Editing Abingdon-on-Thames (section)

==History==
[[File:Barton Court Farm excavations.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Excavating a Roman villa at Barton Court Farm]]
[[File:Abingdon LongAlley north.jpg|thumb|[[Long Alley Almshouses]] next to [[St Helen's Church, Abingdon|St Helen's parish church]]]]
[[File:Abingdon Berks St Helens.jpg|thumb|St Helen's parish church from across the Thames]]
A Neolithic stone [[hand axe]] was found at Abingdon. [[Petrology|Petrological]] analysis in 1940 identified the stone as [[Epidote|epidotised]] [[tuff]] from [[Rossett Pike|Stake Pass]] in the [[Lake District]], {{cvt|250|mi}} to the north. Stone axes from the same source have been found at [[Sutton Courtenay]], [[Alvescot]], [[Kencot, Oxfordshire|Kencot]]{{sfn|Harden|1940|p=165}} and [[Minster Lovell]].{{sfn|Zeuner|1952|p=240}} Abingdon has been occupied from the early to middle [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]] and the remains of a late Iron Age defensive enclosure (or [[oppidum]]) lies below the town centre. The oppidum was in use throughout the [[Roman people|Roman]] occupation. A Neolithic [[Abingdon (causewayed enclosure)|causewayed enclosure]] was found in Abingdon, dating to the 36th or 37th century BC. It was found in 1926 while quarrying for gravel, and was partly excavated in 1926 and 1927 by [[Edward Thurlow Leeds|E.T. Leeds]]. Subsequent excavations took place in 1954 and 1963.<ref>Healy et al. (2011), pp. 407-420.</ref> A Roman villa and subsequent Saxon farmstead buildings have been excavated at Barton Court Farm.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Miles |first1=D |title=Archaeology at Barton Court Farm, Abingdon, Oxon: an investigation of late Neolithic, Iron Age, Romano-British, and Saxon settlements |url=https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/issue.xhtml?recordId=1075411 |website=Archeology Data Services|date=1984 |access-date=27 February 2025 |doi=10.5284/1081709}}</ref>

[[Abingdon Abbey]] was founded in [[History of Anglo-Saxon England|Saxon times]], possibly around 676,{{sfn|Hoiberg|2010|p=33}} but its early history is confused by numerous legends, invented to raise its status and explain the place name. The name seems to mean 'Hill of a man named Æbba, or a woman named Æbbe',<ref>{{harvnb|Mills|Room|2003|loc=Abingdon}}</ref> possibly the saint to whom [[St Ebbe's Church]] in [[Oxford]] was dedicated ([[Æbbe of Coldingham]] or a different [[Æbbe of Oxford]]). However, Abingdon stands in a valley and not on a hill. It is thought that the name was first given to a place on [[Boars Hill]] above [[Chilswell]], and the name was transferred to its present site when the Abbey was moved.{{sfn|Gelling|1957|pp=54–62}} In 1084, [[William the Conqueror]] celebrated Easter at the Abbey and it is possible that his son Henry I received some schooling at the abbey.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hollister |first=C. Warren |title=Henry I |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2008 |isbn=9780300143720 |pages=36}}</ref>

In the 13th and 14th centuries, Abingdon was a flourishing agricultural centre with an extensive trade in [[wool]] and a famous weaving and clothing manufacturing industry. The abbot seems to have held a market from very early times and charters for the holding of markets and fairs were granted by various sovereigns, from [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] to [[George II of Great Britain|George II]]. In 1337 there was a famous riot in protest at the Abbot's control of this market in which several of the monks were killed.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Townsend |first1=James |title=A History of Abingdon |date=1910 |publisher=Henry Frowde |location=London |page=33}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} After the abbey's [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolution]] in 1538, the town sank into decay.

In 1556, upon receiving a representation of its pitiable condition, [[Mary I of England|Mary I]] granted a [[municipal charter|charter]] incorporating the town as a [[ancient borough|borough]], governed by a mayor, two [[bailiff]]s, twelve chief [[Burgess (title)|burgesses]] and sixteen secondary burgesses, the mayor to be clerk of the market, coroner and a [[Justice of the peace|JP]].{{sfn|Hoiberg|2010|p=33}} The present [[Christ's Hospital of Abingdon|Christ's Hospital]] originally belonged to the Guild of the [[Christian cross|Holy Cross]], on the dissolution of which [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]] founded the [[almshouse]]s instead, under its present name.

The borough elected one [[member of parliament]]; this right would continue until the [[Redistribution of Seats Act 1885]]. The 1556 charter also catered for the appointment of a town clerk and other officers, and the borough boundaries were described in detail. Later charters, from [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]], [[James I of England|James I]], [[James II of England|James II]], [[George II of Great Britain|George II]] and [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]], made no considerable change. James II changed the style of the corporation to that of a mayor, twelve [[Alderman|aldermen]] and twelve [[Burgess (title)|burgesses]].

[[File:County Hall Abingdon Geograph-3071725-by-Des-Blenkinsopp.jpg|thumb|County Hall, completed in 1680]]
Abingdon became the [[county town]] of [[Berkshire]] sometime after receiving its charter in 1556.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.localauthoritypublishing.co.uk/councils/abingdon/index.html |title=Introducing Abingdon |website=localauthoritypublishing.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220171010/http://www.localauthoritypublishing.co.uk/councils/abingdon/index.html |archive-date=20 February 2009}}</ref> [[Assize courts]] were held in Abingdon from 1570, but in the 17th century it was vying with [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]] for county town status. The [[county hall]] and [[court house]] were built between 1678 and 1682, to assert this status. The building, now the [[Abingdon County Hall Museum]], was reputedly designed by [[Christopher Kempster]], who worked with Sir [[Christopher Wren]].<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/abingdon_county_hall.pdf |year=2004 |title=Abingdon County Hall: Information for Teachers |place=Colchester |publisher=Palladian Press for [[English Heritage]] |access-date=6 January 2009 |archive-date=20 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320143743/http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/abingdon_county_hall.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Abingdon borough police was the police force responsible for policing the Borough until 1889.<ref>{{cite web |title=The History of Thames Valley Police |url=http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/acc/museum_booklet_a4.pdf |accessdate=2017-03-17 |website=Thamesvalley.police.uk }}{{Dead link|date=September 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> It was formed as a result of the [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Great Britain |first=Charles Purton Cooper |date=1 January 1835 |title=The Act for the Regulation of Municipal Corporations in England and Wales, (5 & 6 W. 4, C. 76 ... |url=https://archive.org/details/actforregulatio01coopgoog |publisher=Saunders and Benning, law booksellers (successors to J . Butterworth and son) |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>  The force was amalgamated into the [[Berkshire Constabulary]] following the [[Local Government Act 1888]], which required all boroughs with populations of less than 10,000 to amalgamate their police forces with their adjoining county constabulary.<ref>{{cite web |title=Local Government Act, 1888 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1888/41/pdfs/ukpga_18880041_en.pdf |accessdate=2017-03-17 |website=Legislation.gov.uk }}</ref> Today, the area is policed by the successor to Berkshire Constabulary, [[Thames Valley Police]].

In 1790 [[Abingdon Lock]] was built, replacing navigation via the [[Swift Ditch]]. In 1810, the [[Wilts & Berks Canal]] opened, linking Abingdon with [[Semington]] on the [[Kennet and Avon Canal]]. Abingdon became a key link between major industrial centres such as [[Bristol]], [[London]], [[Birmingham]] and the [[Black Country]]. In 1856 the Abingdon Railway opened, linking the town with the [[Great Western Railway]] at {{rws|Radley}}. However, Abingdon's failure to engage fully with the railway revolution, accepting only a branch line,{{citation needed|date=March 2015}} sidelined the town in favour of [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]] which became the County Town in 1869.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Berkshire Quarter Sessions |newspaper=Jackson's Oxford Journal |date=4 July 1868 |quote=Summer assizes were moved from Abingdon in 1867, effectively making Reading the county town. However, the [[Home Office]] informed the county's court of [[quarter sessions]] that in moving the court they had acted ''[[ultra vires]]'', and that they were required to petition the [[Privy Council]] to make the change. The petition was duly submitted and the change was officially approved with effect from the summer of 1869.}}</ref>

The [[Wilts & Berks Canal]] was abandoned in 1906 but a voluntary trust is now working to restore and re-open it. [[Abingdon railway station]] was closed to passengers in September 1963. The line remained open for goods until 1984, including serving the [[MG (car)|MG]] car factory, which opened in 1929 and closed in October 1980 as part of a [[British Leyland]] rationalisation plan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishv8.org/Articles/Abingdon-For-MG-Enthusiasts.htm |title=Abingdon For MG Enthusiasts |first=Curtis |last=Jacobson |date=September 2007 |place=Longmont, CO |publisher=British V8 |access-date=31 December 2009 |archive-date=21 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221002756/http://www.britishv8.org/Articles/Abingdon-For-MG-Enthusiasts.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The nearest railway station is {{rws|Radley}}, {{Convert|2|mi|spell=in}} away. Much of the original Abingdon branch line is now a cyclepath, whilst the land on which the station stood has been extensively redeveloped, and is now the site of a large [[Waitrose]] store and surrounded by a large number of new flats and houses.

The corporation was reformed, under the [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]], but was abolished under the [[Local Government Act 1972]], which enacted extensive local government reorganisation across England and Wales with effect from 1 April 1974. As a result of this reorganisation, Berkshire County Council's northern boundary was much reduced and Abingdon's governance was transferred to [[Oxfordshire]], with the town becoming the seat of the new [[Vale of White Horse]] District Council, and Abingdon becoming a [[civil parish]] with a town council. Since the 1980s, Abingdon has played host to a number of information communication companies, with many based in the town's respective business and science parks. As a consequence, and owing to Abingdon's proximity to academic and scientific institutions in [[Oxford]], the town has seen an influx of young professionals taking residence in the town's many residential areas such as Peachcroft.

The town was sometimes historically called "Abingdon-on-Thames",<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Abingdon-on-Thames |encyclopedia=britannica.com |title=Abingdon-on-Thames |access-date=4 October 2018 |archive-date=4 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004145850/https://www.britannica.com/place/Abingdon-on-Thames |url-status=live }}</ref> but the official name of the borough (as given in statutes from the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 to the Local Government Act 1972 and all intervening Ordnance Survey maps) was simply "Abingdon".<ref>{{cite book |title=Municipal Corporations Act 1835 |date=1835 |page=188 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ObEDAAAAQAAJ |access-date=22 March 2022 |last1=Archbold |first1=John Frederick}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The English Non-Metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972 (S.I. 1972 No. 2039) |date=1972 |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |location=London |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1972/2039/made |access-date=22 March 2022 |archive-date=18 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218135531/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1972/2039/made |url-status=live }}</ref> Local councillors voted in November 2011 to change the official name of the town to "Abingdon-on-Thames",<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/yourtown/abingdon/9384559.Public_to_have_say_on_renaming_town/ |title=Public to have say on renaming town |last=Williams |first=Amanda |newspaper=[[Oxford Mail]] |publisher=[[Newsquest]] |date=25 November 2011 |access-date=25 November 2011 |archive-date=14 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114091323/http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/yourtown/abingdon/9384559.Public_to_have_say_on_renaming_town/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and the change took effect on 23 February 2012.<ref name=Wilkinson>{{cite news |title=It's all change at Abingdon-on-Thames |first=Ben |last=Wilkinson |url=http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/headlines/9551306.It_s_all_change_at_Abingdon_on_Thames/ |newspaper=Oxford Mail |publisher=Newsquest |date=24 February 2012 |access-date=24 February 2012 |archive-date=14 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114091242/http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/headlines/9551306.It_s_all_change_at_Abingdon_on_Thames/ |url-status=live }}</ref>