OThis stone building at St Helens Wharf is now known as Fellows Court (or 60 East St Helens Street), and serves as offices for West Waddy, a well established Abingdon architect. But for a time in the 1700s the wharfside building was Tomkins Malthouse.
The Tomkins family, as well as being maltsters were also builders and bankers. A number of notable buildings by the Tomkins family are listed in Pepys visit to Abingdon.
One member of this family, Mr. Benjamin Tomkins, departed this life on May the 1st 1732, and bequeathed money to set up alms houses for four men and four women.
The interesting difference about the Tomkins Almshouses on Ock Street, when compared to the older Almshouses near St Helens Church, was the Mr Tomkins stipulated they were “FOR BENEFIT OF POOR DISSENTERS OF ABINGDON AND FOR BAPTIST MINISTERS.” The Tomkins were also well known baptists.
Thank you for your photos of Abingdon and notes on the Tomkins family. I have been a regular reader of the Abingdon bloggers page since I found it a few weeks ago. From Queensland, Australia, we visited Abingdon last August, because my gt gt grandfather Charles BROWN was christened at St Helens in 1816. Our time was limited to a couple of hours, so it is lovely to ‘wander round town and get to know the locals’ at such a leisurely pace.
lr_trip@yahoo.com.au