Category Archives: heritage

Old field-names

3 Replies

Old Field Names
Champs Close (Peachcroft) This is an old field-name, possibly derived from the French ‘champs’ meaning ‘a field’.
Old Field Names
Chandlers Close (Peachcroft) Named after a field-name on the Radley Parish Tithe Map.
Old Field Names
Charney Close (Peachcroft) This is also called after an old field-name in Radley Parish.
Old Field Names
Corn Avil Close (Peachcroft) This is an old field-name in the Parish of Radley.

Thanks to ‘The Origins of the Street Names of Abingdon’ by John McGowan 1988. It needs to be updated and brought back into print.

B’ist thee a-gwaen to Ab’ndon faar?

6 Replies

Ab'ndon faar
Fifty years ago or less, the speech of an Ab’ndonian would hardly have been understood by a person from the northern counties. and his dialect would sound strange to his grandson of today. He called a stone a “stwun”, a mole a “wunt”, – Wantage means the place of wunts – a pig a “peg”, and a sheep a “ship”.

He lengthened out his a’s so that yard became “yaard” and way “waay”. For “I am not” he said “I beant”, for “will you” he said “Oo’lt”. He would say “mwoast” and “mwoare” and “whum” and “wi”.

He used strange words like “unked” and “lear” and athert” where we would say uncanny, hungry, and across. “I” was used for me and myself, “he” for him, and “his’n” and “shis’n” for his and hers.

“B’ist thee a-gwaen to Ab’ndon faar? If thee b’ist I’ll see ‘ee theaar.”

(a short extract from ‘The School History of Berkshire’ by E.A. Greening Lamborn published in 1908 and no longer on the school history curriculum)

Blue Plaque for Cecil Kimber. One for Arthur Preston on the Way

7 Replies

Blue Plaque
A Blue Plaque was unveiled at the Boundary House Pub last Saturday for Cecil Kimber, the creator of the MG Marque.
Blue Plaque
The Boundary House has been a pub for the last 25 or 30 years but before that it was a family home – built for Mr Cyril Viney, who lived there for many years, before and after Cecil Kimber’s residence.
Blue Plaque
There are now two plaques for Cecil Kimber who lived there from 1933-38. As far as I can tell Mr Viney was the proprietor there from 1927-33, and 1938-58.

The other Blue Plaque will be for Mr Arthur Preston, a great Abingdon Politician and Historian, who was active around 100 years ago. Trying to arrange his Blue Plaque has been more problematic and has been under consideration for almost ten years. The best location still needs to be decided. One place that could work would be Preston Road – the Abingdon road named after him.

Archaeology Works in Progress by the Drayton Road

2 Replies

Archaeology Works in Progress
Work has been underway for about 4 weeks now investigating the archaelogical heritage of the field off the Drayton Road which could be developed with 159 houses.
Archaeology Works in Progress
In places the topsoil and subsoil have been removed to make way to excavate some deeper trenches.

The introduction to the archaeological field evaluation says earlier work “found mid to late Iron Age remains that would fit the character of a farmstead …”
Archaeology Works in Progress
Work is concentrating to the northeast and east of the site, up near the Drayton Road on the side nearest Abingdon.