What’s On In Abingdon Before the Clocks Go Back

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You can start in the attic of the County Hall Museum, where there’s an exhibition built from one person’s memories which features among other objects: a lost toy elephant, a maternity jumper, and letters and photos from a relative who hoped to be a missionary in 1913. Each everyday object has a story, and Sarah Frodsham shares why they matter to her.

Step out into the autumn air on Wednesday the 15th and head to Abingdon Baptist Church. The lights will be glowing, and Nilmini Roelens will be talking about ‘Solar Villages in Sri Lanka’. It’s hosted by the Abingdon Carbon Cutters.

The very next night, Thursday the 16th, you’ve got a choice.

At the Unicorn Theatre, ‘The Lost Trades’ bring folk harmonies with a touch of 1960s California to the medieval setting. Detta Kenzie is playing support.

Or, if you’d rather hear some local music in a brewery, head to the Loose Cannon Tap Room, where Cheap Petrol, Faith Healers, and Dave King are on the bill – thanks to Music in Abingdon.

On Saturday the 18th, the ‘Oxford Gospel Events Choir’ will fill Christ Church on Northcourt Road with harmonies, raising funds for ‘Family of Hope’, a school in Uganda. Just hand over £10 at the door and let the music lift you up.

Over the weekend and through half-term (check dates on their website), there’s another sort of gathering just outside town. High Lodge Farm has plenty of pumpkins and activities for children on their Spooky Trail.

On Tuesday the 21st, it’s ‘Books and Bakes’ at St Ethelwold’s House. Tables piled with paperbacks and cake — and are you the one who goes home with more books than you can carry?

And, on Saturday the 25th, the sound of Haydn’s ‘The Creation’ fills St Helen’s Church.

The clocks go back an hour at 2am on Sunday, 26th October 2025. There’ll be plenty more happening in Abingdon after that – but that’s for another time.

St Ethelwold’s Fundraising Going Well

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Fundraising at St Ethelwold’s, the community building and garden, is going well. The appeal reached its £10,000 matched funding target by October 10th, doubling that to £20,000. There’s now just £10,000 to go to meet the £70,000 crowdfunding goal for essential repairs. The St Ethelwold’s Trust has also set aside £70,000 to support the work.

On Sunday, there was Fun Yoga in the garden, followed by tea, and cakes with participants giving a £10 donation towards the appeal.

There were also jars of homemade quince jelly and knobbly, pear-like quinces for sale.

The Fair That Doesn’t Run Away

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The Runaway Fair was set up today, Sunday, and will be open tomorrow, Monday.

I’ve been writing the same thing for nearly twenty years now … ‘It takes place one week after Abingdon’s Michaelmas Fair. It was once a hiring fair where farmworkers and servants who left their jobs after Michaelmas could find new work. By the late 1800s, the hiring aspect had faded, and now it’s a small funfair, mainly for children, through the afternoon and early evening.’

The world has changed in those twenty years – phones have become pocket computers with cameras better than cameras once were. Blogs can use bigger pictures because internet speeds are faster (from 2-5 Mbps then to 100-220 Mbps now). Banks, Newsagents, Photography, Clothes, Flower and Card shops have been replaced by coffee shops, cafés, nail salons, and men’s barbers.

The only change in twenty years of the Runaway Fair is that, to reduce traffic problems, it is now held only in the Market Place and not along the High Street.

Cycling Plans Get a Mixed Reception in Abingdon

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A public consultation on the proposed cycling improvements for East St Helen Street and the junction by the Abbey Gateway was held today in the former Magistrates’ Court. A second opportunity to meet the designers will take place on Tuesday in the Roysse Room from 4 pm to 7 pm.

A steady stream of visitors came to study the plans and speak with the project representatives. Among those most vocal were residents of East St Helen Street – where a new cycling contraflow is proposed, local conservationists, and cyclists keen to see better routes through the town.
The proposals, initiated by the cycling charity Sustrans and designed by Oxfordshire County Council, were generally welcomed by those supporting more active travel. However, they also prompted a range of concerns. Some East St Helen Street residents questioned the safety of the design for both cyclists and pedestrians, and how it might affect the character of this historic street. Conservation-minded visitors raised worries about changes to the junction’s appearance — including the addition of several new crossing points and belisha beacons — and how these might impact views towards the Abbey Gateway and St Nicolas Church. Others felt the plans did not help pedestrians, saying that many people cross High Street and Stert Street elsewhere and may not use the proposed new island. Drivers, too, voiced concerns about traffic flow.

Discussions were lively showing how challenging it will be to balance all the competing interests.

Details and the online consultation can be found at: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/eaststhelenstreet