During the church twinning visit in June, our friends from Sint-Niklaas brought a special gift – a 19th-century painting of St Helen’s Church, Abingdon.

Today, the painting was formally presented to Abingdon Museum by members of the church twinning committee. The handover took place in the presence of the Mayor of Abingdon, Cllr Rawda Jehanli; Cllr Penny Clover, Chair of the Museum Sub-Committee; and Dan Sancisi, Museum Manager.

The artist, George Vicat Cole (1833–1893), was a landscape painter who often worked along the River Thames, travelling by steam launch in search of views. His painting captures the Thames at Abingdon, with the wharf and the spire of St Helen’s Church in the background – a scene easily recognisable today, though much of the detail has changed.