Abingdon-on-Thames - Sites of Interest

Sites of Interest

Of the Benedictine Abingdon Abbey there remains a beautiful Perpendicular gateway (common local knowledge, however, is that it was actually rebuilt out of the rubble of the original, and a little cursory examination of the patternation of the stonework will apparently divulge this) and ruins of buildings such as the mainly Early English prior's house, the guest house and other fragments. Other remains from the former abbey include the Unicorn Theatre and Long Gallery, which are still used for plays and functions including an annual craft fair.

The most distinguished landmark in Abingdon is probably the building that now houses the Abingdon County Hall Museum, which was formerly the county hall of Berkshire (the town was the county town until it ceded that title to Reading in 1867): a building hailed as the "grandest town hall in Britain" and built by Christopher Kempster, who worked with Christopher Wren on St Paul's Cathedral. The hall stands on pillars, leaving a sheltered area beneath for a market or other municipal functions, and overlooks the main market square. The museum and town hall is run by English Heritage.

The picturesque narrow-arched Abingdon Bridge over the Thames, near St Helen's Church, dates originally from 1416. St Helen's Church dates from around 1100 and is the second widest church in England, having five aisles and being 10 ft(3 m) wider than it is long. The tower of St Helen's Church is home to a new ring of ten bells, cast by The Whitechapel Bellfoundry in 2005 and hung in a new frame with new fittings by Whites of Appleton Church Bellhangers in 2006.

The Abbey Gateway between the Abingdon County Hall Museum and the Guildhall remains a point of local importance. Although it is unclear how far back this tradition dates, some people from families that have lived in the town for generations follow the superstition that in walking under the gateway one should hold one's breath to stop the gargoyles that decorate the gateway from stealing it.

A large gaol, built by prisoners of the Napoleonic Wars in 1811, stands on the south edge of town next to the Thames. It has had various uses, most recently as a leisure centre, but is now being partially demolished and developed into residential and commercial premises.

The Roysse Room was the site of Abingdon School (then 'Roysse's School') from 1563 until it moved to its current site after an indenture by John Roysse, who had been born and educated in Abingdon before he moved to London . The room is now part of the civic offices.

Abingdon has the remains of a motte-and-bailey castle, which can be found to the north of the town centre surrounded by trees within a housing estate. Originally made from wood or stone, it was a fortification on a raised earthwork called a motte surrounded by a protective ditch. Many were built with unskilled or forced labour; they were built extensively across northern Europe from the 10th century onwards. They started to be built in England during the Norman invasion.