The Barclays branch in the Square, Abingdon, is scheduled to close in February 2024. This closure follows the closure of the town’s other Barclays branch on Marcham Road in January 2020.

The decision to close the branch in the Square is attributed to the availability of alternative banking methods for most customers, with 94% of customers now using online and mobile banking services.

Barclays has stated that only 15 customers regularly rely solely on the Square branch for their banking needs. Additionally, 23% of the branch’s customers have frequented alternative branches within the past year. They say customers can use the Post Office to pay in cash and cheques and withdraw cash.

The Barclays branch in the Square, Abingdon, has existed for over a century. The 1907 Abingdon Directory lists Barclay and Company Limited in The Square, Abingdon.

For more information see https://home.barclays/content/dam/home-barclays/documents/citizenship/Reports-Publications/Reason-for-closure/Reasons-For-Closure-Abingdon-The-Square.pdf.

Spruce Dry Cleaning, an Abingdon institution for 30 years, closed its doors on November 30th 2023 and has ‘Closing Down’ signs in the window. However, the outgoing message on Google suggests this will not be forever. ‘Spruce will open again under new management at some stage in the future,’ the message reads. ‘In the meantime, we’d like to thank all of you for using Spruce over the years, and we wish you well in the future!’

Dry cleaning isn’t as dry as the name implies. Water was avoided to prevent fabric damage, and a liquid solvent was used. But nowadays, a range of different techniques are available, including a dry cleaning system that uses water (ref 1).

ref 1: https://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/market-research/sector-trends/dry-cleaner-sector-trends