Empire Pageant at Caldecott House
The Empire Pageant, organised jointly by the Abingdon Constitutional Associations and the Empire Pageant Committee, was held on Thursday in the grounds of Caldecott House, by kind permission of Mrs. Bailie. The event was highly successful, featuring numerous stalls and competitions such as bowling for ham and cake weight guessing. The Abingdon Town Band provided music throughout the afternoon and for dancing in the evening.

The pageant emphasised unity, cooperation, truth, and love, and was staged by Miss Green of Hermitage on the lawn at the back of the house. Characters represented included Britannia, Liberty, Justice, Spirit of Progress, Spirit of the Flag, and representatives of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, West Africa, India, West Indies, Malay, and Ceylon. At the close, Major Glenn MP thanked Miss Green and congratulated the performers. .(They included Morris Dancing by boys from the Church School)

Earl of Oxford and Asquith Stung by Wasp
While motoring through Abingdon on Thursday, the Earl of Oxford and Asquith was stung rather severely on the arm by a wasp. On his doctor’s advice, he remained indoors for a day or two and was unable to open the Liberal fête at Faringdon, which was instead opened by Mr. Anthony Asquith.

First Sod Cut for Abingdon Church Hall Extension
Last evening, Lady Gore-Brown cut the first sod for the extension of Abingdon Church Hall, which is expected to be completed within four months. Plans for extending the hall have been discussed for several years, and last year’s major fundraising effort made this possible. The building contract was awarded to Messrs. Randall & Son for £2,720. The committee already has £1,140 7s. 10d in hand, including £59 raised at the sod-cutting event during which The Mayor of Abingdon released balloons as a fundraising competition.

Abingdon Free Library Expands Collection
Abingdon Free Library has recently added 500 modern fiction titles, with a similar number of non-fiction books expected soon. Last year, 30,000 volumes were issued to a population of 7,167. The library encourages public use, free selection from shelves, and provides reading lists to foster a reading habit. Not everybody realises they can find books themselves from the shelves and continue the old way of requesting books from the catalogue.

Oxford Cricket League – Division 1
Semi-Final (Abingdon Pavlova vs Woodstock): Played at Abingdon, the match was drawn, with Abingdon Pavlova scoring 126 and Woodstock 104 for 8. Play continued until 8 pm, when Woodstock appealed for poor light and the umpires upheld their claim. Woodstock refused to complete the match on the following day and asked for a replay instead. And so it was judged that Pavlova should have a pass to the final.

Final (Abingdon Pavlova vs Morris Motors): Played on the Hertford College ground, the final was completed on Sunday after rain delayed the Saturday start. Morris Motors won decisively by an innings and 77 runs, before a large crowd.

Prolific Tomato Plant at Caldecott House
A remarkable tomato plant, grown by Mr. Juggins in the greenhouse at Caldecott House, bore about fifty tomatoes, weighing over 71 lbs in total.

Primitive Methodist Church Harvest Thanksgiving
The Primitive Methodist Church celebrated Harvest Thanksgiving on Sunday, with large congregations attending morning and evening services. Mr. W. Bramwell Hill of Swindon preached on the theme “In an Ancient Garden” in the morning and “Until the Harvest” in the evening. A public meeting on Monday evening presided by Mr T Leach featured Reverend G. E. Wallace on the text “Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness.” Decorations were arranged by Mr. and Mrs. Franklin and Mr. A. J. Argyle and others, with musical contributions by Mr. H. Horsley on the violin. The celebrations concluded with a sale of goods.

Angling Societies Visit Abingdon
Several angling societies visited Abingdon recently. Over 400 anglers from Birmingham fished Appleford and Wilsham Reaches, and other area, with modest catches of dace and gudgeon. A smaller group returned the following Sunday, enjoying good sport along Wilsham Reach, bringing 28 bags to the scales. Both societies expressed appreciation to the town.

Master Bakers’ Annual Outing
The Abingdon and District Master Bakers’ Association held its annual outing on Thursday, with 300 members enjoying a day in London. Some visited Wembley, while others attended the Bakers’ Exhibition.

Abingdon Cycle Dealer Bankrupt
Mr. Thomas F. Cavey, cycle dealer of 15 Bath Street, Abingdon, was declared bankrupt. Mr. Cavey began business in 1921 with £90 capital but cited declining trade, strong local competition, and high expenses as reasons for failure. His debt totals £88. A public examination of Mr. Cavey is scheduled for October 5 at County Hall, Oxford.

Thanks to the Oxford Journal Illustrated for the photographs of Abingdon events from the British Newspaper Archive. Also thanks to the Oxford Chronicle and Reading Gazette from the British Newspaper Archive for story details and the North Berks Herald microfilm in the library  for story details and the underwear advert..

Heritage Open Days returned to Abingdon this weekend, with Saturday as the main day of events. This year’s national theme was architecture, and many local organisations opened their doors to show off Abingdon’s historic buildings. In the Market Place there was a Heritage Open Day stall providing maps and guidebooks for visitors, along with entertainment from The Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers.

The event attracted people from far beyond Oxfordshire – even from as far away as New Zealand. These visitors were photographed in the Guildhall.

The Mayor of Abingdon, Cllr Rawda Jehanli, toured the exhibitions, pictured here with two of the event organisers who were showing her round.

At Trinity Church, welcomers greeted people and answered questions.

There was also a friendly welcome at St Helen’s Church, where among other things was an old parchment tithe map from 1842.

The Abbey Buildings go even further back and hosted re-enactors dressed as Roman citizens, bringing the era to life.

A couple of soldiers were recovering after a re-enactment battle. They had one at 11 am and one at 2 pm.

As part of Heritage Open Days, the Abingdon Artists ran their Landscape in a Day event, with artists painting views of the town’s buildings and streets.

Some venues were especially popular. The tours of the Sophos building were fully booked when I applied.

I was, however, able to visit the Old Gaol Atrium, a space that combines the historical with modern glass and concrete.

I also explored the offices of West Waddy, the local architecture firm based in a spectacular old building with views of the River Thames. The day was mostly sunny but there were some cracks of thunder and occasional showers.

Heritage Open Days carry on tomorrow, Sunday, with more walks, exhibitions, and hidden corners of Abingdon to explore.

Unit 25 in Bury Street has launched the first exhibition of this year’s Heritage Open Days – opening a day ahead of the wider programme.

The ground floor exhibition shows the changing face of central Abingdon in the 60s and 70s. Displays trace the development of Bury Street precinct, the Charter area and Stratton Way, with detailed accounts of the buildings that were lost. One panel explains how the Victorians replaced earlier Georgian structures – and other panels show how, when their own landmarks such as the Queen’s Hotel and the Corn Exchange fell out of favour in the 1960s, they too were swept away for modernist redevelopment. In 2012 the flat roofs and covered walkways were in turn replaced with pitched roofs and wider streets.

Upstairs the focus is on local creativity. Abingdon artists are showing paintings of historic buildings to be in an upcoming book. Last year’s cardboard models of local landmarks also return, alongside a display on the Culham fusion research project.

There’s more to come when the main Heritage Open Days programme begins on Saturday.

ABINGDON HORTICULTURAL SHOW — The Abingdon Horticultural Society’s annual show on Thursday 14th August 1925 was a great success, with a high number of entries and strong quality throughout. The handsome challenge cup, presented by the tradespeople of the town for the best exhibit of cut flowers (open to all England), attracted only three entries, but the winning display by an Oxford firm was outstanding and became the chief attraction in the exhibition tents.

The recently added rabbit and pigeon sections showed increased support, and the judges praised the standard of entries.

Among other entertainments, a display of Morris dancing by children in costume proved especially popular. Their performance was carried out with precision, and their behaviour reflected credit on their trainers. The Ock-street Horns used in some dances were kindly lent by Alderman A.W. Morland.

ABINGDON SKIFF REGATTA — The Abingdon Skiff Regatta was held on Saturday 22nd August 1925 in the Wilsham Reach. Some very good racing was witnessed, with 57 events in the programme. During the afternoon and evening music was performed by the Abingdon Town Band. At the conclusion of the races the prizes were presented by the Mayoress, followed by dancing on the Nag’s Head Hotel tennis lawns.

ABINGDON LOCAL TERRITORIALS — The Abingdon Platoon of the 4th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment – The Abingdon ‘Terriers’ – returned from Weymouth, where they had been in camp for a fortnight.

HOSPITAL SUNDAY — Abingdon Hospital Day was held on Sunday 23rd August 1925. There was a Church parade of friendly societies and other organisations in the afternoon, headed by the Abingdon and Didcot Bands, and the Salvation Army and Steventon Bands. In High Street the procession met the Mayor and Corporation, and then proceeded to St. Helen’s Church, where a service was conducted by the Vicar (Rev. C. S. Fleet). Afterwards the parade again formed up and marched to the cenotaph, where a minute’s silence was observed, and two verses of the hymn O God, Our Help in Ages Past were sung. In the evening a concert was given by the massed bands in the Abbey House grounds. (‘Roy’, the dog inset in the picture, was the most successful collector with £4 17s 4d. In total £57 12s 6d was collected for local hospitals.)

KINEMA.— The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the film production of Victor Hugo’s famous novel, was presented for six days commencing Monday, August 24th, 1925.

Probably never before has there been a picture of such magnificence – costing £300,000, exact in its detail, artistic in conception, and wonderful in the acting of the principals and in the handling of the vast mob scenes, in which more than 3,000 persons took part.

Lon Chaney, one of the finest interpreters of unusual character roles, gave a remarkable performance as Quasimodo, the hunchback bellringer of Notre Dame, with Ernest Torrence as Clopin, the underworld king, and Patsy Ruth Miller as Esmeralda.

The film played to full houses throughout the six days. A talented orchestra, conducted by Mr R A Coole, played music specially arranged for this production.

Thanks to the Oxford Journal for the photographs of Abingdon events from the British Newspaper Archive. Also thanks to the Faringdon Advertiser and Vale of the White Horse Gazette from the British Newspaper Archive for story details and the North Berks Herald microfilm in the library  for story details and the Kinema advert.