Heritage Open Days returned to Abingdon this weekend, with Saturday as the main day of events. This year’s national theme was architecture, and many local organisations opened their doors to show off Abingdon’s historic buildings. In the Market Place there was a Heritage Open Day stall providing maps and guidebooks for visitors, along with entertainment from The Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers.

The event attracted people from far beyond Oxfordshire – even from as far away as New Zealand. These visitors were photographed in the Guildhall.

The Mayor of Abingdon, Cllr Rawda Jehanli, toured the exhibitions, pictured here with two of the event organisers who were showing her round.

At Trinity Church, welcomers greeted people and answered questions.

There was also a friendly welcome at St Helen’s Church, where among other things was an old parchment tithe map from 1842.

The Abbey Buildings go even further back and hosted re-enactors dressed as Roman citizens, bringing the era to life.

A couple of soldiers were recovering after a re-enactment battle. They had one at 11 am and one at 2 pm.

As part of Heritage Open Days, the Abingdon Artists ran their Landscape in a Day event, with artists painting views of the town’s buildings and streets.

Some venues were especially popular. The tours of the Sophos building were fully booked when I applied.

I was, however, able to visit the Old Gaol Atrium, a space that combines the historical with modern glass and concrete.

I also explored the offices of West Waddy, the local architecture firm based in a spectacular old building with views of the River Thames. The day was mostly sunny but there were some cracks of thunder and occasional showers.

Heritage Open Days carry on tomorrow, Sunday, with more walks, exhibitions, and hidden corners of Abingdon to explore.

Unit 25 in Bury Street has launched the first exhibition of this year’s Heritage Open Days – opening a day ahead of the wider programme.

The ground floor exhibition shows the changing face of central Abingdon in the 60s and 70s. Displays trace the development of Bury Street precinct, the Charter area and Stratton Way, with detailed accounts of the buildings that were lost. One panel explains how the Victorians replaced earlier Georgian structures – and other panels show how, when their own landmarks such as the Queen’s Hotel and the Corn Exchange fell out of favour in the 1960s, they too were swept away for modernist redevelopment. In 2012 the flat roofs and covered walkways were in turn replaced with pitched roofs and wider streets.

Upstairs the focus is on local creativity. Abingdon artists are showing paintings of historic buildings to be in an upcoming book. Last year’s cardboard models of local landmarks also return, alongside a display on the Culham fusion research project.

There’s more to come when the main Heritage Open Days programme begins on Saturday.