
- This Abingdon Blog Documenting events and places in Abingdon
- Abingdon in photographs Local stock photo agency specialising in local imagery
- Restoration of Blacknell's Tomb in St Nicholas Church, Abingdon
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