The year is 1416. Geoffrey Barbour invests a considerable sum in building a stone bridge from Abingdon towards London, and local businessmen seeing the benefits joined in funding the project.
At lunchtime in St Nicolas Church, the town archivist, Jackie Smith, gave a fascinating talk on the 600 year history of Abingdon Bridge. How it was breached in the civil war, and badly damaged by severe winters, but then repaired and improved again and again.
The final slide of the talk showed Abingdon’s Freemen driving sheep across Abingdon Bridge in the year 2000. Mr Michael Matthews on the right is the longest serving Freeman, and possibly the last remaining Mayor of the Borough of Abingdon.
The talk was the first event in the 4 day heritage open days. There are medieval happenings in town on Saturday to celebrate the bridge and Abingdon Bridge beer will be on tap.
There will also be 14 heritage properties open including the former County Police Station, now the home of The Abingdon Bridge Charity (TAB) who help and give counselling to young people. They are recognising the 600th anniversary of our town’s other bridge by encouraging friends and visitors to match the age of the bridge with 600 £1 coins as a special heritage donation to help them with their work.
Another of the properties, Christ’s Hospital Hall, will have an exhibition about 600 years of Abingdon Bridge. See the map for the full list of open properties.
I love heritage weekend.
I have always thought that the old police station would make great flats. Ah well, give it a year or two….
But it is flats, Daniel – only a small part (which they couldnt use for any other purpose because of the listed cells) was given to the Community.
PS The Abingdon Bridge charity moved in there when they were evicted from 27 Bridge Street which has been beautifully renovated and now stands gloriously empty for us to admire through the stylish new glass wall which blocks off the former entrance to the courtyard..
Well, thanks Hester, I stand corrected…Planning and Development for profit in action.
planning and development for free probably wouldn’t fly – we dont like in a communist country after all.
I do find it intriguing how people like to shut down discussions by taking ‘points’ to an absolute extreme. It has happened s lot recently…. “Let’s look at the £12 billion foreign aid budget, becomes ‘why don’t you want to give any money to foreign aid’ “, or “let’s look at whether we can get a better handle on immigration” becomes ‘why are you a racist who hates all immigrants”.
I’m not particularity a big fan of the current development situation whereby ‘they’ get what they want and pull a fat healthy profit regardless of what impact or opinion that might have on those of us already having to put up with an already intolerable situation… becomes I’m suggesting we live in a communist state.
I’m sure there is a little bit of middleground in their some where (unless that to has been built on too)!?
I don’t like the fact we are all being treated like utter muggs and ridden roughshod over by developers and poor policy. If that makes me a communist… then that’s a sickle I’ll have to bear…
Was Vernon Butt Mayor of the Borough? He is still very much alive at 95!
To be fair Daniel, posts of that kind are very rarely phrased that way. If they were maybe there would be more reasoned discussion.
It’s rarely “Let’s look at the foreign aid budget” and more likely “Why should we send money to buy tents for foreigners whose homes have been destroyed by military action we support when I can’t even afford a luxury flat in the Old Gaol?” Never “Let’s look at getting a better handle on immigration” more likely “I’ve heard from my friend that employers are required by EU law to ask every single person in Turkey if they want a job before offering it to English people at half the wages”.