There were MGs on the Market Place from 10 am until 2 pm on the Sunday of Heritage Weekend.

A couple of non MG cars were also granted access onto the Market Place. One was this 1925 Lancia, made in Italy and after spending much of its working life in Australia now drives the roads around Abingdon. I saw it speeding off to Culham as I returned from the Culham ticket Office.

It was open for visitors all weekend. There were about 150 visitors on Saturday and about the same number on Sunday.

It was exciting to go through to the other side of the ticket office and see customers through the hatch, and then get a souvenir ticket stamped. There were also lots of souvenirs. One of the people running the operation has a collection of 400 GWR jigsaws. The jigsaws depicted travel locations and encouraged people to take the train.

Later in the day, Andrew, who has done a lot of the organising of Heritage Open Weekend, drew the winning entry for the Family Treasure Hunt. There were 30 correct entries out of about 60.

The winner will receive a Deluxe Brio Railway Set. Andrew asked Ravensburger whether he could borrow a Brio railway for the weekend and they donated one, and so that became the prize.

A highlight of every Heritage Weekend is East St Helen Street. Once again it had been transformed into a living museum. Windows throughout the street had displays offering glimpses into the street’s past.

Some displays showed parades that have marched down the street over the years, while others depicted the street’s earlier days as a bustling hub of activity. East St Helen Street was home to malthouses, riverside trading businesses, and lively pubs. Before 1977 it had two way traffic. And before 1900 it had no automobiles.

People demonstrated Iron Age crafts in the grounds of the Abbey Buildings. A Blacksmith used bellows to heat the coals in which a sickle was stuck to make it red hot so that he could bang it into shape.

A lady had produced dyes by grinding rocks gathered near the coast, which she then used to paint shields for warriors.

There were also various armed iron age warriors and a Roman soldier, iron age food, iron age games and more.

Another highlight was the exhibition in the Roysse Room. It was only just lunchtime when I went in and they had already welcomed over 300 visitors.

Dawn talking Newspapers had a demo of a recording. They are usually based at the Health and Well Being Centre. They connect people who have visual impairments with the local news by recording and distributing it on flash drives. (Heritage theme 2024: Routes-Networks-Connections).

The exhibition comprised large old maps which people always enjoy and old photos of roads in Abingdon and how they have changed; a history of footpaths; some waterways; and some aeroplane pictures from RAF Abingdon.  The bomb like object is a fuel tank which an aircraft dropped. After WWII there were lots of these ‘Drop Tanks’ in the fields around Abingdon.

Outside the weather was bright and sunny. Artists were drawing and painting around the town and by the river for a quick impromptu exhibition in St Nicolas Church.

There was a exhibition about waterways in the Long Alley Almshouses hall, and a chance to admire the touched-up windows.

The Abingdon Branch Railway model was popular, and lots of MG Cars could be seen in the siding.

Inside the MG Car Club there was an exhibition of MG and MGCC memorabilia.

This is a limited edition brick (No 244 of 500) from the MG Car Plant building in Abingdon-on-Thames.

These pictures make up just a small sample of what was an excellent Heritage Saturday. Well done to all the organisers and volunteers. The Heritage weekend continues on Sunday, when there will be, among other things, MG Cars on the Market Place from 10 am to 2 pm.