Abingdon Museum has an exhibition of old picture postcards. From the town centre to parks and historic landmarks, the postcards provides a view into Abingdon’s past.

The exhibition features a diverse collection of postcards, including images of local hotels, residential roads, schools, churches, almshouses, and the river. The museum has displayed the more interesting messages on the back of some of the postcards. Many come from Elizabeth Drury’s Collection.

The museum has also curated a large collection of historical photographs, projected onto a small screen.

The exhibition is scheduled to run until December 22, 2024. You can buy a postcard of Abingdon or the White Horse at the Museum Shop, send it to a friend and say, ‘Wish you were here’ – just like in the old days.

P.S: A selection of postcards from my old collection can be seen on the internet at from my postcard collection blog. The only Abingdon one however is a French lady with an HMS Abingdon sailors hat.

From Saturday 6th July to Sunday 29th September, Abingdon County Hall Museum will take you back to the Iron Age!

Before the Romans, from around 50 BC to 50 AD, where the centre of Abingdon is now, there was a protected settlement called an ‘Oppidum‘ (Latin for Town). Iron Age Oppidum towns could be surrounded by ditches for fortification. When people were excavating near the old station and near West St Helen Street, they found what they thought were Oppidum-style ditches.

Before developing the Ashville Trading Estate in Abingdon, archaeologists discovered an even older Iron Age settlement that pre-dated the Oppidum.

At the exhibitions are information boards to explain:
* Iron Age
* Iron Age Abingdon before the Oppidum
* Abingdon’s ‘Oppidum’
* Iron Age Coins
* Weapons and a sword found in the Thames
* Jewellery, skin decoration, and clothes
* Pottery
* Food
* Rituals and burials

There’s also a video about recent discoveries near Wittenham Clumps where iron slag and iron offcuts could be evidence of an Iron Age blacksmith.

Abrail 2024 is the 50th anniversary exhibition of the Abingdon and District Model Railway Club (ADMRC). It takes place over two days, on Saturday, March 2nd and Sunday, March 3rd, 2024, at Abingdon and Witney College in Abingdon.

There were two layouts of the Abingdon Branch in the sports hall, one at O Gauge

and one at OO gauge.

The Chair of ADMRC, Bill Marnan, showed round the Mayor of Abingdon, Councellor Gwyneth Lewis. She remembered going on the Abingdon Branch line to school in Oxford.

Over 40 model railway layouts were on display, showcasing various scales, styles and places, most real, some fictitious. They were sited in the main college building on two floors, the Advanced Skills Centre, and the Sports Hall. On the second floor were some fun layouts, more for young families, including Lego City, Abingdon.

Railways were important in World War Two, and the Overlord layout depicted the railways at the dockyards in the days surrounding the invasion of Normandy. It has been under construction for thirty years.

The event was very popular and there was a wait to get to look at some of the layouts in the main building. There wasn’t even elbow room at Elbow Lane!!!

There were traders selling model railway products. The event also included talks, and demonstrations.

The Abingdon and District Model Railway Club website has more information.

Abingdon Museum has started 2024 with an exhibition called “Celebrating Abingdon Women in the Arts and Sciences.” It showcases some of the incredible women who lived in Abingdon

Art and crafts: Pat Russell and Janet Boulton opened their own paper-making studio, while Charlotte Hardcastle created accurate drawings of plants.
History: Agnes Baker brought history to life through books, plays, and historical processions. Gabrielle Lambrick explored the secrets of Abingdon Abbey. Mieneke Cox helped tell the town’s story through museum exhibits and books. Marion Wenzel took care of the Abbey buildings and produced artwork.
Science: Mary Buckland made detailed drawings of fossils.
Writing: Dorothy Richardson wrote some of the first stream-of-consciousness novels.

There are information boards, artwork, and a video slideshow showing these and other women, and groups of women, some you may know.

The museum is run by Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council and you can see more at https://www.abingdon.gov.uk/event/exhibition-celebrating-abingdon-women-in-the-arts-and-sciences

Some of the women also appear on the Abingdon People website:
Agnes Baker: https://www.abingdon.gov.uk/abingdon_people/agnes-baker
Mary Buckland: https://www.abingdon.gov.uk/abingdon_people/mary-buckland-nee-morland
Mieneke Cox: https://www.abingdon.gov.uk/abingdon_people/mieneke-cox
Gabrielle Lambrick: https://www.abingdon.gov.uk/abingdon_people/gabrielle-lambrick