When I took the picture a passer-by said “I can’t see them ever getting it finished, now, at this rate!!!”
The ruin has been reinforced by modern bricks, but has no explanatory plaque. So correct me if I’m wrong, but what I can make out is…
It stands in the middle of a central Abingdon housing estate off Audlett Drive and Sherwood Avenue, and is the visible remains of Barton Court.
Charles I was entertained here a number of time, and it was here he said Goodbye to his Queen for the last time.
According to David Nash Ford Barton Court was burned to the ground as Royalists defended it against Roundheads during the English Civil War.
A second house was built in the 1800s, and pulled down in the 1970s – before the development of the present housing estate.
I did a bit of research on this a while back (as I live just round the corner from it) and apparently it's part of the rebuilt Tudor Mansion of Thomas Reade (hence Thomas Reade Primary School nearby), which was burned down in the civil war.
There's a great page on the Berkshire history website about it.
Now my question is – why was this bit kept??? Was it a deliberate monument from the local council / county council, or did a particularly stubborn part of the building resist the demolition and so the developers decide to leave it up?!
Thank you I have always wondered what this is and it is great that your amazing blog has drawn attention to this important site.
The UK has so much history to enjoy that much of it ends up being ignored or destroyed by thoughtless officials bent on pursuing their concept of "progress". Case in point: the swift destruction of the bridge over the Ock. Am I the only one wondering what became of all those antique bricks? They must be worth more than the cost of the demolition!
is it being rebuilt??
bella
yeh! it is a shame.
it is quite amazing though, that you could just walk past things like this thousands of times but still never know that charles I had been there or any of its histoy at all. its just a pile of bricks.
bella
It seems such a shame that there is no plaque or information panel to mark this significant ruin. Is this something that the Abingdon Historical Society and or a local councillor can take up?