Abingdon County Hall Museum

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Coordinates: 51°40′12″N 1°16′53″W / 51.6700°N 1.2815°W / 51.6700; -1.2815
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Abingdon County Hall Museum
Abingdon, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Coordinates51°40′12″N 1°16′53″W / 51.67°N 1.2815°W / 51.67; -1.2815
TypeLocal museum
Collection sizeLocal history
OwnerAbingdon Town Council
Websitewww.abingdon.gov.uk/partners/abingdon-county-hall-museum
Listed Building – Grade I
Official nameCounty Hall and Market House
Designated19 January 1951
Reference no.1199601
Alternative view.

Abingdon County Hall Museum (also known as Abingdon Museum) is a

Grade I listed building.[3]

Building

Internal view of the loggia.

The building was built as a county hall for

Justices of the county. The county hall was designed in the Baroque style by Christopher Kempster who trained with Sir Christopher Wren on St Paul's Cathedral.[4] It stands on large pilasters with a sheltered area beneath for use as a market or other municipal functions and was completed in 1683.[3][5]

Nikolaus Pevsner said of the building: "Of the free-standing town halls of England with open ground floors this is the grandest".[6] It housed a courtroom for the assizes[7] until 1867 when Abingdon ceded that role to Reading Assize Courts.[8][9]

Following the completion of a major restoration of the building, Queen Elizabeth II, visited the town hall, signed the visitor's book and unveiled a plaque in November 1956.[10]

Collections and exhibitions

The museum's collections were started in 1919. The museum has permanent collections and presents temporary exhibitions several times a year. There are also smaller exhibitions on local themes that are changed every month.

MGB Roadster sports car, which came off the production line in Abingdon in 1980 was lifted through a window 30 feet up, for display in the museum's main gallery.[15]

From 2010 to 2012, the museum and building underwent a two-year restoration programme,[16] partly funded by the National Lottery. The museum was informally reopened to visitors by Martha Howe-Douglas, an actress in the BBC television series Horrible Histories,[17] in July 2012[18] and was officially reopened by the Duke of Gloucester on 8 March 2013.[19][20] A new museum café was established in the basement.[21]

References

  1. ^ "Abingdon Museum Friends". Abingdon-on-Thames, UK. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  2. ^ "Abingdon Museum Friends, registered charity no. 1137089". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  3. ^ a b Historic England. "County Hall and Market House, Abingdon (1199601)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Abingdon County Hall: Information for Teachers" (PDF). English Heritage/Palladian Press. 2004.
  5. ^ "The County Hall & Museum Collection". Abingdon County Hall Museum. 3 November 2013. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  6. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966). "Abingdon County Hall Museum former website". Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  7. ^ "Abingdon County Hall Museum". UK: English Heritage. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  8. ^ "Abingdon". Berkshire History. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  9. ^ "County Hall". Abingdon Area Archaeological and Historical Society. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Special - The Royal Visit 1956". British Pathe. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  11. ^ Abingdon County Hall Museum, Culture24, UK.
  12. ^ "Monks' map was commissioned by Abingdon landowner". Oxford. BBC News. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  13. eHive, Vernon Systems
    . Abingdon County Hall Museum. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  14. ^ "MGB returns to Abingdon". YouTube. 1 March 2012. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  15. ^ "Television news item". YouTube. 1 December 2011. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  16. ^ Newsletter[permanent dead link],The Friends of Abingdon, Abingdon Museum, page 2, May 2010.
  17. ^ "Historic day for museum after major revamp". Oxfordshire Guardian. UK. 5 July 2012. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  18. ^ Wilkinson, Ben (13 June 2012). "Abingdon's County Hall Museum to reopen next month". The Abingdon Herald. UK. p. 1. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  19. ^ "Duke arrives for trio of openings". Oxford Mail. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  20. ^ "Royal Opening for Abingdon Museum". Tourism South East. 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  21. ^ "Buns in the Basement". Abingdon County Hall Museum, Abingdon-on-Thames, UK. Archived from the original on 12 July 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
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