The town survived thedissolution of the abbey in 1538, and by the 18th and 19th centuries, with the building ofAbingdon Lock in 1790 and theWilts & Berks Canal in 1810, Abingdon was on important routes for goods transport. In 1856 the Abingdon Railway opened, linking the town with theGreat Western Railway. The canal was abandoned in 1906 but a voluntary trust is now working to restore and re-open it.Abingdon railway station was closed to passengers in September 1963. The line remained open for goods until 1984, its role including serving theMG car factory, which operated from 1929 to 1980.
Abingdon's brewery,Morland, makers ofOld Speckled Hen ale, was taken over and closed in 1999; the site of the brewery has been redeveloped into housing. The rock bandRadiohead formed in 1985 when its members were studying atAbingdon School, a day and boarding independent secondary school. The2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 33,130.[3] This was 2,504 more than in the2001 Census total of 30,626, and represented just over 8% growth in the population.[4]
A Neolithic stonehand axe was found at Abingdon.Petrological analysis in 1940 identified the stone asepidotisedtuff fromStake Pass in theLake District, 250 mi (400 km) to the north. Stone axes from the same source have been found atSutton Courtenay,Alvescot,Kencot[5] andMinster Lovell.[6] Abingdon has been occupied from the early to middleIron Age and the remains of a late Iron Age defensive enclosure (oroppidum) lies below the town centre. The oppidum was in use throughout theRoman occupation. A Neolithiccausewayed enclosure was found in Abingdon in 1926, dating to the 36th or 37th century BC.[7] A Roman villa and subsequent Saxon farmstead buildings have been excavated at Barton Court Farm.[8]
Abingdon Abbey was founded inSaxon times, possibly around 676,[9] but its early history is confused by numerous legends, invented to raise its status and explain the place name. The name seems to mean 'Hill of a man named Æbba, or a woman named Æbbe',[10] possibly the saint to whomSt Ebbe's Church inOxford was dedicated (Æbbe of Coldingham or a differentÆbbe of Oxford). However, Abingdon stands in a valley and not on a hill. It is thought that the name was first given to a place onBoars Hill aboveChilswell, and the name was transferred to its present site when the Abbey was moved.[11] In 1084,William the Conqueror celebrated Easter at the Abbey and it is possible that his son Henry I received some schooling at the abbey.[citation needed][12]
In the 13th and 14th centuries, Abingdon was a flourishing agricultural centre with an extensive trade inwool and a famous weaving and clothing manufacturing industry. The abbot seems to have held a market from very early times and charters for the holding of markets and fairs were granted by various sovereigns, fromEdward I toGeorge II. In 1337 there was a famous riot in protest at the Abbot's control of this market in which several of the monks were killed.[13][citation needed] After the abbey'sdissolution in 1538, the town sank into decay.
In 1556, upon receiving a representation of its pitiable condition,Mary I granted acharter incorporating the town as aborough, governed by a mayor, twobailiffs, twelve chiefburgesses and sixteen secondary burgesses, the mayor to be clerk of the market, coroner and aJP.[9] The presentChrist's Hospital originally belonged to the Guild of theHoly Cross, on the dissolution of whichEdward VI founded thealmshouses instead, under its present name.
The borough elected onemember of parliament; this right would continue until theRedistribution of Seats Act 1885. The 1556 charter also catered for the appointment of a town clerk and other officers, and the borough boundaries were described in detail. Later charters, fromElizabeth I,James I,James II,George II andGeorge III, made no considerable change. James II changed the style of the corporation to that of a mayor, twelvealdermen and twelveburgesses.
Abingdon borough police was the police force responsible for policing the Borough until 1889.[16] It was formed as a result of theMunicipal Corporations Act 1835.[17] The force was amalgamated into theBerkshire Constabulary following theLocal Government Act 1888, which required all boroughs with populations of less than 10,000 to amalgamate their police forces with their adjoining county constabulary.[18] Today, the area is policed by the successor to Berkshire Constabulary,Thames Valley Police.
TheWilts & Berks Canal was abandoned in 1906 but a voluntary trust is now working to restore and re-open it.Abingdon railway station was closed to passengers in September 1963. The line remained open for goods until 1984, including serving theMG car factory, which opened in 1929 and closed in October 1980 as part of aBritish Leyland rationalisation plan.[20] The nearest railway station isRadley, two miles (3.2 km) away. Much of the original Abingdon branch line is now a cyclepath, whilst the land on which the station stood has been extensively redeveloped, and is now the site of a largeWaitrose store and surrounded by a large number of new flats and houses.
The corporation was reformed, under theMunicipal Corporations Act 1835, but was abolished under theLocal Government Act 1972, which enacted extensive local government reorganisation across England and Wales with effect from 1 April 1974. As a result of this reorganisation, Berkshire County Council's northern boundary was much reduced and Abingdon's governance was transferred toOxfordshire, with the town becoming the seat of the newVale of White Horse District Council, and Abingdon becoming acivil parish with a town council. Since the 1980s, Abingdon has played host to a number of information communication companies, with many based in the town's respective business and science parks. As a consequence, and owing to Abingdon's proximity to academic and scientific institutions inOxford, the town has seen an influx of young professionals taking residence in the town's many residential areas such as Peachcroft.
The town was sometimes historically called "Abingdon-on-Thames",[21] but the official name of the borough (as given in statutes from the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 to the Local Government Act 1972 and all intervening Ordnance Survey maps) was simply "Abingdon".[22][23] Local councillors voted in November 2011 to change the official name of the town to "Abingdon-on-Thames",[24] and the change took effect on 23 February 2012.[25]
Sport and recreation facilities include the White Horse Leisure andTennis Centre,Tilsley Park and the Southern Town Park. Abingdon had fourcinemas but all have closed.[26] The last was the Regal, which closed in 1989. It stood derelict for 24 years until it was demolished in 2003 and replaced by housing development, Regal Close.[27] The Unicorn theatre was built in an area called The Checkers Hall in the ruins of the Abbey buildings and shows plays and films on an irregular basis. In addition, a new cinema, called the Abbey Cinema has been built in one of the town council buildings and operates in conjunction with the Regal inEvesham.
TheTesco Extra store west of the town is the largest supermarket in Abingdon and has historically been one of the most profitable Tesco stores in the country.[29] Nearby is the Fairacres Retail Park, thought to be the first retail park in the UK and recently redeveloped, which includesArgos,Subway,B & M,Dreams andPets at Home stores. It originally had two long established Abingdon retailers—Vineys Home Furnishings (now part of the Lee Longlands chain but retains its name) and Mays Carpets (now part of theCarpetright chain and has re-branded accordingly). In the town centre, many independent stores, estate agents and charity shops make up the Bury Street shopping centre as major high street names have chosen to go to other towns. However, a recent renovation has attracted stores such asNew Look,Peacocks andWHSmith to open branches.
The town centre of Abingdon was renovated in 2012[30] as part of the council's redevelopment plan, with the 1970s shopping precinct converted to look more modern. 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.[31] Redevelopment of the OldGaol site, most recently aleisure centre, began in 2010.[32] The first stage was demolishing the 1970s additions and swimming pool extension. The Gaol has been converted into luxury flats, shops and restaurants, with access to the riverside.
Abingdon has twonon-League football teams:Abingdon United F.C., who compete in theHellenic League Division One and play at The Armadillo Energy Stadium, andAbingdon Town F.C., who play at Culham Road. AbingdonGolf Club/North BerksGolf Club (now defunct) was first mentioned in 1876. The club disappeared at the time of theSecond World War[33] TheOxford SaintsAmerican Football Club play their games in Abingdon atTilsley Park and are one of the longest-running American Football clubs in the UK, founded in 1983. Abingdon is home toAbingdon Rowing Club, with members from 13 to 80 years old. It has had many successes at local and national races, and also holds its ownAbingdon Head race in April, one of the main events in the Abingdon Calendar. Its boathouse is on Wilsham Road. Abingdon Amblers changed its name to AbingdonAthletics Club. They train at Tilsley Park and take part in county cross-country leagues.
Abingdon RUFC was formed at the Queens Hotel on 27 February 1931. During the 1930s the club was based at the Queens Hotel and games were played on the council owned recreation ground at Caldecott Road. Immediately after theSecond World War the club moved to outside theRAF camp (nowDalton Barracks) which offered on-site changing facilities and later a pitch inside the camp. At the start of theSuez Crisis in 1956 play temporarily returned to the Caldecott Road site because of security risks. This period saw the formation of the ill-fated AbingdonSports Club; an amalgamation of the town'srugby,cricket andhockey clubs and the bid to establish a sporting centre at Hales Meadow. In a short time the ground was developed and apavilion erected but the organisation was plagued with financial difficulties and very soon dissolved with hockey disbanding and Abingdon Rugby remaining at the site as tenants to the cricket club. In the mid-1980s a determined effort was made to acquire grounds and a clubhouse dedicated to rugby. In 2022 Abingdon Womens Rugby Club known as “The Albatrosses” was formed and they currently play in the Inner Warrior League.[citation needed]
The current base at the town's Southern Sports Park was opened by former Abingdon MPJohn Patten in 1989. Abingdon has had members representing the county, progressing to first-class level and on to international status in theSix Nations Tournament. The Abingdon Sevens traditionally opens the Home Counties' playing season and has attracted sides from throughout the country and beyond. Initiated in 1956 as a one-off tournament to celebrate the town's 400th anniversary of receiving aRoyal Charter, it proved so successful that the competition has been held on an annual basis ever since. Several years ago it was decided to introduce the youngsters of Abingdon to Club Rugby. The Youth Section has 200 playing members from the ages of 6 to 18. In 2013–14 Abingdon RFC's president, Paul Murphy MBE, was also the president of theRFU. Since 2016,Oxford Rugby League have played in Abingdon atAbingdon School'sTilsley Park.
The Pavlova and Glorialeather works were major employers but both are now closed.Alfred Booth and Company ofLiverpool traded with the Pavlova Leather Syndicate from 1860,[34] bought a share in it in 1917–18[35] and took it over in 1921.[36] In May 1947 at the annualBritish Industries Fair inBirmingham, Pavlova advertised doe skins,chamois, lambskins and goatskins, much of it assuede, for uses including shoes, gloves and belts.[37] In 1958 Pavlova's site covered 35 acres (14 ha), employed neary 200 people and included a staff sports field. At that time its factory still processed imported skins of sheep, lamb and goat, mainly to make suede.[38] Garner Group took over the Booth Group in 1979 and became Garner Booth. Pittards plc took over Garner Booth in 1987 and became Pittard Garner. It closed the Pavlova works in 1993.[34]
Abingdon has a business park which has offices for several local, national and international companies including, until recently,Vodafone (acquired as part of its takeover ofMannesmann in 2000) andNorthern Rock bank. The Science Park includes the global headquarters ofSophos, ananti-virus company.RM, an educational computing supplier, commonly refer to themselves as being Abingdon-based, which is technically true—even though their HQ is actually in nearbyMilton Park, Milton, they have an Abingdon post code (as does the rest of Milton Park). Penlon Ltd, a medical equipment company, have their premises on the outskirts of Abingdon (their previous site, near the former railway station, has been redeveloped as residential housing). Another major employer is the British head office of the German appliance companyMiele.
Industrially, Abingdon was best known for theMG car factory, which opened in 1929. 1,155,032 cars were made at the plant over the next 51 years untilBritish Leyland closed it on 24 October 1980. Subsequent cars sold under the MG brand have since been produced either atLongbridge inBirmingham or atSAIC's factories inChina. The company was founded in 1924 and moved its business alongside the Pavlova Leather Factory in 1929. By the outbreak of theSecond World War, MG was established as one of the most popular brands ofsports car inBritain. 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 popularMG MGB range, and was demolished within months. The headquarters of theMG Car Club, founded in 1930, is at 11 & 12 Cemetery Road, next to the old factory offices. Apolice station was built in its place, which was later extended with the addition of more cells, asOxford's police station could not be extended further.
A sign in Abingdon-on-Thames' town centre showing directions to nearby locations
Abingdon is 9 miles (14 km) south ofOxford, 15 mi (24 km) south-east ofWitney and 22 mi (35 km) north ofNewbury in the flat valley of theThames on its west (right) bank, where the smallriver Ock flows in from theVale of White Horse. It is on theA415 between Witney andDorchester, adjacent to theA34 trunk road, linking it with theM4 andM40 motorways. The B4017 and A4183 also link the town, both being part of the old A34 and often heavily congested. Local bus services to Oxford and the surrounding areas are run by theOxford Bus Company, its sister companyThames Travel and smaller independent companies.
Abingdon no longer has a rail service.[39] However, in recent years, urban expansion has broughtRadley railway station close to the town's northeastern limits.[40] The small, primarily stopping-service, railway stations atCulham and Radley are both just over two miles (3.2 km) from the town centre. Abingdon's eastern ring-road and newest suburbs are connected by footpath andcycleway from Radley.
Culham station was called "Abingdon Road" when it first opened in 1844, being the nearest station to the town at that time. It was renamed "Culham" when the Abingdon Railway branch line toAbingdon railway station was opened in 1856.[41] That branch line initially connected to the main line atAbingdon Junction, before being extended to Radley station when that opened in 1873. The branch line from Radley to Abingdon closed to passengers in 1963. The nearest major stations with taxi ranks areOxford (6 miles/9.7 km) andDidcot Parkway (8 miles/13 km). All are managed byGreat Western Railway. Frequent express buses operate between the local railway stations and Abingdon, run byOxford Bus Company and its sister companyThames Travel.
There are three tiers of local government covering Abingdon, atparish (town),district andcounty level: Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council,Vale of White Horse District Council, andOxfordshire County Council. The town council meets at the Guildhall on Bridge Street and has its offices in the adjoining Roysse Court.[42][43] Parts of the Guildhall date back to the 15th century, having been originally part of the Abbey complex.[44]
Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council's current composition following the 2023 local elections.
Control of the town council has passed between the Liberal Democrats andConservatives in recent years. Elections take place every four years. After the2023 local elections, the political composition of the council was:[45]
Abingdon was first incorporated as a borough in 1556. The borough covered parts of the parishes ofSt Helen andSt Nicolas; both parishes also included rural areas beyond the borough boundary.[46] The borough was reformed to become amunicipal borough in 1836 under theMunicipal Corporations Act 1835, which standardised how most boroughs operated across the country.[47]
TheLocal Government Act 1894 directed that parishes were no longer allowed to straddle borough boundaries, and so a parish called Abingdon was created covering the same area as the borough, and the parts of the parishes of St Helen and St Nicolas outside the borough boundary were combined into a separate parish calledSt. Helen Without.[48]
The municipal borough was abolished in 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, which also transferred the town from Berkshire to Oxfordshire. District-level functions passed to the Vale of White Horse District Council. Asuccessor parish covering the area of the former borough was created called Abingdon, with its council taking the name Abingdon Town Council.[49] The parish was formally renamed to Abingdon-on-Thames in 2012.[25]
Abingdon has the remains of amotte-and-bailey castle, which can be found to the north of the town centre surrounded by trees within a housing estate. Originally built of wood or stone, it was a fortification on a raised earthwork called a motte surrounded by a protective ditch. There is aSecond World War FW3/28Apillbox by theRiver Ock nearMarcham Road.[54] Agaol, built by prisoners of theNapoleonic Wars in 1811, is on the south edge of town next to theThames. In the 1970s the gaol was converted into aleisure centre. In 2011 the site was developed into residential and commercial premises. According to local legend, prior to its conversion in the 1970s, the gaol was haunted by the ghost of an eight-year-old boy who, after being convicted for arson in the mid-19th century, became the youngest person in the UK to be executed byhanging.[55]
The Roysse Room was the site ofAbingdon School (then 'Roysse's School') from 1563 until it moved to its current site after anindenture byJohn Roysse, who had been born and educated in Abingdon before he moved toLondon. The room is now part of the civic offices.St. Helen's Church dates from around 1100 and is the second-widest church in England, having fiveaisles and being 10 feet (3 m) wider than it is long. Thetower of St Helen's Church has a modernring of ten bells, cast by theWhitechapel Bell Foundry in 2005 and hung in a new frame with new fittings byWhite's of Appleton in 2006.[56] Abingdon'scounty hall by the mainmarket square, built in 1677–1680 reputedly byChristopher Kempster, stands on columns, leaving the ground floor open for a market and other functions. It was once hailed byNikolaus Pevsner with the comment "Of the free-standing town halls of England with open ground floors this is the grandest".[57] It now houses theAbingdon County Hall Museum and is run byHistoric England.[58]
Every October,[59] the AbingdonMichaelmasFair is run. Extending to the length of a mile,[60] the fair is thought to be the longest[61][62] and oldest[63]street fair in Europe. It runs through the Market Place, High Street, and Ock Street.[60] The fair was originally ahiring fair, designed to allowfarmworkers from rural areas to find work in the town[60] following theBlack Death in 1348/9.[64][65] The fair, previously run on the first Monday and Tuesday before 11 October each year, had its dates extended in 2024 to also run one day earlier, from the Sunday to the Tuesday.[62] The much smaller Runaway Fair is run the Monday following the Michaelmas Fair,[66][67] and was traditionally for workers who were unsatisfied with their employment after the first week, and sought to "run away" and return to the town to find better job opportunities.[66] Abingdon has a very old and still activeMorris dancing tradition, passed on since before thefolk dance and song revivals in the 19th century.[68][69] Every year a mayor of Ock Street is elected by the inhabitants of Ock Street; he then parades through the town preceded by the famousHorns of Ock Street, a symbol of Abingdon's Morris Dance troupe.
Radiohead, the rock band, formed as students at Abingdon School[70]
Dorothy Richardson, novelist, 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.
^"Berkshire Quarter Sessions".Jackson's Oxford Journal. 4 July 1868.Summer assizes were moved from Abingdon in 1867, effectively making Reading the county town. However, theHome Office informed the county's court ofquarter sessions that in moving the court they had actedultra vires, and that they were required to petition thePrivy Council to make the change. The petition was duly submitted and the change was officially approved with effect from the summer of 1869.
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