When the friends of Abingdon were inaugurated in 1944 they had 2 aims:

• To arouse in all people of Abingdon and the neighbourhood a lively and practcal interest in the town and its setting
• To help preserve what is best worth retaining amongst its old buildings and to encourage new buildings worthy of its civic tradition and character

In their early days they achieved a great deal in acquiring the old Abbey buildings and some medieval cottages in Thames street which – after the borough rat catcher had dispatched the previous tenants – and restored with great care.

In the map above the most well known parts are:
A1 – Cottages converted to offices and curator’s house
A2 – Cottages converted to the Unicorn Theatre
B1 = Checker and Undercroft (Checker Chimney pictured alongside)
B2 = Long Gallery

But their influence and help was felt in many other projects and campaigns. To take a few:

• Saved the Carswell from destruction (pictured above)
• Restored the Abbey Archway
• Fought to save Fitzharris Manor House from demolition (without success)
• Put a memorial plaque to St Edmund in the wall of St Nicholas Church
• Fought the demolition of 35 Ock Street
• Supported the creation of the town centre murals

Please let me know of more.

1. English Heritage Old Pictures of Abingdon
2. Michael Harrison’s Bibliography of Abingdon
3. Abingdon Workhouse
4. History of Abingdon Town Football Club
5. Abbey Masonic Lodge – picture above
6. David Nask Fords Royal Berkshire History of Abingdon
7. Abingdon Society of Bell Ringers
8. Abingdon United Football Club
9. Abingdon Wargames Club
10. Abingdon Area Archaelogical and Historical Society

Charity Shops are mainly a British phenomena. They benefit from tax concessions. They are exempt from corporation tax, pay no V.A.T. on donated goods, and get 80% business rates relief. In some areas local authorities let them off the remaining 20% (meaning no business rates).
Abingdon Town Centre has 9 charity shops:

Action for Peoples in Conflict
British Heart Foundation
British Red Cross
Cancer Research UK
Helen and Douglas House
Oxfam
Scope
Sue Ryder Care

The shops rely on volunteer staff for whom this is a chance to do something worthwhile and to meet people. I would have thought that we had reached saturation point with 8 shops, but the most recent arrival, Helen and Douglas House, is one of the best charity shops I’ve seen anywhere. nThese hospices for young people were set up by Sister Francis and are a well loved local charity.

Abingdon in Focus is a free local magazine and copies are to be found at the library, and are distributed to some homes in Abingdon.

The magazine has the intention of promoting local business and encouraging residents to use them. It also has a good recipe for carrot cake (printed below), a prize crossword, Sudoku, a guide to whats on in March, and a photo competition. The winner is published on the cover. This month the photograph is by Gary Curtis and the Copyright remains with him.

Abingdon in Focus has some useful telephone numbers, GP surgery times, library times and supermarket times. I like being able to compare such things in tables.

Carrot Cake
70g (3 oz) butter
250 g (9 oz) caster sugar
half tsp cinnamon
quarter pint plain yoghurt
50 g (2 oz) chopped nuts
270g (10 oz) plain flour
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 eggs, beaten
half tsp salt
350g (12 oz) carrot, finely grated

Topping
70 g (3 oz) icing sugar
25 g (1 oz) butter
225 g (8 oz) cream cheese
grated lemon rind

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs a little at a time, with a little flour. Sift the flour, bicarb, salt and cinnamon and add gradually, with the yoghurt. Fold in the carrot and nuts, then mix thoroughly. Turn into a greased cake tin (approx 20cm/8 in round) and bake at 180 C/ 350 F / Gas Mark 4 for 45 minutes.
Cool on wire rack.
When cool, cream all the topping mixture together, spread over the cake and refrigerate.