Reflections on Abingdon Bridge

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Water is reflected on the underside of the navigation arch of Abingdon (Burford) Bridge on sunny days.

In 1790, when Abingdon Lock was opened, one of the original arches was widened to ease navigation. After that, to allow larger boats, the river was dredged further down than previous bridge builders could have foreseen. Dredging and the greater weight of road traffic meant the original bridge became unstable, and around 1927 the bridge was again rebuilt to create the current 60-foot span of reinforced concrete.

The history of the rebuild in 1927 can be read about at https://www.oxoniensia.org/volumes/1937/leeming.pdf.

RAF Abingdon 1932 – 1992

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RAF Abingdon opened 90 years ago on 1st September 1932, and Elizabeth Drury has made a display in Abingdon Library to remember the date. The RAF base was initially home to bombers. From World War Two, bombers on active service were transferred to the east of the country, and training of bomber crews happened at RAF Abingdon. In 1948, RAF aircraft flew from Abingdon to West Berlin to drop food supplies around the clock to break the siege.

The Queen and Prince Philip visited RAF Abingdon in 1968 for the RAF’s Golden Jubilee.

The RAF Abingdon base closed as a result of Glasnost (Russian for openness), the peace dividend following the opening of the USSR to democracy, on 15th December 1992.

(Picture of the Queen’s visit from The Reading Evening Post – 4th July 1991 – thanks to www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk. The RAF badge is part of the display at Abingdon Museum.)

Michaelmas Fair – Tuesday

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The second day of the fair was sunny, and here are pictures of a few of the rides. This is Formula 1, at the junction of Stratton Way. Policemen directing traffic was once an ordinary sight and is remembered on this ride.

The vendor of balloons was outside The Grapes and is not a ride unless you are a very small person and get carried away.

This is Extreme Power outside the Fire Station, and it swings high from side to side and has light effects.

Extreme was nearby. It goes round, at a slight angle, while the seats twirl.

Super Trooper was outside Pizza Hut and it goes up and down and round.

A view of a helter-skelter and Storm near Reeves Fish and Chips. Storm is like a huge propellor with people in baskets at each tip.

Body Count by St Nicolas Church goes around and tilts from horizontal to vertical.

They were all here today and will be gone by the early hours of tomorrow.