Author Archives: Backstreeter

Abingdon in the 1950s Exhibition

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Abingdon in the 1950s
A new exhibition has opened at the Freespace (opposite Samuel’s). It was open today and will run from Monday 5th to Saturday until 10th September, 10:00am-4:00pm. It has pictures of Abingdon in the 1950s, and memorabilia from the 1950s, and brings back memories of younger days to some …
Abingdon in the 1950s
For others it gives a chance to see an Abingdon long before they were born.
Abingdon in the 1950s
The exhibition has been put together by Elizabeth Drury, who also curated the Abingdon in Victorian times exhibition last year, and Abingdon in WWI the year before. The exhibition is part of Abingdon’s Heritage Open Days programme.

A Transparent Ballot Box

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Transparent Ballot Box
Each month, the Waitrose Supermarket in Abingdon chooses three community groups (often charities) for a head to head to see who gets the lion’s share of the £1000 on offer for the month.
Transparent Ballot Box
Shoppers get a green token and vote in a transparent ballot box. Shoppers can see how well the parties are doing and change their vote as a result.

Sometimes one community group wins by a landslide. Last month there was a very close contest between Stonewater, Friends of Stowford, and PHAB, which Stonewater just won, possibly because of the use of a human interest story.

Here were their manifestos …
Transparent Ballot Box
Stonewater got £366.
Transparent Ballot Box
PHAB got £329
Transparent Ballot Box
Friends of Stowford got £305.

The Abingdon Vase

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The Abingdon Vase
On a recent post I mentioned that Abingdon Vases are often for sale on Ebay.

The Abingdon Sanitary Manufacturing Company produced toilets in Abingdon Illinois from the early 1900s.
The Abingdon Vase
During the great depression, when demand for sanitaryware hit rock bottom, the company diversified in 1934 to produce decorative vases using the same china.
The Abingdon Vase
An increase in the demand for sanitaryware in 1950 meant they stopped producing the vases. The company is still in business today, part of Briggs Industries, Inc., where you can still order Abingdon sanitaryware.

To find out more about the vases press here. For memories about the factory press here.

View of Abingdon Bridge from the Old Gaol Garden

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Old Gaol Garden
Somebody commented that the Old Gaol Gardens are now open, and so I went through the gate at the side and had a walk round.
Old Gaol Garden
The gardens will be used for the medieval foot tournament on Heritage Day. The battling knights will have a softer landing there than on the Market Place, and their squires will be able to pitch tents on the grass.