Abingdon High Street, from a postcard, dated Oct 9 – 1905. The message says ‘Dear Hilda, I hope you will like this one fore your collection this street is full up with the fair this morning. With much love from Louis.’ It shows Cheapside House above what is now Howden Insurance (corrected).
Abingdon High Street 2024. Can you spot any differences?
P.S. Click here to see how other City Daily Photo bloggers illustrate the theme of “street corner.”
Built between 1973 and 1977, Abingdon library is part of The Charter, originally devised as the Broad Street North Redevelopment scheme, while Abingdon Borough was still in existence. (Abingdon’s local authorities all changed in 1974). The Charter, when finished, was run jointly by Oxfordshire County Council and the new Vale of White Horse District Council. It housed the library, medical centre, doctor’s surgery, social services, pensioners’ day centre, and a multi-storey car park.
The charter has dark red bricks, a variety of grey slate roofs , walkways on different levels, and plantings of trees and bushes.
The library also a view towards Poundland and Broad Street.
Another window has a view towards the decorative wall that holds The Charter foundation stone (1973) and the official opening stone (1977). The wall looks like part of an old castle, possibly a reminder of 1556 – the original Abingdon Borough Charter.
The Monday Market came back to life after last Monday’s winds. No more missing canvas covers or missing stalls, just people doing their shopping and chatting.
But the flag above County Hall … was it missing? Half-mast maybe? As I looked, the white flag lifted a little, and at first, I thought it said “World Women’s Day.”
Ah, but no! The flag must have been put up for Saturday’s Holocaust Memorial Day.
On January 27th, the world remembers the horrors of the Holocaust. This day was established by the United Nations in 2005.
It marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, a Nazi concentration camp where millions of people were murdered during World War II.
It remembers the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, as well as the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution, including Romani people, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, and people with disabilities. There were two Jehovah’s Witnesses with their trolley of leaflets beside the Market Place, and during the day on the Market Place, many jews, people of Romani descent, homosexuals and people with disabilities.
The first houses have appeared at the new development off Twelve Acre Drive. They can seen near the sales office.
The developers plan to build a total of 371 homes in this phase, ranging from 2 to 5 bedrooms, with prices from £399,950 to £699,950 (as seen on their website). There will also be pavilions and sports pitches.
Since the development is near the Radley Park Ditch (shown in the bottom right corner of the image above), the developers have submitted a flooding model as a follow up to their planning permission.
There have been concerns about flooding downstream from the development, near the Peachcroft basketball pitch. A meeting last week of residents and local councillors were given updates on the flooding on Appleford Drive, Rainbow Way, and Chilton Close, caused by the Radley Park Ditch.
I believe the issue is water backing up from the culvert gate at that point, which needs to be kept clear. (Last 3 pictures from 5th January 2024, the morning after the overnight flooding).