We have a campaigning local newspaper in The Abingdon Herald. This year they are campaigning to save our local Community Hospitals.

The Mayors of the five towns, (Abingdon, Didcot, Henley, Wallingford and Wantage) have got together to fight for a common cause. Any of the five towns could loose out if the community hospitals are restructured.

The Mayor of Abingdon was out and about campaigning on the issue today, as was the deputy mayor and a number of other local councillors.

There was a similar campaign two years ago, and ten years ago. Both times the hospitals were saved. One phrase used recently by a nurse, about community hospitals, was ” We must not let these jewels in the crown disappear.” One of our local councillors stand next to a poster with these words

The Drayton Road Bridge divides Abingdon in two. To the south of the River Ock about a third of the population live in an area traditionally known as Caldecott. Some born and bred Caldecott residents consider it to be a place with it own separate identity.

The strange thing about the arches underneath the bridge are that they are arched one side, and round the other. The bridge does act as a bottleneck for traffic coming from the south, and the bridge has been widened on a couple of occassions, most recently in about 1970. There have been calls for it to be widened again, but this has been rejected by the County Council who control the roads budget. The bridge can also act as a blockage to water flow, and may one day cause floods.

Looking up inside the bridge, it is layered like the growth of a tree. On one side the bridge is arched, in the middle the circular arch is made of stones, finally the most recent bridge widening uses prefabricated concrete.

The previous blog for this development between Blacknall Road and Caldecott Road was back in January when boards went up to say that the site was acquired by Banner Homes. They are the company that are building Deer Park near Wootton.

The clear up after the demolition of Kingfisher school has been completed, and work has begun in earnest. Plots have all been marked out, and concrete is being poured to make foundations.

Near the church of St. Helen is an almshouse, erected in 1707 by Charles Twitty, for the maintenance of three men and three women;

to which John BEDWELL in 1799, and Samuel CRIPPS in 1819, bequeathed £200 each.

BEDWELL, and CRIPPS, and TWITTY
Demonstrated great generosITY…