The Crown and Thistle has always been up there among Abingdon’s more distinguished public houses. It is a traditional 17th century coaching Inn on Bridge Street (Clippity Clop Clippity Clop).

The banner reminds people to book their festive meals before it is too late.
In the 1900s The “Old Fighting Cock” public house was next door but the Crown and Thistle has long since extended south over that ground. The man on the ladder is doing the wiring for the Christmas lights.
The courtyard normally has the medieaval stocks out in summer in front of the Stocks bar. You can pose while friends throw chips at you. (See how many you can catch in your mouth!).

There are often national flags draped about outside. France and the UK are among the favourites.

The name Crown and Thistle does come from the time when England (Crown) and Scotland (Thistle) were united as one Kingdom under James 1st.
The premises also has 19 bedrooms, and a restuarant, and a fine cobbled courtyard.

There is supposed to be a Phantom Horseman. But don’t let that keep you awake at night. Any decent old pub has to have a ghost to help bring in the tourists. Anyway I won’t go on about it: that would be like blogging a dead horse.

Broad Street in Abingdon could never have matched Broad Street in Oxford for historical interest. After all there were no martyrs burnt at the stake in Abingdon. Nor could it ever have matched the breadth of the Oxford name-sake. But looking at my 1910 OS map, it did once look like a broad street with the road as the backbone and houses either side.

The building of the precinct across it and the Carpark on one side, means that only a few buildings now remain in a row with no real coherance or backbone…

The first two buildings are really on Stert Street but they are on the corner with Broad Street. On one corner of Stert Street is the Knowl. It houses the 2care community.

On the opposite corner is the Al Zaib, Indian Restaurant. It was the Bee Hive pub until a few years ago.

The building on the junction of Broad Street and Queen Street, the one with the fancy victorian brickwork, houses Wenn Townsend, Chartered Accountants, who also have an Office in Oxford. This building was a pub in victorian times and known as the Steam Plough.

In between Al Zaib (Bee Hive) and Wenn Townsend (Steam Plough) is Philip Rowe’s Chiropractic Clinic. On the blue door is a picture of a backbone, and the name of Philip’s four fellow practioners.

But I suspect even they could not put Broad Street’s back together again.

Well, there have been flood warnings, and the river is already overflowing its banks, so no suprise to see standing water at the Abingdon Rugby Club grounds off Lambrick Way.
On Sunday morning from 1o:30 there is youth training, and spread around the large grassy area, there must have been ten or twelve different groups training – possibly two hundred children.
It is a commitment for parents as well. The ones I talked to had been coming regularly, one for three years, another for five. This group are running a relay sprint with the ball.
Near the club house there are places for the parents to sit and drink cups of tea and coffee.
Come on! Keep going! Don’t look round!

The Rugby Club have: Under 7s, under 8’s…. all the way to under 16s teams. At the earlier ages it is a non contact sport, played with age peers, but more contact is added with age and experience. Their web site says “Your Childs safety is paramount at Abingdon RUFC.”

Only problem, something needs to be done to improve the drainage which appears to be not working well.

Our lady’s Convent School’s Christmas Fayre was today from 10:00 am till 2:00 pm. In previous years this event has been held in the Guildhall in town, but this year they used the newly built Senior school hall (pictured towards the right).
Down below in the hall, and corridors there are stalls, and from up above hampers and baskets were being auctioned.
As well as the auction, other regular favourites included bell ringing from St Denys in Stanford in the Vale and Irish coffee.