Abingdon Heritage Weekend is back for 2023 from 16th – 17th September, with a focus on Creativity Unwrapped. Over the weekend, there will be a wide range of events taking place, from open properties and historical walks and talks to exhibitions and workshops.

Creativity Unwrapped in East St Helen Street This street has been home to many creative people over the years, and this year their work will be celebrated in a series of window displays. For example, Dorothea Pickering, who opened up St Ethelwold’s House for the community, was also an artist.

Community Shop The Abingdon Artists have created a series of facsimiles of historic Abingdon buildings, which can be seen in the former premises of Samuels the jeweller. There will also be an exhibition about Abingdon artists, musicians, and other creative people.

Other highlights include:
* 70 Years of Drama at the Unicorn Theatre
* Talks by four current day Abingdon creators at the Guildhall
* Two different exhibitions of Oswald Couldrey’s art, and one of Sampson Strong’s work
* The Abingdon Missal exhibition at the Abbey Buildings

This is just a small selection of the events taking place at the Abingdon Heritage Weekend. For more information, pick up a leaflet at the information stall on the Market Place at the weekend, or visit the website: https://abingdonheritage.org.uk/.

A license application has been submitted to the Vale of White Horse District Council for 15 Market Place. It used to be The Nursery Shop and before that La Baguette. The new business appears to be called ‘The Old Mill’ and has applied to serve alcohol from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm indoors, and from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm outdoors.

15 Market Place is a Grade II listed building with original 17th-century features and an overhang. The overhang of this historic building has the advantage of increasing the available space inside without obstructing the street. Queen Street enters the Market Place at this point and is very narrow.

Queen Street is named after the Queens Hotel, which was built there in Victorian times. According to Agnes Baker, the lane had various names before Queen’s Street, including Otwellesland, Bryanneslane, Scholelane, Crab Lane and Workhouse Lane. Agnes Bakers says ‘But still the name of Otwell Lane Persisted with all the other forms, until in modern times it was somewhat unimaginatively renamed Queen Street’. Recently the Town Council proposed putting up a sign to say it is Queen Street with ‘(Formerly known as Otwell Lane)’ in small type.

Agnes Baker also mentions a horse-driven mill for crushing crab apples near this site, when it was called Crab Lane. That may be where the new business owner got the idea of calling it “Old Mill.”

Sources:
1. https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101368313-15-market-place-abingdon-on-thames.
2. Historic Street of Abingdon by  Agnes C Baker (p 22-23)
3. https://www.abingdon.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Draft-minutes-9.3.23-Town-Infrastructure-Committee.pdf