Smith’s Chemist are moving from the High Street.
Smith’s Chemist is probably Abingdon’s oldest town centre shop. There was a Mr William Smith who ran a Chemist in the High Street from at least 1830 (image from Pigot & Co National Directory). He died in 1891 at the age of 86.
In 1894 the shop moved to its current position at 21 High Street, and a A.W. Franklin took over.
There is a Francis Frith picture of the High Street in 1965 where W Smith & CO – Chemist – can be seen at 21-23 High Street. Since then number 21 has become P.B Conway Opticians, and Smiths, at 23, extended into the old Library Reading Room behind, after the library moved to Bury Street.
When the business moves to Stert Street, the name will change to Avicenna pharmacy – a group founded 20 years ago, and the UK’s largest independent pharmacy support group.
I passed the unit that was The Stroll Inn last night and there appears to be some activity..does anyone know what is happening?
I do hope (against hope, probably) that Smith’s doesn’t become another anonymous shop. The previous premises had some wonderful fittings at the front, a tired but wonderful chair to sit in while waiting for prescriptions to be dispensed, and an excellent stock of Roger and Gallet soaps.
I totally agree with ppjs Smiths were good for Christmas Presents
I understand the pharmacy is moving into the old Plough pub and Stroll in is a restaurant/cafe?
Not another restaurant/cafe!!!!
Does anyone know when the Wildwood Restaurant is opening? Abingdon is mentioned on their website now as ‘coming soon’. The Wildwood Restaurant in Wantage has a small cinema above it (hint, hint).
How many restaurants do we need? anything is better than empty units
Elsie – thanks for the hint….best head to Wantage. What a progressive, forward thinking town.
Liz, fair point….there are many “eateries” in town, and a lot of them are awful. I only go to the good ones. Survival of the fittest and all that (if you believe in that sort of thing)
Shame about Smiths. It was always good for quirky / old fashioned stuff.
Avicenna pharmacies are more your generic high street brands. Same as you get in Boots, Lloyds, Superdrug etc.
So after all the months (years) of waiting, the plans to transform the heart of Abingdon have been abandoned and the Oxfordshire Guardian say that the Pound store will be moving into the old CO-OP building.
Never mind at least we will have a cinema to go to…..oh that was abandoned too.
Smiths will become less of a treasure trove of quirky gifts and more of a bland corporate medicine only pharmacy like Lloyds. They are selling off fragrances so stock up now.
I wonder what will happen to all those old fashioned drawers and panelling?
Coggin…we are getting a revamp to the heart of the town; £800,000 on the multi story car park.
…says it all really.
I saw the chaps tending to the flower beds in town this week. I reckon the flowers are going to look lovely this year…
Take the money, and get that scruffy area revamped. Nobody it seems is willing to spend the money on a complete rebuild of the Charter, so get on and start to sort out this area. The towns people have had to put up with vague and unfulfilled promises for to long.
Abingdon once again finds itself in a position of flux, last year there was a really positive buzz in town, some new businesses moved in and we were all waiting for the next phase of the precinct to begin, but again thinks just haven’t worked for us, our opposition to the Drayton rd housing was over-ruled by one man who has no knowledge of the town, Tilsey park was given away and although we’ve had a statement from the vale as to how much the old gaol was sold for, they will not confirm if we’ve actually been paid for it? Then we here the vale is trying to buy back the lease on the upper reaches? but we all know a deal has been done with you know who ! Two weeks ago the vale announced a spending if £800k on a car park that’s closed more time than its open and has bays to small to park in. Now we’ve been drip fed information that Scottish widow, aka, new river capital, Aberdeen asset, etc. have now reneged or their £50 mil obligation to redeveloped our precinct, does that mean their lease extension to 150 years has been called in? don’t you think vale you owe us an explanation?
But surely the question that has to be asked in this catalogue of cock ups by the vale is ” do they really think they are capable of forming the governing body should we adopt a unitary council? That said I don’t honestly think we should hold our elected councillors to book, the responsibility of the many failings of Abingdon has to fall firmly at the feet of the officers? they advise council, I doubt sandy lovatt or Matt Barber made decisions solely based solely on their own wisdom? It’s high time consultants and officers were made accountable for their actions ?
Just so I know where we’re at…am I supposed to be looking on the bright side?
I have recently worked in Abingdon & Witney,although Witney is the smaller of the two it seems much more vibrant with lots more choice of shops,where as we in Abingdon seem to be lost in another era.Is it too late for us.
Oops, excuse over active spell checker !
More people have large cars and it is very difficult parking in the multi story anyway. The Vale has opted to develop Didcot at the in shopping place of the region. I must say it is very convenient as there are large supermarkets and smaller retail units all in the same place. There is a large car park in the centre so fairly easy to park. West St Helen’s street car park always seems to be full. In my opinion Abingdon should aim to follow the direction of Wallingford with individual shops and events like music festivals to bring people in.
Please don’t let us end up with Abingdon becoming a clone of Didcot. Abingdon seems to have much more in common with Witney (and Witney is a much nicer shopping destination than Didcot will ever be). There must be a reason though why the big name retailers aren’t interested in coming to Abingdon. Have they not been approached, are the rents too high and the units too small? Is Abingdon just not seen as having enough disposable income or are we just too close to Oxford? Abingdon has some great independent shops which are a real bonus, but we could do with some high street names too.
Sad to see yet another individual, interesting shop disappear from Abingdon. I shopped in Smiths regularly and, in addition, always bought lots of unusual soaps and toiletries from there as gifts. Unfortunately, those brands are now only available in Oxford.
Added bonus….(for making the town seem attractive).. they always made an effort with lovely window displays.
Hey Cassandra have a look on the Central Business Agency web site and you’ll find three of our best independents on there for sale !
Well Astronaut… look at the shopping centre in Didcot.. then look at the precinct..both look exactly the same, apart from didcot’s is larger and has more stores! Abingdon should be like witney or wantage, but its clear that the proximity to Oxford/Cowley and now Didcot with its 2nd phase going ahead is just too small a distance, obviously Witney and Wantage are outside of the imaginary ring around these shopping areas so they get the big names.
I don’t know what the rents are, but considering the amount of empty units around town… i would assume they are as high as they could be.
Its a shame, cause abingdon has potential, but nobody, including the council wants to do anything about it..
I read through these veil-hate posts and chuckle to myself daily… all from the usual crowd, who i assume are just sat at home watching corrie, not actually doing something about the views they have…. just moaning about it on a comments section on a blog does sod all!
That’s my post for 6 months.. see you all in another 6 months when undoubtedly you will all be moaning about the same old topics… on a post.. that most of the comments on, have nothing to do with the post itself!
Re: 20. It might depress me even more!! Especially when I ho back to where I came from ‘Up North’ and see people queuing out of the doors at some of the independents.
Hate touch screens…..meant ‘go back to’.
Janet – the Vale have nothing to do with Didcot – that is South Oxfordshire DC
I strongly disagree with that statement Iain, a good deal of positions at both the vale and SODC are shared, in fact the CEO is CEO of both councils, I believe the officers and head of strategic planning also have shared responsibilities so it is perfectly conceivable that the important issues and decisions made are by officers who responsibilities to each district council, wasn’t that the whole idea of merging the two operations in the first place?
Totally separate political decision makers but shared officers – also decisions relating to creation of orchard centre were all made prior to their ‘merger’ in any case
The Vale IS choosing to develop Botley, (West Way shops), which has a population of 5,000 residents, and is just a stones throw from Oxford. Whereas Abingdon, with a population of over 33,000, doesn’t even get a thought…..why is that I wonder?
Presumably because the investor in botley is not pulling out of their deal. Maybe a DC councillor can tell you.
Btw your population assessment is misleading – lets face it Botley is a suburb of oxford these days.
And in your own words Iain, Abingdon CANNOT get a proper cinema because we are too close to Didcot/Oxford….so how come Botley can have one?
Nevermind, Abingdon/Drayton/Steventon will be a poorer suburb of Didcot in the not too distant future…and who would have thought that ten years ago?
And WHY are SW being “allowed” to pull out of their deal? Isn’t that what contracts are for? Oh I forgot…where contracts are concerned, Abingdon doesn’t take any notice (See Old Gaol)
Julian – as usual you misquote me. Abingdon could have a proper conema if the town council hadnt decided to build a village hall instead. What i said was that the two chains who operate multiplex cinemas (10 screen plus) in this country will not go to abingdon as they are far too close to existing cinemas they own. The rule of thumb they apply us 40 minutes. The same does not apply to smaller cinemas with c3 screens.
I don’t think we need a 10 plus screen cinema; who approached them? We just need a decent cinema….not a multi multi plex…or an IMAX….just a cinema. A proper cinema.
Doesn’t matter now though, does it.
Out of interest, I was in Didcot today … the cinema and Cornerstone woukd both sit comfortably in the now defunct phase II Charter site here…
What a World we have created; “value” is measured in £s…by accountants and ‘consulranrs’. If it doesn’t pull a profit..it isn’t worth a jot. And who tells us that that is the case…?…accountants and consultants. Funny that….
So Iain, tell me, why will they agree to build one at Botley, or even the new shopping centre being built in Oxford? There are existing cinemas closer to those than we are? Who exactly has set this criteria…or is it just an, “I imagine that they wouldn’t want to build one in Abingdon”? Has a major cinema chain ever been approached about building a cinema/leisure centre/bowling alley in the town centre? If so, which ones?
And as for your comment, “Abingdon could have a proper conema if the town council hadnt decided to build a village hall instead.”…your own “Vision/vanity-project for the Guildhall, was little more than a “Village hall” with a screen and a projector…so I don’t really think you can knock it now?
Julian – yes they were approached – they said non- can I be clearer – if you would like to put up the money to build a multiplex – go for it you have my support
Iain, if you continue picking your scab it will never heal.
Iain, who was approached and with what remit? Was it “Can you put one of your top notch cinemas in our glorified village hall?”…….or was it as it should have been, “Would you consider putting a proper cinema/entertainments facility, fit for a town with a population of 33,000, slap bang in the middle of this town, where poundland or co op is?”
I’m guessing the first one…? What a joke, I would imagine that they were laughing all the way home!
And actually Iain, for once you have come up with a good idea! I would love to fund it myself, it would be an absolute goldmine, and something that could be the saviour of this town, but for obvious reasons I can’t…. But I will look into crowd funding for it.thank you.
PS maybe now that the weather is set to improve, you can find some grapes that are not so sour?
I would rather see the whole miserable place cleaned up
I really wonder if a cinema would pay……the Paving stones at the side of the coop are extremely dangerous and they were only replaced a few years ago…the whole place is dirty…coffee stained paths abound
Scott…what would you suggest we do?
PS…i don’t watch Corrie.
Well said scott
…. Although i don’t disagree, I would be wary of making ill informed judgements on here Scott, there are some that don’t take kindly to it and will lambaste you quite severley on here for doing so….
Scott is right!
I agree with many comments on here, however you cannot attract quality high street stores to stand alongside Turkish barbers (with their towels drying on the pavement) and Poundland. The rates maybe high, but let’s look at the potential? The potential is huge for a niche market town with independent shops and cafes. That will attract tourists who spend money. Not a 99p Store selling tat.
Therefore the licenses for premises need to be agreed in consideration for this. The town council are just taking what they can get. Never a good sign.
Whilst I love Abingdon, I food shop in Didcot and clothes shop in Witney.
Abingdon only attracts me for eating out and pubs.
Daniel, im not too bothered what people say, think or do to me!
DM it’s clear to see that the council want to take as much as they can, given the age of departmental cuts and penny-pinching, but that doesn’t help the matter… in my eyes… and maybe i’m just being stupid… the council could attract businesses by saying ‘ok you have a year at half rents when you fill this unit’ after that year, hopefully the company would be established enough to then afford 3/4 rent rates for the second year, and then 3rd year go to full rent.
Surely the council would prefer to fill 2 units and at least get 1 units worth of rent, rather than have 2 empty units with no rent? But more importantly… those full units would then secure more businesses into the area because there would be more confidence in the town.. which would then bring more revenue to other shops, and more footfall into the town itself, bringing more people eating, more people drinking, less need for retail units to have their usage changed to residential.. maybe even then.. the upper reaches might get used as a hotel again, and the top end of town by old co-op etc might actually have the need to be changed for the financial gain of the landowners!
I’ve lived here for 5 years nearly.. an have not had to go through the closing of businesses and local favorite spots like you all seem to have… and i know my other half has… but i seriously question how long i will live here because of the lack of facilities both shopping and recreational!
Scott… out
Good points Scott, and certainly a shared vision with many of us “whingers”. Just one point to pick up on; none of the “rents” you mention are anything to do with the council.
Don’t get me wrong, I am no fan of the council (any of the 3 that has our town in its grip); and I firmly believe that if they can’t do more….they should be doing what they do do, but better. However, in this instance the rents are down to private landlords. I guess what we might call ‘businessmen’.
In my lazy, good for nothing, whining, inactivity; I am coming to realise that, from a landlords point of view it is better to let a premises at Full rent for 6 months than at 50% for a year. It shows weakness otherwise, sets a president etc that…whilst would make perfect sense to you or I as merely a shopper or, worse, just a resident; does not make sense from a business pov. Apparently.
Abingdon IS lovely….and, if you can hold out….it can only get better; surely!?