An announcement was made today at the Abbey Buildings in Abingdon of the award of a £4 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Pictured at the event are Felicity Dick, Deputy Lieutenant of Oxfordshire; Gregory Bensberg MBE, Chair of the Abingdon Abbey Buildings Trust; and Cllr Rawda Jehlani, Abingdon’s new Mayor, elected yesterday.
The grant will fund a three-year project to restore and modernise the 13th-century Grade I listed buildings – the Unicorn Theatre, Checker, Undercroft and Long Gallery – making them accessible and usable all year round. Plans include windows to fully weatherproof the Long Gallery, installing a lift, creating level floors, and enhancing facilities including a glass lobby, retractable seating, and disabled toilets in the Unicorn Theatre.
Gregory Bensberg said, ‘These buildings are part of Abingdon’s story and central to our community. Making sure that everyone can access these, all year round, is the reason this project is needed.’
The Abbey Buildings Trust, formed from the Friends of Abingdon Civic Society, has already raised over £1.2 million from Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council, the Wolfson Foundation, the Historic Houses Foundation, the Pilgrim Trust and the Oxfordshire Buildings Trust and will now launch a public appeal to complete the funding. Works are hoped to begin in summer 2025.
Many congratulations to all as it is hard work raising money. The Abbey Buildings can live on, be accessible and enjoyed by all. An important part of Abingdon’s history is preserved for future generations.
Enormous congratulations to Greg and his team, but also to Bryan Brown and his original team who started the project back in 2015-16. I know how hard they have all worked. Let’s hope the town can get together to raise the funds to get it over the line.
This is excellent news and a a tribute to the hard work and persistance of Greg and previously Bryan and their teams. Well done guys
Brilliant news, glad to read it.
Great 4 million on a building that’s of limited value and use. Cheaper to knock it a build a cinema
Somewhat missing the point. No connection between spending money on project to conserve a Grade 1 listed building (clue in the funding body is the word heritage) , and building a cinema.
As for building a cinema, it would be cheaper to buy Abingdon residents a Netflix subscription…
I haven’t missed the point – 4 million is to be spend on a rickety old building which offer little to no return on investment. It would be better for the community to knock it and use the money to build a public amenity